Green Coffee Bean Extract: Does it work? Is it safe?

Over the years we have seen dozens of ‘miracle’ weight loss supplements come and go, including bitter orange, chromium picolinate, CLA, hoodia, yerba mate, raspberry ketones, and now green coffee bean extract. Each has been touted as an effortless way to shed pounds, by either boosting metabolism, mobilizing body fat or suppressing appetite.

You may have seen green coffee extract at Starbucks, promoted as a natural energy source with no coffee flavour. It was also featured recently on The Dr. Oz Show. On his program, the doc revealed the results of his own investigation, which involved recruiting 100 women who either received a placebo or a 400 mg green coffee bean supplement.

The ladies were instructed to make no changes to their diets and after two weeks, those who had taken the green coffee bean extract lost an average of two pounds, compared to one pound for the placebo group.

So, what exactly is green coffee bean extract? Does it really work? And is it safe. Green coffee beans are actually the green seeds inside the bright red berry. Roasting them turns the seeds brown and creates the characteristic aroma and flavour that coffee gives. To create green coffee bean extract, the seeds are left unroasted. Instead they’re soaked and then concentrated to create the extract.

When coffee seeds or beans are roasted, their antioxidant levels increase, however one natural substance called chlorogenic acid decreases. This chemical is thought to block fat accumulation, boost weight loss, curb carb absorption, and help regulate post meal blood sugar levels.

In a study done at the University of Scranton in January 2012, they carried out a double blind, placebo controlled, cross over study of 16 overweight adults, between the ages of 22 and 46 that were given varying doses of Pure Green Coffee Bean Extract (700mg and 1050mg) and matching placebos over a 22 week duration. Subjects were not asked to change their diet or exercise patterns.
At the end of the 22 week study, subjects who took the Green Coffee Bean Extract lost an average of 17 pounds, which is roughly 10.5 % of their body weight and 16 % of their body fat. Of particular interest was the fact that both the low dose green coffee bean extract and high dose green coffee bean extract groups lost weight.

As to whether green coffee bean extract works, the jury still appears to be out. The study was criticized because it involved such a small number of subjects only 16 and it was funded by a green coffee bean extract manufacturer. An independent analysis of three randomized clinical trials that included a total of 142 participants concluded that the effect of green coffee extract is only moderate at best, and the studies were poorly conducted.

As regards the study carried out by Dr. Oz, the women lost 1 extra pound over those who took the placebo over a two week period, which is interesting but maybe not enough to warrant taking the pills.

The other factor to consider is how safe are they. Unfortunately there is no standardization when it comes to these supplements. In other words, manufacturers don’t have to follow a specific formula, so one green coffee extract product could be made completely differently than another. And one brand could contain significantly more caffeine than the bottle next to it. That is a concern because concentrated doses of caffeine can cause headaches, GI upset, nervousness, insomnia, anxiety, ringing in the ears, and irregular heart beat, or even more serious problems in some people.

In addition, using caffeine based weight loss supplements and then stopping them has also been associated with withdrawal symptoms including headache, fatigue, depression, trouble concentrating, nervousness, muscle tension, and a flushed face. Caffeine based supplements can also react with other prescription medications such as diabetes, blood pressure and anti-depression drugs.

Clearly, despite some positive results, the jury is still out on green coffee bean extract. However there are weight loss aids available such as the prescription only Xenical and the newly released XLS-Medical, both of which are clinically proven to aid weight loss in conjunction with a reduced fat diet and exercise.

Tea or Coffee: which is best for you?

We all like a good brew in the morning, whether it be a good old fashioned cup of tea or a latte from our favourite coffee shop on the way into work. In fact in Britain we spend over £2 billion a year on coffee, and the coffee shop industry is one of the fastest growing industries, and that’s despite the harsh financial times we live in. As regards tea according to the UK Tea Council we drink 60.2 billion cups a year.

Whilst which one we drink is a matter of preference, is it worth considering the pros and cons of tea and coffee? Well considering we drink so much of them it would seem to be a good idea.

Tea

According to several studies tea has more health benefits than coffee. A ­recent one from­Harvard University has ­discovered the immune cells of people who drink tea in the morning ­responded five times faster to germs than coffee drinkers.

The scientists there think tea ­reduces stress levels, whereas other caffeinated drinks, like coffee, can raise them and over time can weaken your immune system.

Another study ­published in the health journal ­Nutrition Bulletin discovered that ­regularly drinking tea can reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes. It is also known that tea contributes to our daily fluid intake thus keeping us hydrated. However it is worth noting that whilst tea contains only half the caffeine content of coffee, it is recommended that we drink no more than five cups a day.

Coffee

Coffee contains double the caffeine found in tea and as we have reported in earlier articles, that can have positive or negative affects on our health depending on how much we drink. Interestingly coffee contains roughly the same amount of calories as tea (a tea or coffee with milk contains about 8 calories). The problem with coffee is the type of coffee we drink these days. As we mentioned at the beginning the meteoric rise of popular coffee shops such as Neros, Costa and Starbucks has led to us drinking a whole new kind of coffee, that brings with it a whole new set of health risks. Whilst at home we would drink maybe a black coffee with a small amount of milk added to it, the coffees we buy at coffee shops are usually milk based, are larger, and many of us add sugary syrups to them and add whipped cream to the top of them. Here is a list of the calorie content of the teas and coffee we drink.

Calories

Black tea with milk: 8 calories

Black coffee: 2 calories

Black coffee with milk: 8 calories

Starbucks medium sized latte: 223 calories

Costa medium sized latte: 206 calories

Starbucks medium sized (skinny) latte: 131 calories

Costa medium sized (skinny) latte: 115 calories

Whipped cream topping: 120 calories

One vanilla shot: 70 calories

Starbucks Strawberries & Cream Frappucino: 459 calories

Nero’s Double Chocolate Frappe: 483 calories

Clearly these coffees contain far more calories than a coffee we would drink at home, however it must also be noted that the skinny versions do contain just under half the calories. Another beverage that has started to grow in popularity is herbal or fruit teas which on average contain only 2 calories. According to Nutritionist and author of Health Eating Dr Carina Norris: “herbal teas are a fantastic addition to your diet, not only are they very low in calories they can also help improve your digestion, clear up your skin and help you sleep.”

Like many thing in life the advice from health professionals is to have such drinks in moderation. Dr Norris summed this up by saying: “a latte can contain between 200 and 300 calories, if you have two a day, that’s the equivalent of a full meal. Treat these drinks as you would a slice of cake, have them occasionally but don’t make a habit of them every day.”