Green Coffee

 

"Green coffee" refers to the raw or unroasted seeds (beans) of Coffea fruits. Green coffee beans are cleaned, dried, roasted, ground, and brewed to produce coffee. Researchers claim green coffee bean extract can help with weight loss, and the supplement has generated a lot of buzz.

 

 

Coffee is a notable source of caffeine. However, coffee’s effects on glycemic control and weight loss have been attributed to its other components, including chlorogenic acid, quinides, lignans, and trigonelline, all of which have been shown to improve glucose metabolism in animal studies.

Chlorogenic acid has specifically been shown to inhibit an enzyme, glucose-6-phosphatase, that promotes the formation of glucose (sugar) in the liver. Hence, chlorogenic acid in coffee may be responsible, at least in part, for the reduced risk of glycemic disorders, like diabetes, with long-term coffee consumption.

 

It may also be the source of coffee’s anti-obesity effects. Various studies have suggested that chlorogenic acid slows absorption of fat from food intake and also activates metabolism of extra fat. Unfortunately, traditional brewed coffee doesn’t serve as a good source of chlorogenic acid. While roasting green coffee beans removes its naturally bitter taste, it also removes a significant portion of chlorogenic acid. Hence, green coffee beans remain one of the best natural sources for chlorogenic acid.

 

 

The most recent study on green coffee bean was published in January 2012 in the Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity journal. The researchers followed a group of 16 adults who supplemented with a special green coffee bean extract of chlorogenic acids at different dosages (either 700 or 1050 milligrams per day) for 12 weeks. All 16 adults were considered overweight, as demonstrated by a BMI of greater than 25 (a normal BMI is between 18.5 and 25).

The extract the researchers used contained an ingredient called GCA, which contains a standard green coffee extract of total chlorogenic acids and other hydroxycinnamic acids that have been known to have antioxidant health benefits. The subjects lost an average of almost 18 pounds – this was 10% of their overall body weight and 4.4% of their overall body fat.

ORAC value

Green Coffee is far higher in sheer antioxidant potential than roasted coffee, and most anything else we consume or drink on a daily basis. Some green coffee bean extracts score 2500 or higher on the ORAC scale, which stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity – an abstract measurement of the potential for a substance to reduce oxidative stress. Compare this to an equal weight of blueberries, which scores 10, or Oranges which score 3.

This is not to say that blueberries and oranges do not have their own unique health benefits beyond what the ORAC score can reveal – which they do! – but that the green coffee bean is simply a highly concentrated source of antioxidant compounds.  And considering how stress, chemical exposures, dietary deficiencies and/or incompatibilities, all lead to increasing oxidative stress in the body (which is a cause of premature aging, cellular damage, and even increased risk for cancers) increasing antioxidant levels in our diet can make a world of difference.

Keep in mind that green coffee really isn't all that "new." It is believed that cultivation of the coffee bean originated in the area of Arabia on the Red Sea over 900 years ago, and that at the time, the beans were not roasted but brewed in a manner quite similar to tea.

So, what are the likely health benefits of green coffee? Despite the present Oz-generated craze to identify green coffee consumption with weight loss, the primary finding is that it has beneficial blood pressure modulating properties. 

 

Source: www.doctoroz.com , www.greenmedinfo.com