Study Links Green Coffee Beans To Weight Loss

A new study has determined that people who consume a daily dose of green coffee (unroasted coffee beans) lose approximately 10 percent of their body weight.

The results of the study were published in the journal Diabetes Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity, and presented recently at the American Chemical Society (ACS) in San Diego.

Researchers tested 26 overweight subjects between the ages of 22 to 46. These participants were monitored for a period of 22 weeks. During the study, each participant received a high dose and a low dose of green coffee extract as well as a placebo.

Green coffee capsule taken 3 times daily

Participants were given a supplement containing the green coffee extract. They were told to take a green coffee capsule 3 times per day with lots of water. In other words one capsule was to be consumed 30 minutes before breakfast, one 30 minutes before lunch, and one 30 minutes before dinner. The water was to help modify the green coffee’s bitter taste.

The participants were monitored to establish the amount of exercise they did, as well as the number of calories consumed. On average the participants took in 2,400 calories per day, and burned off only 400 calories. At a certain point in the study, the participants were given a lower dose of green coffee extract, and a placebo.

No apparent side effects

The researchers noted that the participants lost an average of 17 pounds which includes a 10.5 percent overall decrease in body weight as well as a 16 percent reduction in body fat. There did not appear to be any side effects from consumption of the green coffee extract.

At this time, a larger study is needed to replicate these results, and to examine the process involved. The same effect does not occur with roasted coffee, leading researchers to wonder whether a substance known as chlorogenic acid that is present only in green coffee, is stimulating the weight loss.

Source: CBS News