Green Coffee Extract for Health

When your eating your green eggs and ham for breakfast, don't forget your dusting of green coffee extract. What is this magic fairy dust you ask? Well, we are going to dive into the life of a coffee bean to see what all the buzz is about.

Let's start off with the question: What is a green coffee bean? Green coffee beans are beans that have not been roasted yet. These magical beans contain higher amounts of a chemical called chlorogenic acid, which is found in higher amounts in the un-roasted beans. Here in lies the magic of the bean! Apparently, chlorogenic acid shows positive health benefits in high blood pressure, diabetes, weight loss, and metabolism. Let's move to our investigation.

So what does the research say about all of this green bean business? Here is the break-down:
WebMD: Cholorgenic acid, an antioxidant, does not produce the same benefit in regular coffee. They said a lot of the research is inconclusive and possibly ineffective.
Nutritional Neuroscience: Their study showed that dietary supplementation with decaf green coffee may beneficially influence the brain by promoting brain energy metabolic processes.
Huxley et al: Reported that "daily consumption of decaf coffee with high contents of chlorogenic acids reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes."
PubMed: "Chlorogenic acid raise total homocysteine concentrations in plasma, which may influence CVD."  "Caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid improve body weight, lipid metabolism and obesity-related hormones levels in high-fat fed mice."

To sum up all the research, the green coffee extract could be beneficial in weight loss, but more studies are needed to determine the long-term effects. The positive is that the research shows the green bean to be safe! So, if you would like to buy your $20-$50 bottle of beans, know that you can do so with ease!

References:http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-1264-GREEN%20COFFEE.aspx?activeIngredientId=1264&activeIngredientName=GREEN%20COFFEE
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20064576
Ho L, Varghese M, Pasinetti G, et al. Dietary supplementation with decaffeinated green coffee improves diet-induced insulin resistance and brain energy metabolism in mice. Nutritional Neuroscience [serial online]. January 2012;15(1):37-45. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March 19, 2013.