Avoid Liver Stiffness by Drinking Coffee
You can help out your liver by drinking coffee, even if you drink too much alcohol or have a really bad diet. That is what a study published in the Journal of Hepatology (liver) says. Coffee and herbal tea consumption is associated with lower liver stiffness in the general population.
Coffee and tea have been proposed to limit the progression of liver fibrosis in established liver disease, but it is unknown if this is also true for subclinical fibrosis. We therefore aimed to evaluate whether coffee and tea consumption are associated with liver stiffness in the general population.
Here is the summary of their results in plain words.
Lay summary
The Rotterdam Study is a large ongoing population study of suburban inhabitants of Rotterdam in whom data on liver stiffness, as proxy for liver fibrosis, presence of fatty liver on ultrasound and detailed information on coffee and tea consumption were obtained in 2,424 participants. The consumption of herbal tea and daily consumption of three or more cups of coffee was related to the presence of lower liver stiffness, independent of a great number of other lifestyle and environmental factors. Previous studies have found a protective effect of coffee on established liver disease and we now show for the first time that this effect is already measurable in the general population.
Researchers previously knew that people with a predisposition for liver disease were helped by drinking coffee but now it turns out that the protective effect of coffee is seen in all persons. We recently wrote that the incidence of liver cancer is lower in coffee drinkers.
[R]esearchers report that drinking a cup of coffee a day was associated with a twenty percent reduction in hepatocellular carcinoma, two cups a day with a 35 percent reduction and five cups a day with a reduction of 50 percent. Even decaf drinkers had a fourteen percent risk reduction.
Is organic coffee a better choice in this regard or is it just as good to drink regular coffee? Both studies, for liver stiffness and for cancer, only looked at coffee consumption and not specifically for organic coffee drinkers. However, increased health benefits come from drinking organic coffee because organic coffee drinkers avoid the up to 150 contaminants that can be found in regular coffee. This is because organic coffee certification requires that coffee is grown without the use of herbicides, pesticides or fungicides and without the use synthetic fertilizers. Shade grown organic coffee especially is commonly grown in a totally natural environment without artificial additives to pollute your cup of coffee.
The antioxidants in coffee carry most of the benefits of drinking coffee but why challenge the good that antioxidants do by adding impurities that in and of themselves may cause disease? Our suggestion is to stick with organic coffee and get the many health benefits of coffee without the unwelcome additives that too often enter the commercial coffee food chain.
Organic Coffee for Hair
There are lots of health benefits of coffee and not all of them come from drinking a cup of java. One is the use of coffee as a natural hair dye. LAHealthyLiving.com discusses how to use coffee to dye your hair and improve hair health.
Natural methods of coloring sometimes don’t give a long lasting result (like these conventional ones), but at least they do not damage the hair and can even strengthen it. According to the National Cancer Institute there are over 5000 different chemicals used in conventional hair dyes, many of which are considered carcinogenic. Coffee is an absolutely natural product, which possesses beneficial properties.
Using this easy natural coffee mixture, you will get the desired shine, shade, and even promote hair growth. According to a study published in the January 2007 issue of the International Journal of Dermatology, coffee indeed helps with hair growth.
This is not useful for blonds or red heads but brunets can benefit from the use of organic coffee for hair coloring. You won’t get any bad extra ingredients with healthy organic coffee. And guys may even get help avoiding hair loss. The International Journal of Dermatology published an article about the effect of caffeine on hair follicle proliferation.
Caffeine was identified as a stimulator of human hair growth in vitro; a fact which may have important clinical impact in the management of AGA. [male pattern baldness]
So you can color your hair with coffee and even avoid losing more hair. But how do you do it?
Coffee Hair Dye
Make really strong organic coffee, preferably espresso. Non organic coffee most likely contains some added chemicals.
- Let your coffee cool down.
- Mix 2 cups of leave in all natural conditioner with 2 tbsp. of organic coffee grounds and 1 cup of cold brewed coffee.
- Apply the mixture onto your hair and leave it in for about an hour. It will give your hair a beautiful chocolate color without any damage.
Coffee Hair Rinse
And here are the instructions for a coffee hair rinse.
Shampoo your hair first and then pour coffee over your hair. Leave it in for 20 minutes. Use apple cider vinegar to rinse the coffee out of your hair (it will help seal in the color). Then rinse it off with warm water.
If you don’t see the desired results right away, repeat the same process for a few days in a row to allow the coffee to penetrate the strands of your hair.
The author specifies that coffee for hair coloring and for coloring via the rinse method are not meant for diseases of the scalp or hair.
Coffee for Skin Care
Bellatoy.com writes about coffee grounds as skin treatment at no cost. Just collect the coffee grounds that usually go into the garbage or disposal.
Coffee has proven to have wonderful effects on the skin. It contains powerful anti-oxidant agents, protecting the skin against free radicals and reducing the risk of skin cancer. Coffee tightens pores and removes dead skin cells, making the skin looking younger. It also displays anti-wrinkle properties.
Coffee is in many beauty products that you might purchase but using the grounds from making coffee is the free way to go. Take a look at the article for suggestions.
Organic Coffee for French Press
The best coffee is Arabica and the best of Arabica coffee is organic and comes from Colombia. But, once you have Colombian organic coffee in your home how do you make the best cup of coffee? Our suggestion is to buy and store whole bean coffee, grind what you need before preparing and use a French press.
French Press
Why use a French press to make coffee?
There are various ways to make coffee and reasons why you might prefer one over the other. In this article we consider why make French press coffee. The Life Hack web site offers six reasons why they say French press makes the best coffee.
Many people believe French press makes the best coffee. These are some reasons why.
Paper filters take out flavor and oils. When eating good foods, the flavor usually exists in the fats and oils. Paper filters in drip machines absorb much of the oil in your coffee grounds. French press doesn’t soak up flavor and adds tiny bits of coffee grounds in the coffee that percolates flavor.
French press allows for steeping. When you get a good cup of tea, you use bulk tea that steeps for several minutes depending on the type of tea. The end result is a mouth-watering cup of tea. The same is true for coffee through a French press. Because the grounds steep instead of filter, the coffee tastes better.
When you use a French press the coffee steeps just like tea. Because no filter is used you get the oils and particulate matter that contains so much of the aroma and flavor of the coffee. And the temperature of the coffee remains the same throughout the process until you pour into your coffee cup.
But if you have never used one, what is a French press?
A French press is a coffee pot, typically glass, with a fine wire mesh plunger. Coffee grounds are added to the pot followed by hot water. The coffee is allowed to steep for a few minutes and then stirred briefly. Then the plunger is pushed down through the coffee. The bulk of the grounds are pushed to the bottom of the pot.
French Press Coffee Maker
Now, how do you find good organic coffee for a French press coffee making? Buy organic coffee from Colombia and if you need help contact us for help.
Mistakes Using a French Press
The Kitchen reminds us of three common mistakes when using a French press.
Want to perfect your morning French press? Avoid these three common mistakes and you’ll be sure to get the best brew every time.
Don’t Grind the Coffee Too Much: For French press you want your beans to have a coarse, even ground.
Don’t Add Too Much Coffee: The art of the French press is in the coffee-to-water ratio, and because you’re extracting, the time is important as well. A general rule of thumb for French press coffee is in the range of 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio: that is to say, 1 gram of coffee for 10 grams of water.
Don’t Leave Coffee in the French Press: If you leave your coffee in the French press after it has finished brewing, you’re probably going to drink over-extracted, bitter coffee. That’s because even though you’ve pushed down the plunger, it will keep brewing.
You want to drink your coffee right away, so your best solution is to make the exact amount of coffee you’re going to drink.
Start with organic coffee from Colombia. Don’t grind the bean too much. And make as much as you are going to drink to avoid bitterness of coffee standing in grounds for hours on end.
Do You Need to Abstain from Coffee to Get a Performance Boost?
Sports experts have known for years that consumption of coffee (caffeine) before exercise and sports improves performance. However, the belief was that you had to knock off the coffee and probably endure headaches for a week or two before your event in order for this to work. So, do you really need to abstain from coffee to get a performance boost when you ingest caffeine before an event? An article in The New York Times tells us that you can boost your workouts even if you are a regular coffee drinker.
Caffeine users tend to become habituated to its effects, as those of us who have watched our morning consumption creep up by a cup or three can attest.
So athletes typically have been advised to quit drinking coffee or anything else that contains caffeine for most of the week before a major competition, on the theory that doing so should reduce their habituation and amplify the impacts of caffeine on the day of the event.
But Bruno Gualano, a professor of physiology and nutrition at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, was unconvinced. A recreational cyclist and committed coffee drinker – “as a good Brazilian, coffee is part of my diet,” he says – he thought it possible that athletes could benefit from taking caffeine before an event, even if they had not abstained in the days beforehand.
The coffee drinking Brazilian professor put this to the test and reported the results in the Journal of Applied Physiology. The bottom line is that both steady coffee drinkers and those who have not had a cup for some time get the same performance boost from drinking coffee before a workout.
Performance effects of acute caffeine supplementation during a roughly 30 min cycling time trial performance were not influenced by the level of habitual caffeine consumption.
Participants in the study reported how much coffee they drank and how often. Those who received caffeine before their workout did better than those who did not receive caffeine and prior consumption made no difference.
Coffee and Athletic Performance
A few years ago we looked at whether coffee enhances athletic performance and why.
We know that coffee wakes you up if you are sleepy. This is probably more important in in interactive sports like tennis, soccer, basketball, etc. where it is important to pay attention no matter how tired you are. But, how does coffee enhance athletic performance in sports like long distance running or weight lifting? Here is the Cliff Notes version.
- Via a series of chemical regulatory pathways in the human body the caffeine in coffee affects the regulation of glycogen, sugars and lipid metabolism and stimulates the release of adrenaline.
- Coffee can be effective to enhance performance when ingested as close as fifteen minutes before exercise or competition although an hour before is ideal to insure complete absorption and initiation of the regulatory pathways the help coffee enhance athletic performance.
- Coffee is effective in enhancing athletic performance in moderate amounts, three to six milligrams per kilogram of body weight and larger amounts do not appear to help.
- An eight ounce cup of brewed coffee contains from 100 to 200 milligrams of caffeine.
- A 154 pound runner weighs 70 kilograms.
- Since three milligrams per kilogram times seventy kilograms comes to just over 210 milligrams it turns out that one stiff cup of coffee taken within an hour of performance will likely enhance athletic performance.
- Two cups may be better but three will be a waste of time.
The Brazilian study confirms the fact that drinking coffee or taking a caffeine pill before sports helps increase performance. The new addition to our coffee knowledge is that you don’t have to abstain from coffee to get a performance boost.
Coffee Reduces Liver Cancer Risk
We have written time and again about the health benefits of coffee and especially about how coffee consumption reduces cancer risk. Now there is new information about how coffee reduces liver cancer risk. Newsweek reports the story.
Scientists have discovered a link between drinking coffee regularly and a reduced risk of developing one of the most common types of liver cancer. Scientists found people who drink five cups per day were 50 percent less likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma, with the researchers saying their findings add to evidence showing coffee can be “a wonderful natural medicine.”
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Southampton, U.K., analyzed data from 26 studies-amounting to over 2 million participants. They looked at the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma, which is the second leading causes of cancer mortality worldwide, and the incidence rates based on how much coffee people drank.
The researchers report that drinking a cup of coffee a day was associated with a twenty percent reduction in hepatocellular carcinoma, two cups a day with a 35 percent reduction and five cups a day with a reduction of 50 percent. Even decaf drinkers had a fourteen percent risk reduction.
The study about the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma was a review of other research and was published in the British Medical Journal.
We found 18 cohorts, involving 2 272 642 participants and 2905 cases, and 8 case-control studies, involving 1825 cases and 4652 controls. An extra two cups per day of coffee was associated with a 35% reduction in the risk of HCC (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.72).
In other words this study included more than two million people and showed a statistical relationship between how much coffee these people drank and the reduction in liver cancer risk that they experienced.
The researchers note that this effect carries through even with people who had pre-existing liver disease that would tend to predispose to the development of liver cancer. That is to say, that coffee has a cancer preventative effect even in people who were more likely than average to get liver cancer.
Organic Coffee
This study in question did not specify if people drink organic or regular coffee. However, there are extra health benefits to drinking organic coffee. Primarily they have to do with reducing impurities that you otherwise would consume. Organic coffee certification guarantees that a lot of bad things are not in the coffee you drink.
The soil in which organic coffee is grown must have been verified as free from prohibited substances for at least three years. In addition there must be distinct boundaries between land on which organic coffee is grown and land where pesticides, herbicides, and prohibited chemical fertilizers are used. This guarantees that drift of substances sprayed or otherwise applied on adjacent land will not contaminate the organic plot of land. Organic coffee certification includes the adherence to a specific and verifiable plan for all practices and procedures from planting to crop maintenance, to harvest, de-husking, bagging, transport, roasting, packaging, and final transport. Along the way procedures must be in place at every step to insure that there is no contamination of the healthy organic coffee produced in pristine soil with regular coffee produced on soil exposed to herbicides, pesticides, and organic fertilizers.
Coffee is not only morning wakeup drink but also beneficial to our health. Go the extra step and drink only organic coffee to move other risks from the impurities in regular coffee.
Organic Coffee for Sale Philippines
The Philippines were once the fourth leading coffee producer in the world. But that was a couple of hundred years ago when it was a Spanish colony. Today the Philippines rank number 110 in terms of coffee production for export at 25,000 tons. However, 100,000 tons of coffee is consumed locally. What kind of coffee is for sale in the Philippines and can you find healthy organic coffee there?
The Four Viable Coffee Varieties
The Philippines are one of the few countries where you can find all four commercial coffee varieties.
- Arabica
- Robusta
- Liberica
- Excelsa
Arabica coffee is the best tasting and aromatic coffee. Robusta is a hardy coffee variety that produces more than Arabica and is the source of caffeine in soft drinks. Liberica and Excelsa are similar to Robusta.
Liberica Coffee
Liberica coffee is, like Robusta, more resistant to coffee leaf rust than Arabica. It was imported from Africa to Indonesia in the 19th century to replace plants devastated by the fungus. Today a major producer of Liberica coffee is the Philippines although it can be found in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and throughout Central America. Liberica coffee is also, like Robusta, less flavorful than Arabica.
Excelsa Coffee
Excelsa coffee should not be confused with Café Excelso from Colombia. In Colombia Excelso refers to bean size. Excelsa is produced in the Philippines and is more leaf rust resistant than Arabica. It was during the 1950’s that a coffee revival occurred in the Philippines with the planting of leaf rust resistant strains such as Excelsa. This was after a 60 year hiatus. The Philippines were a major worldwide coffee producer until leaf rust hit in 1889. This was coupled with insect infestations in the Batangas area, the major coffee region in the Philippines. Slowly but surely the Philippines are increasing their production of coffee for export using leaf rust resistant strains.
Organic Coffee from the Philippines
There are organic coffee producers in the Philippines. You can find them online.
Negros Island Rainforest Organic Coffee is organically grown without the use of Chemicals and Pesticides. Farmers help in building healthy soils and preserves biodiversity in the rain forest. The Organic Coffee is made from selectively handpicked ripe red coffee cherries by the rural forest dwellers in Negros Island, Philippines. Exceptionally great tasting as the coffee beans mature more slowly in the shade natural sugars increase and enhance the flavor of the coffee.
Due to the efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Kalinga, coffee farming in this province is becoming organic. The project will be started in three areas. It is in line with the “one town, one product” program of the government answering the high demand for organic products. As Noryn Bagano of DTI Kalinga coffee stated towards the “Sunstar”, markets in Europe, the US and other parts of the world are waiting for this coffee, as soon as it is certified as organic. The certification will be done by EcoCert and the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines. Coffee is one of Kalinga’s main crops. 2.460 tons (70 % of the Cordilleras’ total production) were produced in this province in 2003. Almost 8,350 ha are used for the plantation of coffee, and still there is a large area available to increase this.
Watch these folks as they grow.
Starbucks Pays $100,000 for Woman’s Hot Coffee Burns
Everyone likes a cup of hot coffee, especially healthy organic coffee. But be careful when you prepare or drink very hot coffee. A warning from WHO is that very hot beverages are associated with a higher incidence of esophageal cancer. It’s not what you drink but how hot it is served that increases the risk of cancer of the esophagus.
In reviewing the most recent scientific evidence over the past 25 years since its last analysis on the matter, the WHO concluded that coffee should no longer be considered a carcinogen and that it may actually have positive effects for your body when it comes to two types of cancers – liver and uterine cancers.
There was another significant finding: “Very hot” beverages “probably” cause cancer. This is mostly based on studies related to the consumption of a traditional drink called mate or cimarrón in South America where the tea can be taken at temperatures around 158 degrees Fahrenheit (or 70 degrees Celsius). That’s significantly hotter than people in North America or Europe usually consume their drinks.
So, if you are used to drinking your boiling hot coffee before it cools think again.
And when buying coffee house coffee you should also be aware of how hot it might be and if the lid is on tight when you buy for takeout.
In 1994 there was a famous lawsuit against McDonald’s brought by a 79-year-old woman who suffered 3rd degree burns when coffee she had just purchased at a McDonald’s drive through. She asked McDonald’s to pay her $20,000 which was the amount for medical expenses which included hospitalization and skin grafting as well as other expenses related to the injury. McDonald’s offered $800. When the woman engaged an attorney and sued her lawyer asked for $300,000 in damages and McDonald’s offered $90,000. Settlement was not reached and the case went to trial where the jury awarded the woman $160,000 for medical expenses and $2,700,000 in punitive damages.
One would have thought that the McDonald’s experience would have taught large restaurant and coffee house chains to be careful of how hot their coffee is. But apparently Starbucks has not caught on. USA Today reports a Florida woman severely burned by Starbucks coffee received a $100,000 award from a jury at trial.
A Florida woman who was severely burned after the lid popped off a cup of Starbucks coffee and spilled on her lap was awarded $100,000 for her injuries Thursday.
Joanne Mogavero, a mother of three, sustained first and second degree burns on her mid-section after the lid popped off a 20-ounce cup of coffee in 2014, pouring 190-degree liquid in her lap.
A Starbucks representative testified during the trial that the coffee company receives 80 complaints a month about issues with lids popping off or leaking.
In our article how, How Hot Is Starbucks Coffee, we cited expert opinion about hot coffee and burns.The Burn Foundation discusses hot liquid burns.
When tap water reaches 140º F, it can cause a third degree (full thickness) burn in just five seconds.
Hot Water Causes Third Degree Burns…
- in 1 second at 156º
- in 2 seconds at 149º
- in 5 seconds at 140º
- in 15 seconds at 133º.
How hot is Starbucks coffee? If the lady actually suffered 3rd degree burns the coffee was probably at least 140 degrees and more likely 150 or above.
Be careful with hot coffee and before you leave the takeout window make sure that your coffee is securely in the drink holder with the lid firmly attached. Then let your coffee cool just a bit before drinking.
Nitrogen Infused Coffee from the Tap
Imagine asking from something from the tap on a hot summer day. Now imagine that what you get is cold coffee with a creamy feel to it. That would be nitro coffee. Esquire says that if you drink this it will be best iced coffee you have all summer.
How It’s Made
Cold-brew coffee infused with nitrogen gas is released through a pressurized valve with tiny holes. As high pressure forces the cold brew past a disc, it creates a creamy, stout-like effect.
How It Tastes
“Smooth, clean, lovely cold coffee,” Aylsworth says. Sandler’s take: “There’s a cool factor to a nitro pour when you see the coffee cascading. It also creates a much silkier mouth feel when you drink it.”
How It’s Served
Straight from the tap and not over ice, which ruins the Guinness effect. “The whole cascading of [the coffee] is just beautiful, really,” Aylsworth gushes.
What It Costs
Where a regular 12 oz. cup costs $3.50 at Stumptown, the same size of nitro coffee costs a dollar more. Put simply, this stuff is expensive.
Who Should Try It
Black coffee die-hards. If you “don’t care about it being iced cold-and don’t put milk in it-you’ll probably love it,” Sandler says.
If you have any concerns about them putting nitrogen in your coffee please remember that the atmosphere contains about 78 percent nitrogen. So whatever nitrogen fizzes off your coffee will quickly mingle with that in the air we breathe.
Why Nitrogen Infused Coffee?
As we noted in an article about nitro coffee a couple of years back nitro coffee is different.
Nitro coffee is different. If you are tired of the usual coffee house coffees, nitro coffee may be a pleasant change of pace. But, if you like the aroma and taste of freshly roasted, freshly ground Arabica coffee you may be disappointed. The point of drinking freshly roasted, freshly ground and freshly brewed coffee is that it is in fact fresher. Regular and organic coffee antioxidants provide much of flavor as well as the health benefits of drinking coffee.
Canned nitro coffee is convenient. And we won’t complain if you would like to try something different. But our preference is coffee from Colombia, recently roasted, freshly ground and served black or with cream and sugar. Other ways to jazz up coffee include adding liqueur. Here are a couple of examples.
Making Gaelic Coffee
Ingredients:
3/4 oz Irish whiskey
3/4 oz Irish cream
1 1/2 oz dark creme de cacao
2 oz milk
1 tblspful espresso
A few drops of green crème de menthe
Add the whiskey, crème de cacao and milk to a warmed coffee liqueur glass and mix
Sprinkle in a few drops of crème de menthe for color
Pour slightly whipped cream over a spoon into the cup to create a layer on top
Add another few drops of crème de menthe if you like
Making Calypso Coffee
Ingredients:
1 oz TiaMaria coffee liqueur
5 ounces of strong black coffee
1 ½ ounces of whipped cream
1 tsp sugar
Mix the liqueur sugar in the bottom of a liqueur coffee glass
Add the coffee
Pour whipped cream to layer out over the top
What Is Yuban Organic Coffee
A commercially available and decent organic coffee named Yuban is made by the Yuban Coffee Company, a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz conglomerate. The name, Yuban, is derived from “yuletide blend” and dates back almost a hundred years. Kraft Recipes describes Yuban Organic coffee.
Our Yuban organic coffee blend is USDA organic certified and made from beans that are carefully selected from Latin and South American farms for their superior quality, rich aroma, and distinctive taste. Yuban’s coffees also come in original, decaffeinated, and dark roast.
Did you know that our Yuban organic coffee helps support the use of renewable resources, conserve the environment, and comes in a canister made from more than 50% recycled materials? It’s our way of showing our commitment to a healthier and more sustainable environment for all. So take a sip in the right direction and know that you’re doing something good for yourself and the planet.
Leaf TV has a nice history of Yuban coffee.
Yuban is an inexpensive brand of South American coffee. Its discovery is attributed to John Arbuckle, famous coffee roaster of the 1860s.
Arbuckle invented the original Yuban blend in 1905. The name “Yuban” derives from Arbuckle’s Yuletide Blend, in which he used only the best South American beans. According to Yuban Coffee Company, Arbuckle put careful consideration into choosing the beans for his Christmas coffee by looking among the newest shipments so the coffee would be fresh. This holiday blend was only available to dinner guests and as a gift to close friends until 1912, when it was finally made available to the public after Arbuckle’s death.
Yuban coffees have recently been certified by the Rainforest Alliance.
An alternative to organic coffee certification is for a grower to be Rainforest Alliance certified. The Rainforest Alliance is a non-governmental organization that works to conserve biodiversity. It does so for agricultural products by influencing consumers to buy what is good for the environment and good for small farmers. Rainforest Alliance certified means that the coffee that you buy was produced using good land use practices. Rainforest Alliance certified coffee is part of a broader sustainable agriculture program of tropical crops, including coffee, bananas, cocoa, oranges, cut flowers, ferns, and tea. Certified coffee farms meet a strict set of environmental standards that include preservation of the ecosystem and reduction in use of synthetic chemicals of all sorts.
Besides promoting sustainable agriculture and organic products the Rainforest Alliance insists on strict safety and health requirements. They also help their certified growers find buyers, in this case Yuban Coffee.
USDA Certification
Besides being certified by the Rainforest Alliance Yuban organic coffee is certified by the USDA.
According to the USDA, the following applies to USDA organic coffee as well as to all organic food production. “… Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled ‘organic,’ a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too.”
You can find this coffee in the supermarket and online.
Organic Coffee for Weight Loss
Organic green coffee is back as a weight loss tool. WebMD says that green coffee contains chlorogenic acid which is
thought to affect how the body handles blood sugar and metabolism.
Is organic coffee for weight loss a plausible approach? You would think so from looking at the ads on Amazon. To get an unbiased opinion we looked at what the respected Mayo Clinic has to say because these folks are not trying to sell organic green coffee beans. Here are a few of their thoughts on weight loss from green coffee extract.
| Green coffee extract | Reduces absorption of sugar (glucose), increases calorie and fat metabolism | Possible modest benefit | Excessive use: anxiety, agitation, insomnia, nausea, irregular heartbeat |
Limited research also makes it difficult to judge the safety of a weight-loss supplement. And a product isn’t necessarily safe simply because it’s natural.
We looked at a bogus green coffee extract claim a couple of years ago.
The Federal Trade Commission has levied a fine of $3.5 million on Applied Food Sciences, the company that sponsored the study claiming that green coffee extract resulted in weight loss. Here is a quote from the FTC.
…the study’s lead investigator repeatedly altered the weights and other key measurements of the subjects, changed the length of the trial, and misstated which subjects were taking the placebo or GCA during the trial. When the lead investigator was unable to get the study published, the FTC says that AFS hired researchers Joe Vinson and Bryan Burnham at the University of Scranton to rewrite it. Despite receiving conflicting data, Vinson, Burnham, and AFS never verified the authenticity of the information used in the study, according to the complaint.
Despite the study’s flaws, AFS used it to falsely claim that GCA caused consumers to lose 17.7 pounds, 10.5 percent of body weight, and 16 percent of body fat with or without diet and exercise, in 22 weeks, the complaint alleges.
The point of all this is that researchers in India fudged the results of their study and no one followed up. This was a bogus green coffee extract claim and should be ignored. If you purchased any green coffee extract for the purpose of losing weight you may want to ask for, or demand, your money back.
There are a lot of possible uses of various chemical substances for health benefits. But in order to know if something works and does not hurt you it needs to be tested by reliable researchers. The problem is that when a company wants to make money on a product it becomes all too easy to skimp on the research and report dishonest results. People lose weight when they consume fewer calories than they expend. Weight loss pills that work in the short term like amphetamines do not confer any long term benefit. Green coffee, unlike amphetamines, is not dangerous, but why not drink roasted coffee and enjoy its flavor and aroma. Coffee has lots of benefits like preventing diabetes and various forms of cancer. Drink your coffee and watch your caloric intake and you will be OK.