Not just green tea: green coffee beans may also aid weight loss

Coffee beans that have not undergone roasting may
help in losing weight (image source: topnews.in)  

A small study presented at the May 8 national meeting of the American Chemical Society showed weight loss promise in green coffee bean extract. This introduces another cheap alternative for reducing pounds though it may literally be bitterer than the regular weight loss bitter pill.

Joe Vinson, a University of Scranton chemist, conducted the pilot study on the effectiveness of natural and uncooked/unheated coffee beans for improving weight loss success. The study involved 16 overweight young adults who undertook a "cross-over" design of testing the effects of green coffee beans. This setup makes the participants their own benchmark wherein they took, by turns, a low dose of unroasted coffee bean extract, a high dose of the coffee bean supplement, and a placebo.

The results were promising with an average of 17.5 pounds weight reduction after five months and two weeks or an overall weight loss of 10.5%. A bigger study is already being planned, calling for 44 additional participants (a total of 60).

Vinson says that the apparent reason for such weight reduction is the ability of green coffee bean extract to diminish fat and glucose absorption in the gut. It is also possible that the extract is able to reduce insulin levels to enhance metabolism. No adverse effects from the coffee extract have been observed among the study participants.

As earlier mentioned, the study is non-conclusive and it requires further investigations and a bigger participant population. Several health scientists have expressed their apprehension over the findings saying that the chemical content of coffee beans both have positive and negative results. It is up to additional studies to prove that the positive effects can outweigh the negative.