What are the Benefits of Garcinia?

Looking at the mirror, seeing yourself with a much more prominent face, pants, and shirts doesn’t fit the same anymore; you are truly gaining more weight. You have only one thing in mind – to lose some weight! But it would never be as easy as one, two, three.

There are many slimming formulas, routines, diets, and rituals you can see, read, and hear. And probably, you have gotten into the news about this “Miracle Weight Loss” GarciniaCambogia.

Today, this popular supplement is produced from an exotic fruit, garciniacambogia, which becomes the latest weight-loss craze. But there are so much misinformation and hype about this “miracle-giving” fruit.

What is Garcinia cambogia?

Garcinia is a small to medium-sized tree that grows in India, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and parts of Africa, and Southeast Asia. It has a little yellow or greenish pumpkin-shaped fruit. It has several names such as red mango, Malabar tamarind, pot tamarind, brindal berry, gambooge, and kokum butter oil tree.

The fruit was generally famous as garciniacambogia, but its proper name is Garciniagummi-gutta. It has a very sour taste that will pucker your lips; that is why it is rarely eaten raw, but often cooked as pickles and condiments instead. The fruit is also sun-dried and smoked and mostly used to flavor curries, particularly fish curry.

However, studies emerged that this fruit is more than just a condiment, or a sour-giving flavor to food but is also packed with health benefits.

Recently, many people have been very thrilled to use supplements made from this garciniacambogia, believing this magically makes one’s body achieve perfection by losing some unwanted weight.

Is there really a Magic?

The “magic” that people say probably is because the peel of the fruit has high amounts of hydroxycitric acid (HCA), an active substance that has been shown to have some weight loss properties. Many garciniacambogia supplements generally contain about 20–60% HCA. Still, studies reveal that those with higher amounts of HCA, such as 50–60%, may provide an excellent benefit.

Moreover, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the seeds have a 30 percent fat content. Alternatively, the seeds are sometimes used to substitute ghee, clarified butter that’s a common ingredient in Indian food.

How does it work?

Can garcinia cambogia truly lose weight? Perhaps, if you have tried taking any supplements, you can testify to its effect. This has been widely marketed for a few years as an effective way to lose weight without even much effort.

Citrate lyase, an enzyme used by the body to make fat, is blocked by hydroxy citric acid or HCA present in garcinia cambogia fruit’s rind. In also increases serotonin chemicals, making you feel less hungry.

The Journal of Obesity published a review that there was a 2 pounds loss from people’s weight due to the supplement. However, this effect wasn’t impressive since weight loss can be accounted for by dietary habits such as low-calorie intake and the physical activities involved while taking the supplements. Thus the review needs further studies for the claim.

Also, the Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine posted their review on the same subject and showed that garcinia did promote weight loss in many cases. However, they achieve varying results.

Researchers also note that the studies were conducted among animals, although there were studies conducted to humans but only very minimal cases. Nonetheless, the effect of the fruit is too widespread to call beneficial. It may or may not work.

Type 2 Diabetes and High Cholesterol

Researches were claiming that garciniacambogia may improve cholesterol levels, lowering triglycerides and LDL (the “bad” cholesterol) and raising HDL (the “good” cholesterol). But you shouldn’t use it if you’re already on a prescription for your cholesterol levels as it might cause adverse reactions such as dizziness, drying of the mouth, headache, stomach upset, or diarrhea.

A warning has been made by the Food and Drug Administration, considering the use of the supplement to be unsafe. In 2017, the FDA advised people to refrain from using a weight-loss product containing garciniacambogia as others had serious liver problems.

Furthermore, garciniacambogia may interact badly when a person takes medicines for diabetes, pain medicines, prescriptions for psychiatric conditions, liver problems, and not for pregnant and nursing women. Manic symptoms may arise as a side effect.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/garcinia-cambogia-weight-loss#what-it-is

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-818/garcinia

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/garcinia-cambogia-weight-loss