Are capsules containing green coffee bean extract good for weight loss?

Green coffee bean

Recently, an Indian company offering weight loss medications came up with green coffee bean capsules that claim to help lose an average of 12 kilos of belly fat in an average of six weeks. Made using un-roasted green coffee bean extract, the capsules, which claim to include 100 per cent pure and pharmaceutical quality graded extracts, helps limit carbohydrate absorption resulting in limited fat cell creation and an increased rate of metabolism leading to guaranteed weight loss.

Also read: Here comes 'green' coffee for super health benefits

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the guide spoke to macrobiotic nutritionist and chef Shonali Sabherwal to help bust myths about the diet fad. "Green coffee bean isn't easily available in Mumbai. It's the unprocessed version of the coffee bean and contains equal amounts of caffeine, if not more. So, the extracts of green coffee bean will have similar effect on your body as caffeine. It speeds up your metabolism, as a result, they claim, it helps lose weight," she says, adding, "I don't subscribe to it, as caffeine is a stimulant that often pushes one into an overdrive. You feel a temporary energy boost but it imbalances sugar levels. So, your body constantly uses coping mechanism - you suffer from cravings, mood swings and eventually, it robs you of your energy. Anything that includes caffeine is not healthy in the long run."

Shonali Sabherwal

She recalls how a few years ago, acai berries were touted as a superfood with weight-loss properties. "However, it was just a craze. Consumption of any one ingredient or product without a proper diet or exercise cannot help you lose weight. You need to decrease an overall consumption of bad fats and reduce the extra calories to get in shape," she suggests.