Green Coffee & Heart Disease: Heart Disease kills one person every 27 minutes. And is the single leading cause of death in Australia. The good news is that studies suggest green coffee may actively reduce the risk of death from heart disease and stroke. Because including it into your daily routine is a proactive step you can take towards prevention.
You may have heard of green coffee bean extract for weight Management. But this potent natural remedy offers other important benefits too. Read on to discover how green coffee can help you lose weight and protect you from chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
What is Heart Disease?
Coronary heart disease (CHD), also known as ischaemic heart disease, is the most common form of cardiovascular disease. Its two major clinical forms are a heart attack and angina (chest pain/tightness).
What are the Risk Factors?
- Risk factors include:
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
- overweight and obesity
- physical inactivity
- low fruit and vegetable intake
- alcohol, and
- smoking
Green Coffee & Heart Disease Protection
One of the main benefits of green coffee bean extract is its ability to lower blood pressure. Studies shows that the CGA content of the extract is able to lower blood pressure by as much as 10 points.
Along with a reduction in blood pressure, green coffee bean extract is believed to ease hypertension. And decrease levels of an inflammatory marker called homocysteine. Both of these factors are considered to be strong protectors against heart disease.
What About Antioxidants?
The green coffee bean isn’t just about weight Management. Since the bean itself is actually derived from whole red coffee cherry-berry fruit. It offers strong antioxidant properties that help protect cells against the effects of free radicals molecules encountered on a daily basis. Free radicals cannot only damage our cells but may play a role in heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Green coffee beans contain polyphenols, which naturally act to help reduce free oxygen radicals in the body.
The Effect of Green Coffee Bean Extract on Metabolic Syndrome
Researchers decided to conduct a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. This means that the participants selected for the study were randomly assigned a group that would either receive the actual treatment or be given a placebo. They were not informed that there would be a placebo involved.
The participants comprised 43 overweight men and women between the ages of 18 and 70. Doctors measured their weight, waistline, BMI, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure. They also conducted blood tests which included a diabetes screening, lipid profile, fasting insulin, and insulin resistance.
The participants were divided into two groups—the intervention group and the placebo group. The participants in the intervention group were given capsules containing 400mg of green coffee extract (which had 186 mg of CGA). Participants had to take these twice daily for a period of eight weeks.
Participants of both groups also followed an energy-based diet with no changes to their salt-intake or physical activity. At the end of the eight weeks, when researchers once measured the metabolic parameters that they had measured prior to giving participants the treatment.
The participants of the intervention group had better overall health after taking green coffee bean extracts.
There was a reduction in their:
- Fasting blood glucose
- Systolic blood pressure
- Insulin resistance
- Waist circumference
- Appetite score
Researchers further observed that the reduction in weight and BMI of participants in the intervention group was twice as much as that of the placebo group.
The findings corroborate the fact that green coffee extracts have beneficial effects and can be used as a treatment to manage metabolic syndrome. In addition, it would be a safe and inexpensive treatment that could effectively reduce the health risks associated with metabolic syndrome.
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