Can Garcinia Cambogia Help You Lose Weight?

A wide variety of weight management strategies are available and involve the use of dietary supplements including slimming aids. Indians have a high prevalence of abdominal obesity and diabetes, so it is important to lose that extra fat to avoid metabolic syndrome disorders.

Garcinia Cambogia supplements have gained popularity, due to the presence of certain extracts in the peel of this fruit. In India, the fruit rind of Garcinia gummi-gutta (G. Cambogia) is used traditionally as a flavouring in fish curries due to its sharp sour taste. It is also used as a digestive aid to treat bowel complaints, intestinal parasites, etc.

HCA (Hydroxycitric Acid) is the main component responsible for providing weight loss properties, which is a derivative of citric acid.

The mechanism behind it

It works by preventing the conversion of carbohydrate to fat through ATP citrate lyase enzyme inhibition which prevents lipogenesis.

• Suppression of Appetite: Increases the glycogen storage by stimulating the glucoreceptors in the liver. It increases the serotonin levels, which is a known appetite suppressant.
• Improved Glucose Metabolism: It regulates leptin and insulin plasma levels.
• Cholesterol Regulation: It plays a key role in inhibiting fatty acids, cholesterol and triglycerides synthesis by inhibiting the activity of the ATP citrate lyase which converts citrate to acetyl coenzyme A. It may help lower LDL levels and increase HDL cholesterol levels.
• Reduces Stress: The HCA extract may help regulate cortisol levels and reduce stress by controlling anxiety levels and cut down oxidative stress throughout the body.

It is a fruit extract supplement for which it is proven, that the intake of 2800 mg/day did not produce any adverse effects. Also, a supplement which contains 50-60% HCA is effective for its benefits.

Thus, this fruit derived supplement may show promising results in boosting weight loss. Many studies have shown its effectiveness in the management of weight, but the results vary upon your diet, physical activity, heredity and other factors.

REFERENCES

The Use of Garcinia Extract (Hydroxycitric Acid) as a Weight loss Supplement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Clinical Trials.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3010674/pdf/JOBES2011-509038.pdf

Semwal et al. (2015).A comprehensive scientific overview of Garcinia cambogiahttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.fitote.2015.02.012