With the growing popularity of garcinia cambogia dietary supplements, the controversy surrounding this ingredient is also growing. While some argue that its slimming properties are highly overrated, others consider it a miracle agent. What are the facts?

Garcinia cambogia has recently become one of the "discoveries" on the market of dietary supplements supporting slimming. The exotic name and the sensational properties attributed to it quickly made dietary supplements containing it gain popularity. At the same time, the controversy around this component grew and continues to grow. While some say that its slimming properties are highly overrated, others consider garcinia to be a miracle agent. What are the facts?

Garcinia cambogia - origin

Garcinia cambogiais a plant that occurs naturally in Indonesia, and is grown throughout Southeast Asia, as well as western and central Africa. It is known under the names malabar tamarind, brindal berry, gambooge and vrikshamla, and in Poland also asMalabar tamarind . Its fruits are shaped like small yellow pumpkins. They have been treated as a spice for thousands of years and used in natural medicine as an important ingredient in many medicines. Indians attribute to these fruits the properties of treating rheumatism, many ailments related to the digestive system, and even the effect of strengthening the heart muscle.

There are many stories and anecdotes about the discoveryof garcinia cambogia slimming properties . One of them says that the seamen were supplied with tamarind fruit when they crossed the Suez Canal (the plant is found in Egypt). They were supposed to protect against scurvy. It was not a very appetizing snack due to its sour taste, but at least the fruit was readily available. At the same time, they were also given to animals transported on ships. And it was then that it was observed that the pig fed them lost weight during longer voyages. According to the anecdote, it was the doctors of the ships who used the tamarind diet that started their own obesity treatment practices after disembarking, and garcinia cambogia was the secret ingredient in their therapy. In this situation, it was only a matter of time before the properties of these fruitsthe world of science will be interested. As a result, in the 1960s, researchers discovered that tamarind is a rich source ofhydroxycitric acid- a substance also found in oranges and lemons. And it was she who was responsible for the slimming properties of garcinia cambogia.

Properties of Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA)

It suppresses appetite, accelerates fat burning and lowers cholesterol - this is how you can describe the properties attributed to hydroxycitric acid (in shortHCA ). Its action in the body takes place at the cellular level, where it is incorporated in the mitochondria, instead of citric acid, in the Krebs cycle. It also increases the transport of fatty acids to the mitochondria, which leads to the formation of ketone compounds, known to suppress appetite. One of the theories about HCA also says that it sends a signal to the brain with 5-hydroxytryptophan, which is a direct precursor of serotonin - called the "happiness hormone" (some sources even suggest that garcinia cambogia may improve mood).

Hydroxycitric acid is also credited with influencing thermogenesis - i.e. the process of increasing body temperature, promoting fat burning. However, there are no precise data confirming this property of HCA or describing a possible mechanism of such an action. There are studies showing that hydroxycitric acid blocks citrate lyase - an enzyme that converts sugar and starch into fat. As a result of this action, there is no further deposition of adipose tissue, and the carbohydrates delivered to the body are used for energy production.

In another study, taking HCA for 8 weeks was accompanied by a decrease in cholesterol levels of as much as 18%. The concentration of triglycerides decreased even more significantly in the study group (26%). An antihypertensive (blood pressure lowering) effect was also observed in patients participating in the study, although it cannot be ruled out that it was caused by weight loss.

Are Garcinia Cambogia Supplements Safe?

The effectiveness and safety of consuming garcinia cambogia has been a subject of controversy and numerous discussions for a long time. Opponents of the wide use of this ingredient in slimming therapies indicate that the vast majority of research on tamarind or HCA has so far been carried out on … rats. In turn, the results of the few with the participation of people are ambiguous. Moreover, a 2005 study, described in "Food and Chemical Toxicology", showed that high doses of garcinia cambogia extractcause testicular atrophy and poisoning in mice. But what is meant by "high dose"? Can this raw material actually be dangerous?

The American FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has classified garcinia cambogia to the GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) safety category, which means that as a supplement component, this raw material is generally considered safe. During the controlled studies on the slimming effect of tamarind, no cases of side effects or poisoning have been reported. According to the results of the meta-analysis of all available studies, no significant side effects were found when using doses below 2,800 mg of fruit extract per day. Taking garcinia cambogia is therefore considered safe, but it is not recommended to take dietary supplements with this material for pregnant and lactating women and people suffering from dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or other mental diseases (this results in the risk of increasing the level of serotonin in the brain).

When buying garcinia cambogia supplements, avoid online-only preparations - there is a high risk that they are falsified.

The number of dietary supplements containing garcinia cambogia or hydroxycitric acid has increased dramatically over the past few years. Unfortunately, not all products of this type are trustworthy - mainly due to the uncertain quality of the raw materials used in them and the compliance of their composition with the one declared on the packaging. As a result, the FDA issued a warning about the possibility of falsifying garcinia cambogia dietary supplements by adding banned substances to them - e.g. drugs or sibutramine (an amphetamine derivative with a slimming effect, which was withdrawn from the market a few years ago). The aim of this is to increase the slimming effect (and thus increase its sales as a consequence of word of mouth advertising), but at the same time the risk of dangerous side effects also increases.

Control over the quality and safety of dietary supplements in Poland also leaves much to be desired, as evidenced by the report presented at the beginning of 2022 by the Supreme Audit Office. So how do you choose a safe preparation with tamarind? First of all, you should avoid buying preparations available only on the Internet and buy them in pharmacies. It is also worth asking the pharmacist about his trust in the manufacturer and the opinions of other patients.

Important

Dosages and how to take garcinia cambogia

Studies have shown that the slimming effect of tamarind depends on both the dose used and the way it is taken. As a result nowit is recommended to take from 500 mg to 1000 mg of garcinia cambogia fruit extract (standard containing about 50% HCA) 3 times a day. It is also crucial to take the supplement 30 minutes before a meal, because only then is it possible for its appetite suppressant to appear. In addition, in the presence of food, hydroxycitric acid s alts can combine with food components and become inactivated or significantly reduce the bioavailability of supplements (not only HCA).

Examples of preparations containing garcinia cambogia, available in Polish pharmacies:

Name of the preparationHCA content in 1 doseManufacturer
HCA Natural Hydroxycitric Acid250 mgSolgar
Garcinia Cambogia Extract40 mgSwanson
HCActive Garcinia Cambogia350 mgJarrow
Garcinia Cambogia150 mgMyactive
A-Z Garcinia Plus300 mgA-Z Medica
Apecontrol60 mgOlimp Laboratories
Apetiblock50 mg garcinia cambogia (no information on HCA content)Aflofarm
Assystor Slim120 mgAflofarm
Liporedium9 mgAflofarm
Appetite Stop72 mgHome First Aid Kit
Therm Line Man187.5 mgOlimp Laboratories

Category:

Slimming