You must have heard of the weight loss craze around Garcinia Cambogia. You are likely skeptical and want to separate fact from fiction. Or you may think of Garcinia Cambogia as a weight-loss supplement. Have you heard of these other benefits of Garcinia Cambogia? Here are 23 amazing reasons why you may want to take Garcinia Cambogia.
The First 11 Benefits of Garcinia Cambogia Supports Fitness
1 – Enhance Weight Loss
You probably think of weight loss when here the word Garcinia Cambogia, or just Garcinia. The most popular weight loss supplements contain Garcinia Cambogia or its derivative Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA). If you are someone you know who is trying to lose weight Garcinia is a supplement that can help. Many, many studies show that Garcinia or HCA can increase weight loss and reduce fat accumulation (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9). As always there are also some studies showing little to no benefits of Garcinia Cambogia and weight loss (10). The exact mechanism for weight loss or reduction in fat is still unclear. Many studies have established multiple benefits of Garcinia Cambogia that promote weight loss. Garcinia is not a magic herb that melts away fat without a proper diet and exercise, though some people may claim miracle properties.
The nine studies depicted in the following graph are solid evidence that Garcinia promotes weight loss. Most of these studies also used a strict diet or exercise as well as supplementation with Garcinia.
In some of these studies, Garcinia helps people lose over twice as much weight as the placebo. If you want to know how Garcinia can help with weight loss and fitness, read benefits 2-11 below.
2 – Reduce Food Cravings as an Appetite Suppressant
Step one to weight loss is to “Stop eating junk food”. First of all, for many people not eating junk food is hard. For the reasons that junk food is cheap and available everywhere. Junk food also tastes delicious and it makes you feel good, at least when you are eating it. You never feel good after eating it though.
Garcinia Cambogia can help stop you from eating those foods you know you shouldn’t be eating. Garcinia (HCA) is shown to increase the release and availability of radiolabeled 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) (11). Now serotonin is nature’s natural appetite suppressant. HCA raises the availability of serotonin and, in turn, reduces food cravings.
3 – You Feel Full
Not only will you not crave food but you will feel full. People in these studies reported feeling full earlier when they took Garcinia or HCA (12,13,14,15,16). All of us said we were full, but still had some room for dessert.
4- Reduce Craving for Unhealthy Foods, Such as Sugar Addictions
You may find it easy to tell a waiter no to dessert when it cost $10, but find it very difficult to say no to cake or ice cream at a birthday party. Garcinia should help with saying no, it will still be up to you to overcome the awkward stares when you turn down dessert at a party.
If you ever feel uncomfortable turning down food try this. It is best to smile and politely say, it looks delicious, but no thank you. When you don’t give a reason most people won’t ask “why not”. If someone does ask you why don’t want sweets, you can say something such as “I am full,” or “I am trying not to eat sugar”. You will likely not get a second why. When you do give a reason before you have been asked, you will occasionally still get asked why and that’s when the conversation may be more uncomfortable. Most people don’t ask why more than one question deep, they feel like that is prying.
Remember this when trying to not eat sweets and treats.
Nothing Tastes as Good as #FitFeels
https://t.co/qSxBqO7guN pic.twitter.com/PgCaOJk67E— Hacking Vitality (@HackingVitality) September 4, 2018
5 – Boost Metabolism
Garcinia Cambogia and HCA can help boost your metabolism (17). Energizing your metabolism has numerous other benefits such as increased energy, a stronger desire for physical activity, increased endurance, and burning more calories.
6 – Increase Energy
Your body is in high gear and turning stored calories into usable energy when your metabolism is energized. You will feel more energized you will also burn more energy and more calories.
7 – Burn More Calories Through Greater Energy Expenditure
Now that your metabolism is in high gear and you are creating more usable energy, your body will naturally want to use this energy. Your increased energy level will allow you to do more and in turn, burn more calories. This cycle feeds itself and is why your metabolism is depicted as a cycle or wheel. Garcinia helps get your metabolism wheel turning faster. Once your metabolism gets some momentum it wants to keep moving.
8 – Stronger Desire For Physical Activity
Once your metabolism is producing more energy, your body will naturally want to use that energy. Your mind will start looking for ways to use this energy. You may find you want to get out of the house and do something physical.
9 – Increased Endurance
The increase in energy level will also improve your endurance. As soon as your body raises the level of ketosis you have a greater source of energy. Your metabolism has entered into the same phase that endurance athletes achieve on long races.
10 – Help Induce Ketosis (Burn More Fat)
Garcinia on its own can not induce ketosis. Garcinia can help to get your body to start burning fat. It can do this by all the benefits mentioned in 1-9. To get these benefits, it will take more than ingesting a little pill. But, with a proper diet and the right exercise, a little Garcinia will help propel your body’s natural ketosis functions.
11 – Block Fat Production (Especially Belly Fat)
Along with promoting your body’s process of burning fat, Garcinia can also reduce the accumulation of belly fat (15). Have you ever heard that you lose weight from the top down and gain weight from the bottom up? Many people find this true especially if you are going through phases of yo-yo dieting. Garcinia may be the supplement that could help sustain you through these yo-yos. We all want to enjoy some food that we know we should eat. Garcinia can help us indulge a little now and then.
12 – Reduce Risk Factors for Disease
You know that one of the leading factors for many diseases is obesity. So you should not be surprised that a herb that has so many benefits that could reduce obesity would also reduce the risk factor for these diseases (16). That is not the whole story though. Besides obesity, they are many other studies that have shown benefits to other factors that are leading causes of different diseases. Now to be clear Garcinia and “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Garcinia is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease” (18). Even so, many studies come to the conclusion that Garcinia reduces many of the risk factors that are commonly associated with multiple diseases.
13 – Stabilize Blood Sugar Levels
We discussed earlier how Garcinia could boost your metabolism, well this can burn sugar as well. Many doctors claim that Garcinia may make it easier for your body to use glucose (19). Many people who are overcoming diabetes may be interested in if Garcinia can help them. If you have diabetes and you want to use Garcinia to support your diet, you should consult your doctor.
14 – Improved Cholesterol Levels
People who struggle with diabetes are also concerned about cholesterol. Even more, people who are worried about their hearts, think about cholesterol. If you are at the age where doctors insist on a cholesterol test you may be interested in this research. These researchers found that Garcinia Cambogia improves cholesterol levels, lowering triglycerides and LDL (“BAD” cholesterol) and raising HDL (“GOOD” cholesterol) (15). When I think of cholesterol levels, I imagine a nice big juicy steak and not being able to have it. Maybe Garcinia can relieve some of that anxiety, and allow for a little more indulgence in life.
15 – A More Positive Mood
Do you think that if you felt less tired and had more energy you would also feel happier? This may not be true for you. But many people in the above-mentioned studies claimed to have an improved mood. For me having increased energy and reaching my goals is always something to be excited about.
Seriously though, Garcinia has been shown to increase the levels of Serotonin (20). Serotonin has been called the “Happy Chemical,” it is known to reduce depression and anxiety. Be careful, taking Garcinia might make you happier.
16 – Increased Concentration
You want to have a healthy level of Serotonin and Garcinia can help achieve this. When your Serotonin levels are healthy, you will be more focused. There can be issues when your Serotonin levels are too high; one problem is a reduced libido. This is not very common and is likely only probably if you take Garcinia with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (21).
17 – Help Digestive Track
Garcinia Cambogia may be able to help with ulcers or excess stomach acid. Here a study showed an increase in mucosal defense in the GI tract. It also showed a reduction in acidity levels. There is evidence that Garcinia can be used as an antiulcerogenic agent (19).
18 – Improve Bowel Movements
If you have Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn’s disease, or ulcerative colitis, it is probably not something you like to share with others. You will also likely be interested in Garcinia and its anti-inflammatory effect. This study showed that taking Garcinia Cambogia extract improved several of the signs of experimental colitis. Also, the study showed Garcinia could provide a source of anti-inflammatory compounds useful in IBD treatment (22). Garcinia is also a natural remedy for constipation and diarrhea.
19 – Manage Hemorrhoids
Here is another sensitive subject, literally. For those of us who like natural or home remedies, Garcinia is that for hemorrhoids. If you live in India you might even think of Garcinia for hemorrhoids way before you consider it for weight loss. For centuries Garcinia has been used as a natural remedy for hemorrhoids, constipation, and diarrhea.
20 – Improve Blood Flow
If you are looking for an alternative to a particular little blue pill, garcinia is likely not the solution for you. Though it has been shown to improve blood flow most commonly used in the treatment of cough (23).
21 – Reduce Joint Pain
Many people take Garcinia for Joint Pain. I personally believe that Glucosamine is likely better suited for this function. But if you are going to take advantage of benefit number 9 of increased endurance, you may need something to prevent some additional joint pain.
22 – Anti-Inflammatory Properties
We already talked about this a little in benefit number 18. Garcinia being an anti-inflammatory is the primary reason for benefit 21 in reducing joint pain. Maybe we should have covered this one a little earlier since it ties into many of the other benefits. You can use Anti-inflammatories to reduce some kinds of headaches.
23 – Anti Cancer Activity
The last benefit and this one is a little controversial. We have already discussed how many studies point to Garcinia reducing factors that are commonly known to increase likely hood of cancer. You can even find studies that look at Garcinia for precisely this purpose of reducing factors that lead to cancer (24).
Reasons not to take Garcinia
Now that we have covered 23 reasons why you should take Garcinia, here is a list of the reason you might not want to take it. Or at least consult your doctor first, this is always a good idea.
You likely should not take Garcinia or HCA if you are: pregnant and breastfeeding, have existing cases of liver or kidney damage, medications that are taken to control asthma and allergies, diabetes medications and insulin, iron supplements (usually taken by people with anemia), pain medications, medications used to control mental disorders like anxiety and depression, statin drugs that lower cholesterol, blood thinning drugs (like warfarin) (25)
How much Garcinia to take and what to buy
It is hard to find Garcinia all by itself in a supplement. Most supplements add additional ingredients for additional benefits or to enhance the benefits of Garcinia. The most common ingredient mixed with Garcinia is Chromium. Chromium is required for the processes in our bodies to burn fat and the levels of Chromium are known to decrease with age. Adding Chromium has been shown to aid in weight loss when used with Garcinia (26). You should ensure that the Garcinia is standardized to at least 50% HCA. Studies have shown improved results for dosages as low as 50mg to as high as 5000mg a day. You should be cautious to exceed 1500mg a day without the close supervision of a doctor.
Check out these related articles on how Ashwagandha Supports Weight-loss by Stress Relief and 13 Powerful Health Benefits of Green Tea and Extracts
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