Coffee—ah the delightful aroma that greets many people around the world first thing in the morning. Of course, since I began this article with the comment ‘delightful’ you can guess that I am a coffee aficionado! My husband is in charge of the ‘coffee ceremony”
in our home. We start with the cleanest water that is highly purified. We then use a BROWN coffee filter. The WHITE coffee filters are whitened with dioxin. Dioxin is a whitening die that has been linked to many negative health effects, including cancer. The coffee we use is ORGANIC, since conventional coffee is sprayed with a variety of highly toxic pesticides and herbicides. One of my favorite coffee providers is Old Bisbee Coffee Roasters located in Bisbee Arizona. (http://www.oldbisbeeroasters.com/) They purchase small boutique coffees that are only available in small batches from remote areas of the world- pricy, but worth it for true coffee fans. It seems like there is a constant stream of  news stories about either the wonderful benefits, or the terrible adverse effects of coffee- which should we believe? There is scientific evidence that coffee can reduce the risk of all cause mortality, dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, cardiovascular disease, and gallstones, just to name a few benefits ! Negative effects include increasing caffeine levels in the fetus if a pregnant woman consumes high amounts of coffee,  insomnia and gastro-intestinal disturbances in people who are caffeine sensitive. Overall, from a scientific perspective, it looks like the positive benefits outweigh the negative.

Green Coffee Bean is a newcomer to the nutraceutical marketplace, and many people have asked me if it will help them loose weight. Coffee beans are actually the exact plant part used for the ubiquitous brew that starts the day for many people in all parts of the world. Green coffee means the beans are picked from the Coffea Fruit plant, and are not roasted. Coffee contains a wide variety of active naturally occurring chemical constituents, including  lignans, trigonelline,  chlorogenic acid, and quinides as well as the widely recognized active known as caffeine. Scientific studies have investigated the effects of several of these actives on weight loss and helping to balance glucose metabolism. For example, cholorogenic acid  inhibits glucose-6-phosphatase, an enzyme which influences the liver’s ability to form glucose. Therefore, it may be this mechanism of action that supports the reduced risk of developing diabetes when coffee is consumed over time. Cholorogenic acid may have the additional effect of slowing the body’s ability to absorb fat consumed while eating, while simultaneously increasing fat breakdown. A significant amount of the cholorogenic acid which naturally occurs in the Green Coffee Bean is actually removed during the roasting process used in preparing the beans for use as the usual coffee beverage- therefore drinking brewed coffee may not have as much of a beneficial effect in terms of fat metabolism, as consuming Green Coffee Beans. This phenomena is attracting the attention of the public as well as scientific researchers. The Jan 2012 issue of Journal, Diabetic Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity, entitled “Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, linear dose, crossover study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a green coffee bean extract in overweight subjects”, (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Randomized%2C+double-blind%2C+placebocontrolled%2C+linear+dose%2C+crossover+study+to+evaluate+the+efficacy+and+safety+of+a+green+coffee+bean+extract+in+overweight+subjects) concluded, “The results are consistent with human and animal studies and a meta-analysis of the efficacy of green coffee extract in weight loss. The results suggest that ( a specific green coffee bean extract) may be an effective nutraceutical in reducing weight in preobese adults, and may be an inexpensive means of preventing obesity in overweight adults.” This study did not incorporate life style changes, and was a small study that involved 16 overweight adults, but it points to exciting possibilities for the use of Green Coffee Bean, especially if combined with a sensible eating and exercise plan!

Ellen Kamhi PhD RN, The Natural Nurse®, can be heard on radio daily.  She is the author of several books, including WEIGHT LOSS, the Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide. Dr. Kamhi has been involved in natural health care for over 4 decades. She answers questions and has a private practice on Long Island.   (954) 418-2388