STUDY OF EXTRACT
Green-coffee extract shows potential as weight-loss aid
HEALTH HEADLINES
National Institutes of Health
By Melissa Healy
Los Angeles Times Thursday March 29, 2012 5:38 AM
LOS ANGELES — When roasted at 475 degrees, coffee beans sometimes are described as rich and full-bodied. But for the full-bodied person who is not so rich, unroasted coffee beans — green as the day they were picked — might hold the key to cheap and effective weight loss, new research suggests.
In a study presented Tuesday at an American Chemical Society meeting in San Diego, 16 overweight young adults took, by turns, a low dose of green coffee-bean extract, a high dose of the supplement and a placebo. Though the study was small, the results were striking: Subjects lost
an average of 17.5 pounds in 22 weeks and reduced their overall body weight by
10.5 percent.
If green-coffee extract were a medication seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration, these results would make it a viable candidate — more than 35 percent of subjects lost more than
5 percent of their body weight, and weight loss
appeared to be greater while subjects were taking the pills than when on the placebo.
But as a dietary supplement, it does not require the FDA’s blessing. It already is available as a naturopathic medicine and antioxidant.
Joe Vinson, the University of Scranton chemist who conducted the pilot study, said the findings should pave the way for more-rigorous research. A trial involving
60 people is being planned.
Vinson, whose research focuses on the effect of plant polyphenols on human health, said it appears green coffee-bean extract might work by reducing the absorption of fat and glucose in the gut; it also might reduce insulin levels, which would improve metabolic function.
There were no signs of ill effects, Vinson said. The extract is “extremely bitter” and would be hard to take without a lot of water.
The trial in India was paid for by Applied Food Sciences Inc. of Austin, Texas, which makes the extract.
"20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the one you did, so ...sail away from the safe harbor...Explore, Dream, Discover." -Mark Twain
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
"My coffee has become tepid." To a coffee drinker, is there any realization more sigh-inducing?
It is strange, when you think about it, that a piping hot cup o' joe can be so delicious, and that iced coffee can be very nice, too, but that between those temperature extremes there lies an unpleasant no-man's-land of bitterness. Room-temperature coffee is regularly tolerated by us all — ok, us "addicts" — because we can't function without the caffeine. But why does it taste so bad?
Biologists have only recently started getting a handle on how and why temperature affects the taste of food and beverages, and no research has been conducted specifically regarding coffee. But there are three main theories; the first holds that lukewarm coffee tastes bad because cavemen didn't have refrigerators. Allow us to explain.
Karel Talavera of the Laboratory of Ion Channel Research in Cuba has studied the way that taste receptors inside our taste buds respond to molecules at different temperatures. He and his colleagues have found that certain taste receptors are most sensitive to food molecules that are in the 20 to 35 degree Celsius (68 to 95 degree Fahrenheit) range — in other words, molecules that are at or just above room temperature. The taste receptors in question don't always register molecules that are much hotter or colder than this range, and thus we don't taste them.
Gevalia® Coffeemaker www.Gevalia.comGet Your Gevalia Coffeemaker Free When You Choose Auto Delivery!Kitchen Basics® Recipes KitchenBasics.net/RecipesHealthy Selection of Stock and Broth! Available at Kitchen Basics®New & Easy Iced Coffee facebook.com/InternationalDelightEnjoy Coffeehouse Quality at Home, Delicious & Ready to Drink. Try NowAds by Google
"This is still an obscure phenomenon that we cannot explain, but that could fit to the fact that taste perception does decrease above a certain temperature," Talavera told Life's Little Mysteries. In short, hot coffee (around 170 degrees F) may seem less bitter than room-temperature coffee (73 degree F) because our bitter taste receptors aren't as sensitive to bitter molecules in the coffee when those molecules are hot. [Coffee's Mysterious Benefits Mount]
What does that have to do with cavemen? According to Talavera, biological processes such as our sensory systems tend to be designed by evolution to perform most effectively at the temperatures we are typically exposed to. "Our ancestors did not eat food at extreme temperatures," he said. Their meals consisted of mostly foraged berries and freshly hunted meat in the 20 to 37 degree Celsius range — almost exactly the window in which our taste buds are most sensitive. Because piping hot or ice-cold coffee falls outside this realm of maximum taste, our taste buds don't sense the drink's true bitterness.
However, the temperature-dependence effect observed by Talavera and colleagues is more pronounced for sweet taste receptors than bitter ones, and so it may not be the only factor at work. Some researchers think tepid coffee's bitterness has more to do with smell than taste. "Odors influence coffee flavor very strongly, and it is easy to go from sublime to horrible," Paul Breslin, an experimental psychologist who studies taste perception at Rutgers University, wrote in an email. Even very bitter coffee, such as espresso, tastes great when hot because of its pleasant aroma, he pointed out.
And according to Barry Green, a taste perception scientist at Yale University, hot coffee releases more aromatic compounds than room-temperature coffee, so it has a greater chance of impacting taste. He also said that milk, coffee's frequent companion, tastes worse at room temperature, and a combination of these factors probably explains the nearly universal opinion that lukewarm java leaves something to be desired.
One last theory holds that hot coffee's heat could be distracting us from its strong flavor. As Breslin put it, "It is possible that an attentional mechanism is at work. You do not think about how bitter or sweet [coffee] is when it is hot or cold. Hot coffee may force you to think about temperature, which is a bit of a distraction from its bitterness."
None of the researchers profess to fully understand coffee's temperature-dependent deliciousness, but it seems to be at least slightly a matter of opinion. In a small survey of 42 people by Life's Little Mysteries, 79 percent said they like hot coffee best, while 19 percent prefer iced coffee. Though one survey respondent said she would "rather eat glass" than drink room-temperature coffee, another person actually reported liking lukewarm coffee best of all.
Follow Natalie Wolchover on Twitter @nattyover. Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries, then join us on Facebook.
Photographic Evidence: The Grossest Things
Can Caffeine Kill You?
Will New 40x Caffeine Coffee Make Your Heart Explode?
Share if you liked this article, check out:
Life's Little Mysteries: Gift Edition Hardcover Book
Uncover the truth behind more than 100 mysteries that surround us every day with our new hardcover book! Perfect for gifts and classrooms, and suitable for all ages. Some of the included mysteries are:
Why Do Cats Land on Their Feet?
How Long Does it Take to Make Petrified Wood?
What Everyday Things Around Us Are Radioactive?
Find out all of this and much, much more in our NEW hardcover book.
It makes a great gift idea for all ages. more info>>
Viking Pro Coffee Maker www.Frontgate.comReduced Price - Now Only $149! Professional-Quality Coffee MachineHow to Store Coffee www.friiscoffee.comBefore you Brew Your Coffee... Store it Properly. Learn More Now.Teavana® Finest Tea Store TEAVANA.comGreat Choice of White, Green, Black Oolong, Herbal Tea & More. Buy Now!Ads by Google
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It is strange, when you think about it, that a piping hot cup o' joe can be so delicious, and that iced coffee can be very nice, too, but that between those temperature extremes there lies an unpleasant no-man's-land of bitterness. Room-temperature coffee is regularly tolerated by us all — ok, us "addicts" — because we can't function without the caffeine. But why does it taste so bad?
Biologists have only recently started getting a handle on how and why temperature affects the taste of food and beverages, and no research has been conducted specifically regarding coffee. But there are three main theories; the first holds that lukewarm coffee tastes bad because cavemen didn't have refrigerators. Allow us to explain.
Karel Talavera of the Laboratory of Ion Channel Research in Cuba has studied the way that taste receptors inside our taste buds respond to molecules at different temperatures. He and his colleagues have found that certain taste receptors are most sensitive to food molecules that are in the 20 to 35 degree Celsius (68 to 95 degree Fahrenheit) range — in other words, molecules that are at or just above room temperature. The taste receptors in question don't always register molecules that are much hotter or colder than this range, and thus we don't taste them.
Gevalia® Coffeemaker www.Gevalia.comGet Your Gevalia Coffeemaker Free When You Choose Auto Delivery!Kitchen Basics® Recipes KitchenBasics.net/RecipesHealthy Selection of Stock and Broth! Available at Kitchen Basics®New & Easy Iced Coffee facebook.com/InternationalDelightEnjoy Coffeehouse Quality at Home, Delicious & Ready to Drink. Try NowAds by Google
"This is still an obscure phenomenon that we cannot explain, but that could fit to the fact that taste perception does decrease above a certain temperature," Talavera told Life's Little Mysteries. In short, hot coffee (around 170 degrees F) may seem less bitter than room-temperature coffee (73 degree F) because our bitter taste receptors aren't as sensitive to bitter molecules in the coffee when those molecules are hot. [Coffee's Mysterious Benefits Mount]
What does that have to do with cavemen? According to Talavera, biological processes such as our sensory systems tend to be designed by evolution to perform most effectively at the temperatures we are typically exposed to. "Our ancestors did not eat food at extreme temperatures," he said. Their meals consisted of mostly foraged berries and freshly hunted meat in the 20 to 37 degree Celsius range — almost exactly the window in which our taste buds are most sensitive. Because piping hot or ice-cold coffee falls outside this realm of maximum taste, our taste buds don't sense the drink's true bitterness.
However, the temperature-dependence effect observed by Talavera and colleagues is more pronounced for sweet taste receptors than bitter ones, and so it may not be the only factor at work. Some researchers think tepid coffee's bitterness has more to do with smell than taste. "Odors influence coffee flavor very strongly, and it is easy to go from sublime to horrible," Paul Breslin, an experimental psychologist who studies taste perception at Rutgers University, wrote in an email. Even very bitter coffee, such as espresso, tastes great when hot because of its pleasant aroma, he pointed out.
And according to Barry Green, a taste perception scientist at Yale University, hot coffee releases more aromatic compounds than room-temperature coffee, so it has a greater chance of impacting taste. He also said that milk, coffee's frequent companion, tastes worse at room temperature, and a combination of these factors probably explains the nearly universal opinion that lukewarm java leaves something to be desired.
One last theory holds that hot coffee's heat could be distracting us from its strong flavor. As Breslin put it, "It is possible that an attentional mechanism is at work. You do not think about how bitter or sweet [coffee] is when it is hot or cold. Hot coffee may force you to think about temperature, which is a bit of a distraction from its bitterness."
None of the researchers profess to fully understand coffee's temperature-dependent deliciousness, but it seems to be at least slightly a matter of opinion. In a small survey of 42 people by Life's Little Mysteries, 79 percent said they like hot coffee best, while 19 percent prefer iced coffee. Though one survey respondent said she would "rather eat glass" than drink room-temperature coffee, another person actually reported liking lukewarm coffee best of all.
Follow Natalie Wolchover on Twitter @nattyover. Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries, then join us on Facebook.
Photographic Evidence: The Grossest Things
Can Caffeine Kill You?
Will New 40x Caffeine Coffee Make Your Heart Explode?
Share if you liked this article, check out:
Life's Little Mysteries: Gift Edition Hardcover Book
Uncover the truth behind more than 100 mysteries that surround us every day with our new hardcover book! Perfect for gifts and classrooms, and suitable for all ages. Some of the included mysteries are:
Why Do Cats Land on Their Feet?
How Long Does it Take to Make Petrified Wood?
What Everyday Things Around Us Are Radioactive?
Find out all of this and much, much more in our NEW hardcover book.
It makes a great gift idea for all ages. more info>>
Viking Pro Coffee Maker www.Frontgate.comReduced Price - Now Only $149! Professional-Quality Coffee MachineHow to Store Coffee www.friiscoffee.comBefore you Brew Your Coffee... Store it Properly. Learn More Now.Teavana® Finest Tea Store TEAVANA.comGreat Choice of White, Green, Black Oolong, Herbal Tea & More. Buy Now!Ads by Google
Sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter Answers to questions everyday about the world around us. From what's in the news to crazy questions you've always wondered about but never thought to ask. Enter E-mail Address
Note: Your privacy is very important to us. We will not share your e-mail address with any third party without your permission. See our full Privacy Policy.
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