What's with this Green Coffee Buzz? A Review of Life & Food's Green Coffee Bean Extract

Okay.. one of the latest huge diet supplement fads out there is definitely this green coffee bean extract. I wasn't really buying it, or even looking into it, because, please, there's a new diet fad that seems to come out every week. I can't be switching my diet around that much, and it simply can't be good for you. But, when I saw that my old kickboxing teacher- whom I highly respect- was advocating for this stuff- I decided to give it a shot. 

Here's the deal with green coffee beans.. 

They're basically just unroasted coffee beans. This stuff is inside of the actual coffee berry.. they usually gather these green coffee beans and roast them, which then turns it into the actual coffee beans that we buy and drink every day, for always, religiously. So, you ask, why don't we just  promote regular coffee the same way, as an apparently amazing way to lose weight? Becauseeeee by roasting the bean, we are losing cholinergic acid, which is the key (again, apparently) to decreasing fat. Ohhhhhh okay. 

Before I go further, let me just list what these guys at Life & Foods have to say about this stuff: 

Why Svetol?

Life & Food Green Coffee Bean Extract Gold using premium quality SVETOL grade coffee bean extract from Coffea Robusta, this version provides a more optimized chlorogenic acid concentraction of our popular green coffee bean extract supplement (see label for chlorogenic acid standardization)

Svetol utilize a traditional and non-selective method of extracting the coffee beans that gives Svetol characteristics not found in any other GCBE product on the market: a well-balanced composition of its most beneficial class of compounds- chlorogenic acids. 

Svetol have been proven in 8 scientific studies, both experimental and clinical, giving Svetol a great scientific advantage over generic GCBE products.

Fair enough. Also, Life & Food's recommended dosage for this stuff is 400 mg, three times a day, 30 minutes before each meal with 8 oz of water. That means two capsules before each meal, for a total of 6 capsules a day.. I dunno, that just seems like a lot of pills.. but, let's carry on. 

So, how's the evidence with this stuff? I mean, does it really work? 

Eh, it's actually not so great. There was this one study in 2012 where subjects lost 16 pounds in 6 weeks, but it only contained 16 subjects in the research group.. so, not very many. Not very reputable, is it. That's what I say, anyway. Life & Food has a bit more to say about it. Rather than copy / paste it all (because it is quite long), I encourage you, before making an opinion, to check it out here. 

What about side effects? You know, like with every other single dietary "weight loss" supplement out there?

Well, here's the thing. What is coffee known for? Caffeine. The caffeine is in the natural plant, it doesn't automatically show up upon roasting. This means that green coffee bean extracts also contain a lot of caffeine, which is actually a huge thing. This means that it isn't ideal to take at night, or if you have bad anxiety, diabetes, hypertension, etc etc, because it can just make it worse. 

My conclusion:

As mentioned above, the diet fad world is outta control. One simply cannot keep up with the drastic changes- I feel like, just three months ago, everybody was talking about garcinia cambogia. Then there's this green coffee stuff. And let's not forget raspberry ketones. It's just weird and doesn't make any sense. It's like, okay, I like this stuff!! And you start taking green coffee bean, for example. Then, before you know it, that's not the "best" stuff anymore, and you're expected to switch to something else. It's just not realistic and I really am trying to keep an unbiased opinion here. Furthermore, the risks seem to outweigh the benefits and 6 capsules a day turns out to be a very expensive weight loss supplement. 

My true opinion? Try it out if it intrigues you, but please be careful, because supplements are still supplements and are no joke. Most people aren't exactly thrilled about having to go to the gym and eat healthy every day to lose weight, which is part of the reason why the supplement industry is so huge.. unfortunately, there's really no way around it- if you want to lose weight, you really should consider making a lifestyle change. Not just to lose weight, but to be all over healthier, stronger, and happier. It's true, exercise and nutrition really do have a direct effect on happiness. 

So, go check out your local gym deals and start there. Maybe incorporate some more fresh foods into your diet. Or, hey, check this stuff out too. You can purchase Life & Food's green coffee extract right here, at $16.97 for for 60 capsules. 60 capsules divided by 6 capsules each day = 10 days worth of capsules. Basically $17 for ten days. My gym membership is $20 per month. But, like I said, it's up to you!