Hydroxycitric acid (Garcinia cambogia) Last updated: Oct 09, 2008

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  Hydroxycitric acid (Garcinia cambogia)  
 

 

 
 

HCA (hydroxycitric acid) is obtained as a 50% standardized extract of Garcinia cambogia, a small fruit from southern India, where it has been used for centuries as a food preservative, flavoring agent and digestive aid. Studies have failed to support the claims that HCA can curb appetite and reduce food intake. It may enhance fat burning in conjuction with exercise and improve exercise capacity.

Typically, 1 capsule 3 times daily 30-40 minutes before meals is recommended.

 
 

Hydroxycitric acid (Garcinia cambogia) can help with the following:
 
 
Habits  Physical / Medical Exercise Incapacity
 Five days of supplementation with hydroxycitric acid increased time to exhaustion during cycling in a double-blind, crossover study of six untrained women in Korea. [J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 2003;49(3):163-7]

Metabolic
  Problem Caused By Being Overweight
 A well-controlled trial of hydroxycitric acid failed to produce any significant weight loss compared with placebo. This was a 12-week double-blind study in which overweight subjects were randomized to receive 1500mg of hydroxycitric acid daily or placebo.

In another study, also conducted double-blind, placebo-controlled and randomized, researchers sought to see whether hydroxycitric acid supplementation could increase fat oxidation in human subject. The researchers found no significant effect.

[JAMA 1998; 280: pp.1596-1600, Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1999; 23: pp.867-873]
 
 


KEY
May do some good

Two beggars are sitting on a park bench in Mexico City. One is holding a cross and one a Star of David. Both are holding hats to collect contributions.
People walk by, lift their noses at the man with the Star of David and drop money in the hat held by the man with the cross.
Soon the hat of the man with the cross is overflowing with coins and notes and the hat of the man with the Star of David is empty.
A priest watches and then approaches the men. He turns to the man with the Star of David and says: "Young man. Don't you realize that this is a Catholic country? You'll never get any contributions in this country holding a Star of David."
The man with the Star of David turns to the man with the cross and says: "Moishe, can you imagine, this guy is trying to tell us how to run our business."