Garcinia cambogia is a citrus fruit that grows in Southeast Asia. It’s been historically used for cooking but recently surfaced as a potential weight loss supplement. Use of the Malabar tamarind in cooking in the western coastal cities of India and Sri Lanka has continued for centuries, suggesting that safety should not be an issue, a point confirmed by numerous recent reviews. Interestingly, where Westerners use sweet fruits to flavor yogurt, Indians often will add a dollop of Malabar tamarind instead. Importantly, in addition to the fact that Malabar tamarind tastes great for these purposes, the fruit also makes food more satisfying, giving an early sense of having had enough to eat (satiety). Studies in the 1960s and ’70s showed that the rind of the Malabar tamarind contains a unique biochemical—hydroxycitric acid (HCA). Studied in well‐established research laboratories, this biochemical was found to inhibit an enzyme called ATP citrate lyase. In doing so,HCA blocks the conversion of ingested carbohydrates to fat in the body.The blocked carbohydrates are diverted into energy production and do not accumulate to be stored as fat. As a further benefit, fatty acids that are already in what scientists term the body’s “fat pool” continue to be released, and since they are not fully replaced, a shrinkage in the body’s overall level of fat results. In short, HCA yields two benefits prized by dieters: it increases the levels of satiety, thus making it easier to eat less, and it reduces the number of calories stored as fat. That acid—called hydroxycitric acid, or HCA—has ridden a rollercoaster ride of popularity over the last 20 years. It is alternately touted as a miracle weight loss supplement
Since late 2012, HCA has taken a steady ascent, and people around the world chat about "garcinia" like that's the name of their new personal trainer. THE RIGHT WAY TO SUPPLEMENT WITH HCA
It's far too easy to view supplements purely from the perspective of either "I take it" or "I don't take it." With some supplements, that's precise enough to see an effect. But the lesson here is that how you take HCA matters. As such, Preuss has taken the new wave of HCA popularity as an opportunity to remind us all about how to get the most out of this supplement, most recently in a paper he co-authored by Preuss for the Alliance for Natural Health in 2013 titled "Garcinia Cambogia: How to Optimize its Effects
Here are Preuss' recommendations:
1. Choose a preparation that is at a minimum 50 percent HCA and is not composed wholly of calcium salts: Make sure potassium (K) and/or magnesium (Mg) is present. If the product has a low lactone content, that is even better.
2. Be sure to take an adequate dose. For a Ca/K preparation used successfully and reported in a peer-reviewed publication, the dose of extract was near 1.5 g, three times per day before meals. In this 60 percent HCA preparation, that approximates 0.9 g of HCA prior to each meal.
3. Take the preparation on an empty stomach, i.e., 30-60 minutes before each meal.
4. Remember, "If you don't comply, don't complain." Take the right dose at the right time. Note that he says "near" 1.5 g three times daily. Why not exactly 1.5? Given that HCA supplements come in a range of potencies and mixtures, it can be hard to be exact. Aim for the 1.5 g benchmark, but don't be obsessive. Why on an empty stomach? It takes advantage of the appetite-curbing effect of the supplement, but even more important, HCA needs some space to work its magic. "In the presence of food, the hydroxycitrate salt can bind to some of the components in the meal and be inactivated," Preuss writes. "This is called the 'food effect' and can seriously reduce the bioavailability of a number of supplements, not just HCA." Follow these guidelines, and HCA can be an addition to your arsenal. Side effects are rare at the kind of reasonable doses that Preuss recommends, and since it's not a stimulant, you don't need to worry about it affecting your sleep or mood. If you're looking to control your weight and are committed to eating right and working out, don't be afraid to add this popular supplement into the mix!
