Currently, there is so much talk about green coffee that one involuntarily wonders: how is green coffee different from black coffee, is it really so useful for us, and is it worth believing the information that it promotes weight loss? Let’s figure it out.
To start a little history
It is known that the culture of cultivation of coffee itself is more than 800 years old. There are many legends associated with the discovery of coffee, but we will focus on some interesting facts about this product.
However, coffee originally grew wild in Ethiopia. When coffee berries were found, they were used as a tonic only in their raw form. A little later, in Yemen, the so-called “white Yemeni coffee” began to be prepared from the ripe dried pulp of the fruit. And only in the XII century, they began to prepare a drink from raw grains (in our opinion, green coffee is obtained), and even centuries later they began to dry, roast and grind them, and pour the powder with hot water, adding spices (mainly ginger and cinnamon) or milk .
Green coffee and its characteristics
Green coffee is coffee that has not been heat treated, i.e. its grains were not roasted (as for getting the black coffee we are used to) and remained a matte olive color. These grains are obtained from the sweetish pulp of the fruits (berries) of the coffee tree with the help of special processing.
The appearance and aroma of green coffee resembles lentils. Green coffee beans do not have such a rich aroma as black ones. When brewing ground beans of green coffee, a brown drink with a tart, sour taste is obtained.
Benefits and uses of green coffee
Green coffee has a complex chemical composition. It contains tannins (including tannin), purine alkaloids (including caffeine and theophylline), trigonelline alkaloid, essential oils, organic acids (including chlorogenic acid), vitamins, minerals, fiber , L‑carnitine, vegetable fats, monosaccharides, pectin polysaccharide, amino acids, etc.
Such a unique composition of green coffee determines its ability to:
- increase the general tone of the body,
- improve brain activity
- encourage physical activity
- have a calming effect on the nervous system,
- improve the condition of the respiratory system,
- reduce blood sugar levels
- regulate metabolism,
- improve digestion,
- cleanse the body of toxins and heavy metals.
In addition, green coffee beans are successfully used in medicine and cosmetology. Oil based on them is used to treat burns, to eliminate scars and stretch marks, to fight cellulite, to strengthen, stimulate growth and restore shine to hair, to care for sensitive, dry and dehydrated skin, as well as to prevent wrinkles.
Green coffee for weight loss
A few years ago, scientists from the United States proved that unroasted green coffee beans contain a huge amount of chlorogenic acid, which has the ability to regulate blood sugar levels, and the amount of this substance in roasted beans decreases many times over. And with a decrease in sugar content in the body, processes that promote fat burning begin to work. In addition, green coffee beans contain a decent amount of chromium, which suppresses hunger and cravings for sweets. That is why green coffee is now so widely advertised as a means to lose weight. But in the form in which it is, for example, in pharmacies, its effect is doubtful, because it is a dietary supplement containing green coffee extract in a very approximate amount and with the addition of many excipients.
Possible dangers of green coffee
As a rule, only with the abuse of green coffee can occur:
- headache,
- gastrointestinal disorders,
- increased irritability,
- insomnia.
It is not recommended to drink more than 2 cups of green coffee per day.
It should be abandoned in principle for people with diseases such as:
- hypertension,
- glaucoma,
- osteoporosis,
- gastritis and peptic ulcer of the stomach in the acute stage.
Green coffee is contraindicated for pregnant and lactating women, as well as children under 14 years of age.
