Weight Loss: Shed Those Unwanted Pounds And Stabilise Your Blood Sugar Levels

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Numerous studies have revealed a link between coffee consumption and a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It was previously thought that it was the caffeine in coffee which was responsible for this effect. However, a recent US study of 28,000 women found that drinking more than six cups of decaffeinated coffee a day was associated with a 33 per cent lower risk of diabetes compared with no coffee.

Further research pointed to substances called chlorogenic acids (polyphenols with antioxidant activity) in coffee as being responsible for its beneficial action on glucose metabolism. However, some studies showed that it was necessary to consume copious amounts of coffee for it to have this effect. Consequently this led researchers to develop a coffee bean extract rich in chlorogenic acids which has now been adapted into a natural food supplement.

Derived from decaffeinated Robusta coffee beans (also known as green coffee), the coffee bean extract named Svetol has been produced to contain specific amounts of different chlorogenic acids. The product also contains caffeic acid, another compound well known for its antioxidant properties. Furthermore, the product is free of caffeine, cafestol and kahweo compounds which are known to have a detrimental effect on health.

Although Svetol helps decrease high blood sugar levels after eating, it has also been found to promote weight loss. Studies show that it can significantly reduce body mass index (a measuring tool that allows you to evaluate your body's health status) as well as weight. Its intake has also been reported to reduce sweet cravings and the tendency to snack between meals.

Weight loss: Svetol helps prevent excess glucose from being turned into fat

When we eat carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread, potatoes, pasta and sugar they are broken down into glucose, which the body uses as an energy source. If there is too much glucose in the blood, some of the excess gets converted into glycogen where it is stored in your liver and the rest into fat where it is stored in the fat depots around your body. Your body can then call upon these glycogen and fat stores when blood sugar levels have dropped below their normal level.

Svetol works by inhibiting glucose absorption in the intestines, thereby reducing carbohydrate and calorie intake. The result is that your blood sugar peak will be reduced after a meal, and so you have less chance of turning excess glucose into fat. 
It has also been found to inhibit the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase an enzyme responsible for the release of glucose (in the form of glycogen) stored in the liver into general circulation. This means that energy is instead drawn from fat deposits in adipose tissue, which stimulates weight loss.

Weight loss: study participants taking Svetol lost 11lbs of weight on average in just 8 weeks

A study undertaken at the Antonio e Margherita Hospital in Tortona, Italy, involving 50 people demonstrated Svetol's weight loss action. Over the course of 60 days, two groups of volunteers, all with a body mass index over 25 (this means they were overweight) were observed.

The first group was given 400mg of Svetol daily, while the second group received a placebo. After 60 days of supplementation, participants who received Svetol lost 5.7 per cent of their initial weight or an average weight loss of 4.9 kg or 11 lbs. The group that received a placebo lost only 2.8 per cent of their initial weight corresponding to an average of 2.4kg or 5.2lbs.

In 2005 Dr Erling Thom from PAREXEL (a company that specialises in managing clinical trials) conducted several trials with Svetol in Norway. The main study was a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study using Svetol combined with a calorie-controlled diet over 60 days. The 30 participants using Svetol lost more than twice the amount of weight (an average of 5kg or 11lbs) compared to those on the same diet but without Svetol(an average of 2.4kg 5.2lbs).

The second study undertaken by Dr Thom showed that a single does of Svetol caused a 20 per cent reduction in glucose levels after one hour compared to eating the same food but without Svetol. The third study was based on a Svetol-containing coffee beverage called COFFEESLENDER. Participants were asked not to change their regular diet or exercise habits during the trial. After 90 days the average weight loss was 5.4 kg or 11.8 lbs

Another Svetol study was undertaken in 2002 by Dr James Blum at the University of Maine Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. In this study, the respondents lost an average of 1.5 kg (more than 3 lbs) in six weeks without diet and exercise changes.

Svetol: What to take for best results

Svetol is available in capsule form in a product called Natessance SLIM (decaffeinated) or as an instant coffee beverage (caffeinated) known as CoffeeSLENDER.

With Natessance SLIM the recommended dosage is one capsule taken with your main meals with a large glass of water for a minimum of 50 days. CoffeeSLENDER which is Svetol combined with regular caffeinated coffee should be taken at a dose of two level teaspoons in a cup of hot water after main meals for two months. If you are sensitive to caffeine, it is suggested that only two cups a day are drunk one after breakfast and one after lunch. Although some of the studies with Svetol did not involve participants changing their diet, it is advisable to follow a healthy eating plan when taking the supplement, as this will enable weight loss to be sustained.

Contraindications: Svetol should not be taken during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. Also people on medication should consult their GP before taking Svetol-based products.

1. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Jun 26;166(12):1311-6.
2. Phytothrapie, November 2006 Volume 4, Number 4.
3. Thom E. The effect of chlorogenic acid (Svetol) and chlorogenic enriched coffee (CoffeeSlender) on the glucose profile and body weight of healthy volunteers. PAREXEL Medstat AS, Lillestrom, Norway 2005.
4. Marshall-Blum, BlumJM and Blum RI. Prospective, nonrandomized, open label non-blinded  pilot clinical trial to test the efficiency and short term safety of Svetol a natural product intended for internal use to lower serum glucose and promote healthy weight loss. University of Maine Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Orono, Maine, USA. 2002.