Health Benefits of Garcinia Cambogia

Garcinia cambogia is a tropical fruit found on the Malabar tamarind tree in India and Southeast Asia. In many cultures, the pulp and rind of the fruit have been used as a condiment, food preservative, flavoring, or spice.

Garcinia cambogia may be beneficial for certain health conditions, including appetite control, weight loss, and lowering blood fat levels. However, conflicting research has shown that the supplement may not actually be very useful in treating these conditions.

Helps With Weight Loss

Garcinia cambogia supplements have commonly been marketed as a help for weight loss. The rind of the garcinia cambogia fruit contains a chemical called hydroxycitric acid (HCA), which has been studied for its weight loss benefits. Researchers believe HCA helps to lower your appetite (so you feel fuller faster) while limiting your body's ability to make fat (adipose) tissue. Eating less food and creating less fat tissue will likely help with weight loss.

The amount of weight loss seen from garcinia cambogia is often fairly small. For example, one study found that doses of garcinia cambogia from 1,000-4,667 milligrams (mg) taken for 8-12 weeks lowered participants' weight by 1.3 kilograms (kg) (2.9 pounds (lbs)). Though many studies have reported the potential weight loss benefits of garcinia cambogia, others have found that the product does not affect appetite or body fat much.

More research is needed to understand how beneficial garcinia cambogia is for weight loss. Incorporating healthy lifestyle modifications, such as a low-calorie diet and physical activity, is more likely to lead to meaningful weight loss than only taking garcinia cambogia.

Lowers Cholesterol and Blood Fats

Garcinia cambogia and HCA may also reduce cholesterol, triglyceride, and blood fat levels in the body. Researchers believe that ingredients found in garcinia cambogia help block HMG-CoA reductase, a substance the body uses to make cholesterol.

High cholesterol and fat levels can lead to various heart and blood vessel diseases, including serious events like a heart attack or stroke. Therefore, a supplement with blood fat-lowering abilities could be useful in people at high risk for these events.

There are a limited number of studies evaluating garcinia cambogia in this setting. A small study looked at adults with obesity who took garcinia cambogia 600 milligrams (mg) twice a day. After three months, researchers saw improvement in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) and lower levels of triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol). The size of the study and how the study was performed limit the validity of the results.

Other studies have found that garcinia cambogia supplementation does not significantly affect cholesterol, triglyceride, and blood fat levels. More research is needed to understand garcinia cambogia's role in maintaining cholesterol and blood fats.

Other Health Benefits

Researchers have reported that garcinia cambogia may also:

• Improve blood sugar: Animal research has shown that garcinia cambogia may lower blood sugar levels. However, more data is needed in humans to understand potential benefits.
• Improve athletic performance: A few small studies have shown that HCA 250 mg daily may increase the time until exhaustion and improve breathing during exercise. These studies were very small, and more research is needed.
• Lower inflammation: Garcinia cambogia may lower inflammation in the body. In animal studies, garcinia cambogia was found to lower the number of genes and enzymes that lead to inflammation in the body. If studied in humans, the supplement may be useful to treat pain and inflammation in various settings. More research is needed.

How To Take Garcinia Cambogia

Garcinia cambogia supplements are available in pill, capsule, and powder form. They can be purchased as a single product or in combination with other supplements. The amount of garcinia cambogia or HCA in each supplement varies, so it is important to thoroughly review a product's ingredient list.

Dosage

Recommended dosages of garcinia cambogia vary based on the product. In humans, doses greater than 2,000 mg per day do not appear to help with weight loss or decrease cholesterol levels more than lower doses. Most studies range from daily doses of 1,000-2,800 mg. Future studies are needed to better understand the most beneficial dose.

Safety

Always talk to your healthcare provider before trying a garcinia cambogia supplement. These products may interact with prescription medications, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, or other natural products or supplements. Some products can also affect certain health conditions you may already have. Even though garcinia cambogia is considered a natural supplement, it is not guaranteed to be safe.

It is not known whether garcinia cambogia is safe in people who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Therefore, it is best for these people to avoid taking it.

Potential Drug Interactions

There are not many known drug interactions with garcinia cambogia. Due to possible blood-thinning abilities, you should not take garcinia cambogia if you take medications that affect your blood's thickness. This includes blood thinners like Coumadin (warfarin) and anti-platelet drugs like Plavix (clopidogrel).

In animal studies, Garcinia cambogia has also been shown to lower blood sugar levels. Therefore, you should not take the supplement if you have a history of low blood sugar or are taking medicines to treat hypertension (high blood sugar) or diabetes.

Before starting a garcinia cambogia supplement, talk with your healthcare provider or pharmacist to check for interactions with any other medications you are taking.

What To Look For

When shopping for garcinia cambogia supplements, you must search for products that are safe and high-quality. Supplements are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the same way medications are. Therefore, shopping for supplements tested by independent third-party organizations helps ensure the ingredients listed are actually the ingredients in the supplement. 

Popular organizations that offer quality testing include United States Pharmacopeia (USP), NSF International, and ConsumerLab.com. You can look for their labels on the product packaging.

Can You Take Too Much Garcinia Cambogia?

Limited research is available on whether you can take too much garcinia cambogia. Researchers have reported patients receiving garcinia cambogia doses as high as 4,000 mg daily with no issues. However, taking garcinia cambogia for an extended period may increase your risk for side effects, especially liver disease.

Side Effects

Common side effects reported with garcinia cambogia include:

• Diarrhea
• Flatulence (gas)
• Headache
• Heartburn
• Nausea and/or vomiting

The most serious side effect seen with garcinia cambogia products is liver damage. The way that garcinia cambogia causes damage to the liver is not understood.

This side effect is not very common and often gets better once you stop taking the supplement. However, some reports have shown that people have needed liver transplants or have died due to liver damage caused by garcinia cambogia. Symptoms of liver disease can be seen as soon as 1 to 4 weeks after starting the supplement.

Signs and symptoms caused by liver disease include:

• Abdominal pain
• Abnormal liver blood tests
• Dark urine
• Hepatitis (Inflammation of the liver)
• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes)
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Weakness

Many of the reported liver disease cases involved combination products that included garcinia cambogia. However, liver disease was also reported in cases with products labeled as containing only garcinia cambogia.

A Quick Review

In many cultures, Garcinia cambogia is a tropical fruit used as a condiment, food preservative, and flavoring or spice. It may be beneficial in certain health conditions, including appetite control, weight loss, and lowering fat levels in the blood. However, conflicting research has shown that the supplement may not be very useful in treating these conditions.

If you are interested in taking garcinia cambogia, talk with your healthcare provider. They can help you decide if the supplement would benefit you and your health concerns.