Hydroxycitric Acid – Does Hydroxycitric Acid Really Work?

What is Hydroxycitric Acid?

Found in a plethora of tropical fruits, principally garcinia cambogia, Hydroxycitric Acid is a citric acid that is claimed to help people lose weight. It has been known to be used to help people lower cholesterol levels. Hydroxycitric Acid may be used on it’s own, or in conjunction with other ingredients.

Sometimes Hydroxycitric Acid, also known as HCA, is added to supplements containing garcinia cambogia to possibly make the overall effect of the citric acid more potent. So does this really help people lose weight? Or is this just a case of companies making marketing claims that are really farther from the truth than they seem? We decided to find out.

Who makes it?

Hydroxycitric Acid is a derivative of  garcinia cambogia, and comes from the rind of the fruit. While there is no monopoly on this product, there are various companies that use this ingredient in their products. Some of these companies include Life Extension, Garcia Cambogia Select, Citrimax and Liquid Health Naturals to name a few. Hydroxycitric Acid can be purchased from online retailers, as well as stores that sell nutritional supplements.

How (and) does it work?

There are many claims as to the beneficial aspects of Hydroxycitric Acid. These benefits include lowering cholesterol, suppressing appetite and effecting the speed of the metabolic rate. This substance can be taken either by itself or with other supplements, which it commonly is. An average dose of Hydroxycitric Acid can be anywhere from 250mg to 1,000mg every day.

Despite these optimistic claims, studies have shown that Hydroxycitric Acid may not be more effective than taking a placebo. There is also not enough evidence to suggest that taking this substance is either beneficial or safe to take on a long-term basis.

What’s inside of it and are there side effects?

Hydroxycitric Acid has an isomer that is known as (2S,3R)-HCA, which is known to limit the metabolism of carbohydrates. It does this by prohibiting intestinal alpha-glucosidase and pancreatic alpha-amylase within the body. When a study was done on rats that were predisposed to obesity genetically, Hydroxycitric Acid in high doses was seen to help reduce fat, however there were complaints from scientists that the HCA that was used in the experiment was contaminated. There is also the fact that this study was done on animals, so to say that it will be the same in humans is more of a correlation than fact.

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Adverse effects from use of this substance may include the following:

Xerostomia (dry mouth), dizziness, stomach discomfort and diarrhea.

What’s good about it?

With plenty of companies selling supplements of this substance, as well as including it in their ingredient list for their diet pills, it is not hard to find Hydroxycitric Acid. There is also evidence that shows that this citric acid may help in regulating cholesterol levels.

What’s bad about it?

There has been a lot of hype in the media of the positive health benefits of Hydroxycitric Acid and the fruit it is contained in, garcinia cambogia. However despite these claims, clinical evidence has shown that this substance is not effective in helping people lose weight. In fact, it may not even be better than a placebo!

And even if there are positive benefits to taking this product, it really only is beneficial when taken with other ingredients, or to make garcinia cambogia that is already included more potent. On it’s own there’s not much that this substance can do.

There may also be some confusion as to finding Hydroxycitric Acid supplements, as there are various names that this substance goes by. Some of these include HCA, guttiferae, clusiaceae and malamar tamarind. If one does an internet search on Hydroxycitric Acid, it is always associated directly with garcinia cambogia. So for those who are unfamiliar with the nutrition world, they may not know if there is a difference with the fruit and the citric acid at all!

Wrap Up

Despite what advertisements may claim, studies have shown that this substance is largely ineffective in regards to weight loss. This citric acid may help lower cholesterol, but that’s about it.

Bottom Line:

The television may have made Hydroxycitric Acid popular, but just because something is popular, that doesn’t make it effective. On it’s own, this substance isn’t known to do much, so that adding it with other ingredients is really what makes this effective. There are other dietary supplements that are effective when they stand alone from other substances.

It’s also important to remember that if you want to lose weight, a healthy, low-calorie diet and regular exercise are always good options. So if you were hoping this to be the miracle weight loss substance that you have been looking for, you might as well try something else.

We recommend looking into other more effective dietary supplements.

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