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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by TexasChic on May 27, 2006, at 15:35:49
Is anyone familiar with this? Its supposed to supress the appetite.
-T
Posted by TexasChic on May 27, 2006, at 15:55:19
In reply to Garcinia Extract / Hydroxycitric acid (HCA), posted by TexasChic on May 27, 2006, at 15:35:49
I'm just wondering if anybody else has heard of this or had any experience with it. Its the main ingredient in Metabolife (I should have said that in the first post).
Here's the info I've found on it so far:
Hydroxycitric acid (HCA), is the active ingredient extracted from the rind of a little pumpkin-like fruit, Garcinia cambogia, from India and Southeast Asia.
HCA can inhibit an enzyme in cells, citrate lyase, which is needed for the conversion of carbohydrates into fat.
By blocking the conversion of citrate into acetyl-CoA, HCA can suppress fat synthesis.
It is important to note, however, that the citrate lyase enzyme, is only significantly active under conditions of carbohydrate overconsumption. In others words, unless you’re eating a lot of carbohydrate-type foods (bagels, pasta, potatoes), and overloading your carbohydrate storage capacity (muscle and liver glycogen stores) there is no significant conversion of carbohydrates into fatty acids anyway (and HCA may not work for you). If, however, you’re chowing down on low-fat high-carb foods at every meal, then your glycogen stores will be over-flowing and your citrate lyase enzymes are going to be working over time converting those excess carbs to fat.
OK, so now that you’ve blocked the fat production, you have to do something with those excess carbs. They can’t be stored as glycogen because those stores in liver and muscle are already full, so it is thought that the body disposes of them by increasing carbohydrate oxidation (burning them). As a result of these fully loaded glycogen stores, some researchers have suggested that a "side effect" of HCA supplementation may be a suppression of appetite – which would reduce food intake and promote weight loss.
Posted by TexasChic on May 27, 2006, at 16:04:30
In reply to Info I've found, posted by TexasChic on May 27, 2006, at 15:55:19
Posted by Meri-Tuuli on May 28, 2006, at 10:06:49
In reply to Garcinia Extract / Hydroxycitric acid (HCA), posted by TexasChic on May 27, 2006, at 15:35:49
Yep, I have a bottle in my cupboard. I took it for a while whilst I was trying to lose some weight.
You're supposed to take it half an hour before a meal, three times a day. Personally, I can't say it made a difference because I'm not fond of taking pills, so I give it up pretty quickly. But there were no weird side effects or anything.You buy the stuff from www.highernature.co.uk here in the UK.
Kind regards
Meri
Posted by Larry Hoover on June 6, 2006, at 12:33:33
In reply to Info I've found, posted by TexasChic on May 27, 2006, at 15:55:19
It sounds like you understand very well what it's supposed to do. If it has no side effects, go for it.
The process you refer to, the synthesis of fat from carbs, is called de novo lipogenesis. I would hazard a guess it is the primary cause of the gross obesity epidemic that is occurring. Low fat dieting only makes it worse. What is wrong with the doctors? These guys are supposed to be guiding us. Low fat diets do not work because of de novo lipogenesis, unless, and its a big unless, unless you keep your glycogen stores always *ALWAYS* depleted to some extent.
Your liver's job is to never let that happen.
You have to twist your body into a biochemical pretzel to make low-fat dieting work. Anybody wanna disagree with me on that? Anybody *happy* on a low-fat diet?
The fat that is produced by de novo lipogenesis is also the preferred fat for storage by adipocytes. Guess what a plump adipocyte turns into? An endocrine gland. Empty, they produce little or no hormones. Plumped up, they produce a ton of hormones. Yes, fat people are different. Their adipocytes are plump, and it changes everything.
De novo lipogenesis is triggered by alternating starch and sugar. That seems to be the trigger. It's hard to say, though, but maybe it's an adaptation that permits rapid storage of fat in the fall harvest time. You know, seasonal adaptation to mother nature's bounty, flipped upside down by supermarkets that never run out of stuff, and fast-food joints that serve up more than a day's calories in a single sitting.
Low-carb dieting prevents de novo lipogenesis. Now, I don't even like the word diet, because it brings up far too many bad images. The grapefruit diet? WTF?
Just trend towards carb restriction, don't eat processed starches and sugars (stay the hell away from high-fructose corn syrup, or glucose/fructose sweeteners), and eat your veggies. Meat does not make you fat. In reasonable portions. A bowl of ice cream once a week never hurt anybody. Moderation. How big a bowl of ice cream was it that you pictured? Moderation.
Sorry for the soap box moment, but, I'm opinionated on this subject.
Lar
Posted by honeybee on June 7, 2006, at 17:38:25
In reply to Re: Info I've found » TexasChic, posted by Larry Hoover on June 6, 2006, at 12:33:33
Larry,
You should write a book.
About something.
Really.
I used to work in publishing and you spout off more interesting tidbits in a day than come in via book proprosals at major publishing houses.
hb
This is the end of the thread.
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