Garcinia Cambogia – a pretty fancy name for fruit, isn’t it? Not many of us know still about this fruit. Garcinia was previously just the less familiar type of a popular fruit, the mangosteen. But in the present scenario, Garcinia Cambogia is much into the limelight. Of late, nutritional supplements that combine the essences of Garcinia Cambogia have become the craze. And several people recommend Garcinia Cambogia supplements as these have an ability to control hunger and stop weight gain.

Garcinia Cambogia ripens to a red or yellowish fruit, which is about the size of an orange, but it resembles the shape of a pumpkin. This fruit was initially found in Indonesia, but can also be found in parts of India, Africa, and Asia. It is suggested that the skin of a Garcinia could be air-dried and then used in the form of an extract. That extract has been discovered to have many health advantages.

Usage of Garcinia Cambogia
People have long used the dried gamboge skins for making sauce or curries while cooking and sometimes for curing stomach problems. Scientists later classified a substance in the skin of the fruit called hydroxy citric acid (HCA), which has some possibly desirable qualities.

Cures type 2 diabetes
Consumption of the fruit may make it simpler for your body to use glucose, the sugar that your cells need for energy. But if you are taking the fruit simultaneously with a medicine to manage your blood sugar, your glucose could get seriously low.

Controls high cholesterol
According to researchers in the field of medical health, it is discovered that Garcinia can improve heart health and act on cholesterol levels, lowering LDL cholesterol that is bad cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol, which is considered to be the good cholesterol. However, one should not use it if he or she is already on a prescription for cholesterol.

Improves metabolism
The fruit extract helps boost your metabolism and give you more energy. This is because this extract decreases fat cells from forming. The old fat cells residing in your body are burnt, which gives you more energy and secure your metabolism, making it work faster. If new fat cells were being built on the top layer of the old fat cells, weight loss would be a time-consuming affair because of the constant production of fat cells. You will not have to struggle to get through the long day at work anymore if you take the fruit extract. It is possible that you will not have that mid-day lazy feeling, and you will be more productive.

Helps in weight loss
The extract contains what is called HCA, which blocks fats and sugars in your body, thereby suppressing your appetite. It also significantly limits, or sometimes stops fat cells formation entirely, in your body, resulting in weight loss. Garcinia Cambogia extract can help you regulate your desires, get rid of binge eating due to emotional issues or stress, and bring your body’s cortisol levels to a healthy range, thereby stabilizing it. All of these factors result in less fat being manufactured in your body.

Questionable effectiveness of Garcinia supplements
Despite the fame of the wonder fruit, it is hard to trace how useful the supplements are that contain it. As product manufacturing techniques vary, it becomes difficult to distinguish one brand with another or even estimate the effects of a single brand.

How safe is it to use Garcinia Cambogia?
People may reliably eat the fruit, of course. And clinical trials have shown it is safe to consume the skin of Garcinia Cambogia orally. But one should also be cautious. It has side effects such as lowering a person’s blood sugar level drastically. It can also interfere with the treatments of diabetes. The fruit hasn’t been sufficiently studied in expecting women or women who breastfeed. Garcinia Cambogia may also be a problem for patients with Alzheimer’s, dementia or other such forms of the disease. In the year 2009, a safety warning was issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after getting more than 20 reports of critical reactions, comprising liver damage, in people using the supplement Hydroxycut. At the time, Hydroxycut contained chromium poly nicotinate and Gymnema, Sylvestre extract as well as Garcinia Cambogia extract. However, whether the presence of Garcinia Cambogia extracts caused the liver damage or not, is still unclear.

Well, all said and done Garcinia Cambogia is indeed a unique fruit that poses both pros and cons just like everything else in the world. By following the above guidelines and getting the right information, you will be able to buy Garcinia products that are safe. You will not have to bother about the possible side effects. So, put your best foot front by finding out if it would be helpful for your particular case. If in doubt, consult your physician.