All green supplements for St. Patrick’s Day

March is known for the start of spring and also the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.

It’s holiday filled with beer, corn beef and of course the color green. But green can also be beneficial for your health. These green supplements have many added health benefits including helping to fight and prevent cancer, fighting of free radicals, and lowering hypertension.

So instead of celebrating with a green beer, celebrate the holiday by adding these all green supplements to your diet.

Green coffee bean extract

Green coffee beans are basically the same as coffee beans except they haven’t been roasted. Because they haven’t been roasted, the beans still have chlorogenic acid.¹ Chlorogenic acid is one of the two main antioxidants in coffee beans. The other is caffeine which has been shown to show a slight increase in metabolism².

There have been a few studies on the effectiveness of green coffee bean extra on weight loss, but they have found more success in green coffee bean extract in lowering hypertension. A study in Hypertension Research found green coffee bean extract had a positive effect on patients with mild-hypertension when consumed twice a day³.

Green tea extract

Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water. Made from unfermented leaves, green tea extract has a very high concentration of polyphenol antioxidants. These antioxidants may neutralize any damage that free radicals cause in the body. Green tea has been studied on both animals and humans with results that show many benefits by helping reduce atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, and cancer.⁴

Green tea also has thermogenic properties that promote fat oxidation more than caffeine. In a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that green tea increased the amount of energy people had in a 24-hour period.⁵

Blue green algae

Blue green algae can promote optimal health in humans. A study in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition found that the components of blue green algae to be a super-food that contained lipid, protein, chlorophyll, carotenoids, and more than 65 vitamins and minerals that are easily absorbed in the body.⁶

Blue green algae can prevent metabolic and inflammatory diseases and reducing inflammation. A study in the Journal of Medicinal Food also found that in cells, animals and humans, blue green algae has benefits including improving lipids and also preventing inflammation and oxidative stress.⁷

Chlorophyll

A green pigment found in plants and algae organisms, chlorophyll has been found to have success in preventing cancer. It is an anti-inflammatory agent that gives virgin olive oil its green hue. There are many vitamins in chlorophyll including vitamins A, C, and E. This supplement has can help improve inflammation, oxidation, and also help heal wounds.⁸

A 2013 study in Appetite found that chlorophyll helped suppress hunger on 20 moderately overweight females. Consuming foods rich with chlorophyll may help limit the amount of food intake in people.⁹ There has also been preliminary research on chlorophyll helping with cancer therapy, but more studies need to be done.

Aloe Vera

Even though it is widely-known for its soothing power for sunburns, Aloe Vera also has more health benefits including cancer prevention. The Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention conducted a study in 2015 that found Aloe Vera may inhibit cancer growth because it is an anti-neoplastic agent.

It also found it may increase the efficacy of therapy drugs including cispolatin.¹⁰ Aloe Vera also can limit bacteria that can cause infection because of the polyphenois antioxidants it contains. Other studies found that Aloe Vera can help with symptoms associated with diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

 

¹ Moon JK, Yoo HS, Shibamoto T. Role of roasting conditions in the level of chlorogenic acid content in coffee beans: correlation with coffee acidity. Published June 2009. Accessed February 2016.

² Koot P, Deurenberg P. Comparison of changes in energy expenditure and body temperatures after caffeine consumption. Published 1995. Accessed February 2016.

³ Kozuma K, Tsuchiya S, Kohori J, Hase T, Tokimitsu I. Antihypertensive effect of green coffee bean extract on mildly hypertensive subjects. Published September 2005. Accessed February 2016.

⁴ “Green Tea” http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/green-tea University of Maryland Medical Center. Published November 2015. Accessed February 2016.

⁵ Dulloo AG, Duret C, Rohrer D, Girardier L, Mensi N, Fathi M, Chantre P, Vandermander J. Efficacy of a green tea extract rich in catechin polyphenols and caffeine in increasing 24-h energy expenditure and fat oxidation in humans. Published December 1999. Accessed February 2016.

⁶ Kay RA. Microalgae as food and supplement. Published 1991. Accessed February 2016.

⁷ Chai Siah Ku, Yue Yang, Youngki Park, Jiyoung Lee. Health Benefits of Blue-Green Algae: Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Published February 2013. Accessed February 2016.

⁸ Levent A. Chlorophyll: Structural Properties, Health Benefits and Its Occurrence in Virgin Olive Oils. Published September 2011. Accessed February 2016.

⁹ Stenblom EL, Montelious C, Ostbring K, Hakansson M, Nilsson S, Rehfeld JF, Erlanson-Albertsson C. Supplementation by thylakoids to a high carbohydrate meal decreases feelings of hunger, elevates CCK levels and prevents postprandial hypoglycaemia in overweight women. Published September 2013. Accessed February 2016.

¹⁰ Hussain A, Sharma C. Khan S, Shah K, Haque S. Aloe vera inhibits proliferation of human breast and cervical cancer cells and acts synergistically with cisplatin. Published 2015. Accessed February 2016.