Bitter orange, also called Zhi Shi, comes from the small Citrus aurantium tree. Its proper name is the Seville orange. Used when it is unripe, many parts of the plant such as the peel, flower, fruit and even juice, are used medicinally.
Bitter orange has been used for thousands of years by the Chinese who eat the unripe fruit for digestive problems.
To date, bitter orange is used to treat illnesses literally from the head (retinal inflammations) to the foot (phlebitis and joint pain.) Of particular benefit, bitter orange is proving a strong proponent in the fight against obesity.
The’ German Commission E’, a European governmental agency, approves bitter orange for several uses including appetite suppression. One of the main components of weight and fat loss, appetite suppression stops sharp cravings that can lead to snacking and binge eating. Once these powerful cravings are curbed, dieters can re-learn healthier eating habits and maintain them for life.
Bitter orange is also called ‘sour synephrine’ because it contains synephrine which in turn stimulates your metabolism. Thermo-genics is the process of stimulating the metabolism so it increases, burning calories at a higher rate. A study in the Journal of Medicine dated 2002 called bitter orange one of the best thermogenic substitutes for ephedra.
Bitter orange, because it contains synephrine, is called a ‘semi-selective sympathomimetic.’ This simply means it selects certain fats rather than targeting a wide variety of tissues. Research performed at Mercer Hospital in Atlanta shows bitter orange extract did not affect heart rate and blood pressure rates.
During the thermogenic process of burning more calories, Bitter orange is specifically beneficial because it is able to burn fat as well as calories. Fat areas can resist both dieting and exercise efforts.
For those who lift weights, fat bulges can negate serious efforts to obtain a ‘cut’ appearance. Bitter orange promotes fat burning which removes unwanted layers of fat from sharply defined muscles groups, allowing them to appear ‘cut.’
Related Ingredients: Synephrine
Other Ingredients:
See also:
|
