Green coffee comes from unroasted coffee beans, and is typically included in sports nutrition products as an extract. According to researchers from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, supplementing a healthy low-fat diet with green coffee extract and regular exercise can help promote fat loss.

Sixteen overweight subjects aged 22 to 26 stuck to a low-fat diet for 22 weeks while exercising regularly. Over the course of the program they supplemented with either 700 mg of green coffee extract, 1,050 mg or a placebo capsule, rotating between the choices about every 6 weeks. The average weight loss was 17 pounds with a 16% decrease in body fat.

True Strength Moment: Both of the extract dosages amounted to a fraction of an ounce of green coffee beans. There is no magic pill for weight loss, but it appears from this research that a little extra help can add up over a 22-week program.