Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium) is a plant. The peel, flower, leaf, fruit, and fruit juice are used to make medicine. Bitter orange oil is made from the peel. Bitter orange peel is also used to improve appetite, and bitter orange is also used for weight loss.
Other uses for the fruit and peel are upset stomach, nasal congestion, and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Some research suggests that a combination of bitter orange, caffeine, and St. John’s wort might help for weight reduction when used with a low-calorie diet and exercise.
Bitter orange is frequently used in “ephedra-free” products since the FDA banned ephedra in 2004 for serious side effects on the heart. In order to stimulate the nervous system, bitter orange is combined successfully with caffeine, as both stimulants show synergistic properties.
Bitter orange and caffeine, a frequent combination of weight loss and bodybuilding products, can cause high blood pressure and increased heart rate in healthy adults with otherwise normal blood pressure. There is no evidence to suggest that bitter orange is any safer than ephedra.
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What Is the Main Benefit of Bitter Orange
Researchers disagree about the effects of bitter orange on weight.
Some research suggests that a combination of bitter orange, caffeine, and St. John’s wort might help for weight reduction when used with a low-calorie diet and exercise.
What Are the Potential Side Effects of Bitter Orange
Bitter orange is safe when taken in the amounts found in food. Bitter orange essential oil is safe when applied to the skin or inhaled as aromatherapy. Be careful when taken as a supplement for a medical purpose such as weight loss.
Bitter orange, particularly when taken with stimulants such as caffeine or caffeine-containing herbs, increases the risk for high blood pressure, fainting, heart attack, stroke, and other severe side effects.
How to Take Bitter Orange
- Bitter Orange is a quality stimulant and a moderate thermogenic. In order to stimulate the nervous system, bitter orange is combined successfully with caffeine, as both stimulants show synergistic properties. Other attractive synergists are yohimbine, phenylethylamine, and Evodia.
- Bitter Orange is used as a fat burner, bitter orange is successfully combined with green tea, caffeine, yohimbine, forskolin, and others.
- Bitter Orange has a positive influence on the body's metabolism by stimulating the consumption of calories. 50 mg synephrine increases the number of burned calories by 65. The addition of bioflavonoids enhances this effect. If added 600 mg naringin, the burned calories get 129 kcal and an additional 100 mg hesperidin can boost the number to 183 kcal. The combination of synephrine with drugs against depression of the MAOIs class is not recommended.
