Garcinia kola for Digestive Health
Anyone who has been unlucky enough to get wrapped up in bioidentical hormone treatments knows that digestive problems often develop when doctors begin injecting hormones like estrogen, progesterone, or androgens into the body. If you administer synthetic or bioidentical estrogen into the body, after all, it will trigger the pituitary gland to release hormones that respond by reducing natural estrogen output. This creates a dependency on the estrogen treatments as the body tries to balance its estrogen needs. Without estrogen, after all, the body and the cells that make up the body have trouble rebuilding themselves and maintaining a healthy structure so estrogen is needed, but for non-menstruating women and men, estrogen is not a hormone that circulates in high quantities throughout the body.
In men, androgen or testosterone injections lead to a conversion to estrogen as excess testosterone is easily converted to estrogen. The higher the testosterone levels in men, the more testosterone gets converted to estrogen.
The elegance of Garcinia kola is in not just its hormone balancing acrobatics via peripheral effects in the reproductive system, but also in how this herbal medicine positively impacts the liver and the kidneys. It is its impact on the liver that makes it possible for Garcinia kola to increase estrogen and progesterone levels while reducing FSH, LH, and prolactin levels in the bloodstream. As Garcinia kola is reducing menstrual cramping in the uterus (an effect that has to do with prostaglandins), it is simultaneously reducing spasms and cramping in gastrointestinal smooth muscle, as reproductive hormone levels play a role in bile production and intestinal peristalsis as well. This means that Garcinia kola may be able to help you overcome digestive problems that have developed as a result of menopause or the use of bioidentical or synthetic hormone treatments.
Most species of Garcinia are known for their gum resins which are purgative or cathartic which means that they have a naturally detoxifying effect on the body. These gum resins promote the expulsion of toxins from the body. Several species of Garcinia also contain substances that act as appetite suppressants demonstrating the impact of this genus of herbs on the digestive system.
Some species of Garcinia, including Garcinia kola, contain hydroxycitric acid, a derivative of citric acid that is also found in Hibiscus sabdariffa. Hydroxycitric acid is a substance that’s credited with the ability to reduce weight and control obesity. This herb is also antidiabetic and it has the ability to regrow insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas while also improving lipid profiles for those whoa re working with this weight loss herb.
Garcinia cambogia is one of the species that’s used for weight loss because it contains hydroxycitric acid as a weight-reducing substance. Garcinia kola also contains this substance and it can also be used as an herbal remedy for weight loss. Both of these herbs can be used to treat PCOS and promote weight loss through the natural balancing of reproductive hormone levels.
In most studies, Garcinia kola is regarded as safe in humans, but this is an herb that needs to be taken at the proper dose (200-500 mg per kilogram body weight). Readers should note that G. mangostana, G. cambogia, and G. kola are consumed as nutraceuticals, functional foods, and dietary supplements because they have powerful healing effects on the body, so while dosing is important and while a certain level of awareness needs to be maintained regarding the period of time during which these medicines are being used, plants from the Garcinia species have a lot to offer in terms of healing when they are used properly and with care.
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Kidney, Liver, and Gastrointestinal Protection by Kola Nut
The substance known as kolaviron that’s found in kola nut has specifically been studied to try to understand how it works to protect the liver, kidneys, and gastrointestinal system. Scientists still aren’t sure how it works, but it’s clear that kolaviron offers a broad spectrum of protection against toxins that harm the liver. It also functions well to protect the kidneys, two of the four organs of detoxification in the body. The liver is also one of the most important organs of digestion. It is the organ that releases bile, a substance that acts to both digest fats and oils such that our bodies can absorb fat-soluble vitamins, and also to clean the intestines like a detergent. Bile, after all, contains cholesterol and it acts like a “soap” in the digestive system to clear debris and biofilm out of the gut.The liver is also prime real estate for many colonizing pathogens. Garcinia kola has the ability to kill and remove some or all of the colonizing pathogens in the liver. It also has the ability to heal the liver following significant injury to its tissues. In the gastrointestinal system, Garcinia kola protects the gut from the development of ulcers, in part through its ability to remove colonizing pathogens from the liver, where they can hide and resist treatment with antibiotics. A person with chronic ulcers, for example, might be unable to overcome the problem until they are able to target ulcer-causing bacteria like Helicobacter pylori where they are colonizing liver tissues.
Studies have shown that Garcinia kola is an important liver-healing herb with antidiabetic effects. As such, kola nut can be a valuable herbal remedy for cirrhosis and alcohol-induced liver injury. As an herbal remedy for alcoholism and liver injury, Garcinia cola functions to reduce insulin resistance naturally, one of the factors that profoundly influences the addictive process in alcohol addiction. It can heal the liver, the organ that plays one of the most important roles in regulating blood sugar levels that impact the addictive cycle for those with alcoholism. In people who have had their gallbladders removed, Kola nut can be administered as a cholestyramine / questran alternative, to lower cholesterol levels and stop chronic diarrhea caused by loss of gallbladder function (or surgical removal of the gallbladder). Garcinia kola is a better treatment than cholestyramine as it has a balancing effect on hormone levels and it generally heals the body in a way that cholestyramine does not.
Resources:
• Dogara, A. M. et al. (2022). Biological Evaluation of Garcinia kola Heckel. Retrieved March 10, 2025 from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1155/2022/3837965
• Masuku, N. P. et al. (2020). Garcinia kola. Retrieved March 4, 2025 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/garcinia-kola
