My weight loss search has taken me down many yellow brick roads, looking for the wizard who could help me shed some pounds without diet or exercise. Weight-loss supplements come and go -- mainly due to ineffectiveness or uncomfortable or harmful side effects. However, while early carb blockers lacked scientific evidence to back up their claims, these products' newer generation may hold some promise.
Carb Blockers
Commonly made from white kidney-bean extract, carb blockers -- also called starch neutralizers -- bind to amylase, the enzyme that helps you digest carbohydrates. Enzymes must break carbohydrates down to smaller units -- called monosaccharides -- before your body can absorb them. Without an adequate supply of digestive enzymes, your body allows undigested carbs to leave your small intestine and move into your large intestine, where bacteria work on them.
Carb Blocker History
Introduced in the 1980s, early bean-based carb blockers failed to inhibit starch absorption in humans and, in 1982, were banned by the Food and Drug Administration. Later products were better able to inhibit amylase and production resumed.
Weight Loss
You lose weight when your body burns 3,500 more calories than it consumes. Calorie-restricted diets aim to keep your caloric intake low, whereas exercise programs stress increasing caloric expenditure. Carb blockers seem to prevent the breakdown of certain foods, thus preventing the absorption of their calories. If you consume large amounts of refined carbohydrates, blocking their absorption could help you lose weight. The amount you lose depends on your current weight, your activity level, the amount of carbohydrates you consume, and the length of time you take a carb blocker. A 2000 study published in the "Journal of International Medical Research" found that subjects who ingested a "weight-reduction agent based on natural ingredients" that helped inhibit absorption of different types of sugars lost almost three times as much weight as volunteers who did not consume the supplement.
Side Effects
Undigested carbohydrates and sugars pass into the large intestine, where harmless bacteria break them down. In many cases, metabolism's byproducts include gas, which can contribute to flatulence and bloating. Some people taking carb blockers experience diarrhea. Carb blockers can reduce post-meal concentrations of glucose and insulin.
Warning
Consult a medical professional before attempting to lose weight or control diabetes with a carb or starch blocker.
References
- "The American Journal of Gastroenterology"; Impairment of Starch Absorption by a Potent Amylase Inhibitor; W.R. Brugge et al.; August 1987
- "Journal of the American College of Nutrition"; Bean Amylase Inhibitor and Other Carbohydrate Absorption Blockers -- Effects on Diabesity and General Health; Harry Preuss
- "Journal of International Medical Research"; Thom Erling; September-October 2000
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse; Gas in the Digestive Tract; January 2008
- Phase2info.com: Research Milestones
- "Gastroenterology"; Gastrointestinal and Metabolic Effects of Amylase Inhibition in Diabetics; M. Boivin et al.; February 1988
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