Are Carb and Starch Blockers Effective
June 13, 2009
You’ve seen the carb and starch blocker products at your local pharmacy or grocery market. They’re everywhere. The carb blocker products and especially the starch blocker products are sold under the premise that they will block carbohydrates from being absorbed by the body whenever you eat a carbohydrate rich meal. They are used to aid people in losing and maintaining their weight.
Most carb blocker and starch blocker products are made from extracts from beans and wheat germ. The primary beans used are the white kidney beans. When a person takes a carb blocker pill with their meal the pill supposedly stops the release of alpha amylase.
Alpha amylase is an enzyme found in the digestive tract of the body, which helps break down starchy products into sugar and then fat. By taking a carb blocker pill, the carbohydrates that you eat skip the step of being broken down and stored as fat.
Instead, the carbohydrates that are not absorbed by the body pass through the body into the intestines and then are removed from the body through a bowel movement.
What are the side effects associated with carb blockers? While there are no major side effects, some people who take carb blockers say that they experience certain discomforts such as gas, nausea, and loose bowel movements immediately after taking the pill.
The manufacturers of these products say that these slight side effects actually indicate that the pill is doing its job correctly.
So now the question is, do these pills really do the trick? Can carb blocker pills safely and effectively block carbs from becoming absorbed by the body? Early research on the products did not show that they worked.
But later studies performed by researchers at the Mayo Clinic show that when a person takes a high dose of carb blocker pills, the pills did slow down the absorption of carbohydrates but did not show that they effectively helped people lose weight.
Losing weight is not as easy is just popping a weight loss pill or taking a carb or starch blocker pill. It just doesn’t happen that way. If it did, the whole world would have their weight under control and there would be no obesity cases or illnesses related to obesity. Consult with your doctor before taking a carb blocker product and then determine your own results.
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