Carb Blockers -- Do Carb Blockers Really Prevent The Absorption Of Carbohydrates?

Recently a friend asked me what I thought about carb blockers -- products that "supposedly" interfere with the body's ability to inhibit the absorption of carbohydrates. At first, I thought she was talking about Citrimax, or HCA...

A few years back, scientists thought they had found the miracle carb blocker supplement when they discovered that a compound called hydroxycitric acid (HCA, Citrimax) interfered with the body's ability to convert carbohydrates into glucose.

Unfortunately the initial tests were performed on animals, and nobody bothered to verify that this substance would work equally well in humans. It ended up that for the most part HCA was a dud, even though it's still included in many popular products today. One form of hydroxycitric acid -- called SuperCitrimax does show some promise for weight loss, and it's the one to experiment with should you wish to do so (a full review of HCA, or Citrimax, is available here!).

Now there's a new generation of carb blockers on the market. The main active ingredient is "Phaseolus vulgaris," which is standardized from white kidney beans. It's found in many popular carb blocker products -- like BSN's Cheater's Relief , for example.

Alright, so...

Do Carb Blockers Work?

Supposedly Phaseolus vulgaris interferes with the pancreas' ability to produce the enzyme called alpha-amylase, which is needed to break starches down into the simple sugars that are easily absorbed by the body.

Next obvious question... is there any real life scientific evidence to indicate it really does what the supplement retailers claim it does?

Ahh... that's the question, isn't it?

A recent UCLA study on Phase 2® (a patented form of Phaseolus vulgaris) concluded...

"Clinical trends were identified for weight loss, inches lost from the waist, energy, and decrease in triglycerides, although statistical significance was not reached. The reason that significance was not achieved was the small number of subjects who completed the study and the wide variability of the results within each group. Further studies with larger numbers of subjects are necessary in order to definitively demonstrate effectiveness."

Ooops.

This definitely does not mean you can eat French Fries and other "no-no" high carb foods with impunity.

In fact, while there are a few substances that show some initial purpose for the purpose of carb blocking, most have very little human clinical data verifying their effects.

If I had to recommend a "carb blocker" product I'd probably suggest green tea. There's some evidence it slows the action of a particular digestive enzyme called amylase. This enzyme is pivotal in the breakdown of starches (carbs), that can cause blood sugar levels to soar following a meal (see Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Sep;84(3):551-5).

Even if it turns out its carb blocking benefits are relatively significant, green tea offers a myriad of other benefits that makes it a worthwhile supplement for weight loss. You can read the full review of green tea here!

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