Chitosan Planet

Chitosan has been in the headlines in recent years for its reported weight loss properties. But just like all other weight loss pills and potions, chitosan has had its fair share of controversy.

Several claims have emerged which assert that chitosan is one of the most effective fat burners. In fact, it makes grand promises of absorbing fat and preventing it from getting into your body, hence its designation as the ultimate “fat blocker”. But, is it in truth a fat blocker?

Before considering any of the studies conducted on chitosan, it is best to know first that whether chitosan is safe or effective as a diet aid remains controversial even up to this time. Perhaps you’ve heard a lot of claims regarding the benefits of chitosan. Many people have said that chitosan does work, but these claims are contradicted by few studies. Some thorough clinical studies on humans have shown that chitosan does NOT work!

What exactly is chitosan and from where is it derived? Chitosan is the structural element present in the shells of crabs and shrimp. Chitosan actually has beneficial uses which have been approved that are not related to weight loss. One such use is for plant growth, it acts as a growth enhancer as well as to protect plants from fungal infections. Secondly chitosan is used in water treatment plants in the process of filtration. And last, chitosan has been incorporated into bandages which have been proven to speed and promote healing.

Okay, let me mention the studies on chitosan that support and contradict the claim of fat blocking.

For starters, one of the most often cited studies on chitosan by the marketers and manufacturers of chitosan-based products, is the 1994 ARS Medicina (Helsinki) Report. In this study, it was found out that test subjects lost eight percent of body fat and reduced cholesterol by thirty-two percent in four weeks.

Next, there were various studies on chitosan which revealed that the substance lowers plasma cholesterol and triglycerides and improved the HDL cholesterol level.

Looking at these pieces of evidence, one might be satisfactorily convinced that chitosan’s claims are indeed true. However, when taking the nature of the studies on chitosan into account, the evidence appears in a much different light.

In the first place, the 1994 ARS Medicina (Helsinki) Report and others that support it appear to be slackly designed. Experts have noted that only uncontrolled and anecdotal evidence seem to be the only available evidence in research up to date.

Furthermore, most of the cholesterol lowering evidences reported in other resources is attained in another noteworthy fashion. The fact is, most of the studies on chitosan were conducted on mice, canines, guinea pigs, and broiler chickens. There is actually a lack of studies on chitosan conducted on actual humans.

It is unfortunate to say that only one well-designed study on chitosan involving humans as the subject, has been published. That study was conducted in 1999 by the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showing that chitosan supplements were no better than a placebo in reducing body weight. 34 overweight subjects were actually involved in this study. They were assigned to either a “treatment group” which received 4 capsules of chitosan twice daily for 28 days, or to a “placebo group” which received a placebo under the same regimen. After days of treatment, the results revealed no significant difference between two groups on any of the body mass index, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, Vitamins A, D, E or beta-carotene levels. This is what actually led weight loss experts to agree that chitosan simply doesn’t work.

Further studies on chitosan were conducted, but all of them, however, have shown that chitosan didn’t block fat. As you may notice, these studies on chitosan have the same findings as the European Journal research. And, even worse, chitosan has been shown to block out some vitamins and minerals.

Taken into consideration together, these studies on chitosan suggest that our hopes of a miracle dietary supplement remain as simply “hopes”. Well-designed studies and fast and hard evidences that could support the effectiveness of chitosan still appears to be absent from the medical literature. What the advertisements are saying are simply media hypes, thus the search for a miracle dietary supplement continues.

It does not appear as of chitosan will be the weight loss miracle drug as once hoped. In fact such a drug may not exist or ever be found. Rather than relying on a pill to help overcome the battle of the bulge, it is probably best to take the matter into our own hands through the use of diet and exercise.