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Medical Studies of Chitosan |
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Interested in using chitosan as a weight loss product? Trying to lower
your cholesterol? Maybe you should learn what the experts have to say
before trying it.
Chitosan is a fiber that is chemically processed
from the shells and bones of crustaceans like lobsters, crabs, and shrimp.
It is a form of fiber that is not really digested by the human body.
Studies have shown that as chitosan passes through the digestive tract, it
bonds with the ingested fat and carries it out in the stool. It is for
this reason that chitosan is being tried as an agent for lowering
cholesterol and reducing weight. Unfortunately, almost all of the medical
studies on chitosan have revealed results that have been more negative
than positive.
There are two major claims maintained and studied by
medical researchers. These include the belief that chitosan can improve
one’s cholesterol profile, and that it can aid in weight loss.
Most
of the studies performed on chitosan were conducted to find out if
chitosan can improve one’s cholesterol profile. According to
two-out-of-three double-blind placebo-controlled medical studies on
chitosan, the compound can modestly improve one’s cholesterol profile.
There
was also an 8-week trial performed on 51 women which found that the use of
chitosan at a dose of 1,200 mg twice a day slightly reduced the bad
cholesterol(LDL)compared to placebo. Such intake of chitosan does not,
however, affect the total or the good (HDL)cholesterol levels. Aside from
this, another 8-week trial involving 84 people found modest benefits.
However,
one of the most best-known medical studies on chitosan was a 4-month trial
of 88 individuals. It found no significant improvement in cholesterol when
the subjects took 1,000 mg, three times a day, of a different
chitosan-based product. The results of this study were supported by a
following 10-month study which employed a special microcrystalline form of
the compound at a dose of 1200 mg twice a day. Based on these two medical
studies on chitosan, the substance failed to improve the cholesterol
profile.
Experts say that these contradictory results suggest that
if chitosan does actually improve the cholesterol profile, it only does so
to a slight degree.
Chitosan has recently gained great popularity
as a weight-loss supplement. It has even been dubbed the “fat magnet” on
the basis of its supposed ability to bind to fat in the digestive tract.
Nevertheless, despite of a number of positive results in small preliminary
medical studies, the largest and by far best designed trial conducted to
prove the weight-loss claims failed to find benefit. This well-known study
is actually a 6-month double-blind placebo-controlled study involving 250
overweight people who were required to use chitosan at a dose of 3 grams a
day. The results of this trial were that chitosan failed to improve weight
loss to any meaningful extent compared to placebo. There are also other
medical studies on chitosan that support this result.
Taken
together, it is clear that chitosan has not been proven to help a person
lose weight, increase their HDL cholesterol or decrease the LDL
cholesterol. Although companies selling chitosan claim that it is very
effective, and even claim to have medical research supporting how well
their product works, the medical studies on chitosan suggest otherwise.
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