Chitosan For Weight Loss

You probably heard some news and ads about chitosan as a natural solution for weight loss. Well, that’s what most of the makers of this product are claiming. They have done their share of work to create an image truly appealing to any and all that dream of losing that extra fat. And, now they believe that their chitosan weight loss products are simply fat inhibitors that appear to work miracles for those in search of a safe way to lose that body fat.

What is Chitosan?

Chitosan has been around for ages and has long been considered as a powerful weight loss solution. It is derived from chitin, a polysaccharide found in the exoskeletons or shells of crustaceans. The chitin is processed by removing the shells from the shellfish, like crabs, shrimps and lobsters. The shells are then ground into a pulverous powder which is deacetylated or stripped of specific chemical groups, allowing the compound to actively soak up fats.

How Does Chitosan Work for Weight Loss?

As you may know, a number of chitosan weight loss supplements are now available on the market for public purchase. Well, let’s take a look at how exactly the chitosan weight loss products are used for such purpose.

Basically stated, chitosan is a special fiber which is able to soak up or absorb anywhere from six to ten times its weight in fat and oils. If we will look at it in terms of substance, chitosan then appears chemically similar to the plant fiber, cellulose. The idea of chitosan as “great” for weight loss stemmed from the notion that chitosan weight loss products are able to significantly bind with fat molecules and convert them into a form which the human body does not absorb. This works, of course, when the product is taken according to what is directed.

Furthermore, chitosan weight loss supplements claim to affect that fat prior to it reaching the stomach and thus the fat loses the chance to be metabolized. It is also noted that the chitosan prevents the absorption and storage of fat by converting it into a gel which traps or blocks the fat. In some ways, chitosan forms a “grease ball” from this excess fat, which is to large to be absorbed by the body. Because of this, the fat then becomes an inert substance and is only excreted in the stool.

What makes chitosan truly remarkable is that unlike other fibers, it carries a positive ionic charge. Since lipids, fats and bile acids all possess negative charges, there is then a chemical bond between the two and thus they attract naturally to one another. However, it is also this “too good to be true’ ability of the chitosan weight loss supplements that causes suspicions to arise on the validity of these claims.

Although chitosan weight loss supplements are now highly distributed, the idea of whether it is safe of effective remains controversial. The claim that chitosan weight loss is 100 percent natural and acts a super fiber is still supported with no background studies or medical proof of any sort.