Chitosan

Chitosan is derived from sea crustations, such as shrimp, and is claimed to aid in weight loss. It is marketed as a “fat attractor.” It supposedly attracts the fat in your digestive system, after which the fat is passed through the body without being absorbed. The claim is that you can continue eating as your normally would and by taking chitosan, you will lose weight since you’re not absorbing any fat. Well that’s the claim. How about the research?

Wikipedia ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitosan)) seemed to say it best: “However, some scientific research suggests that these claims are likely without substance. At best, unmodified chitosan would remove roughly 10 calories per day from a person’s diet. Modified chitosan is claimed to absorb anywhere up to three to six times its weight in fat and oils. Detractors claim that using chitosan may have the deleterious effect of rendering ineffective certain minerals found in foodstuffs and required by the body in order to remain healthy.”

Conclusion

The jury is still out on chitosan’s effectiveness in weight loss. The little supporting evidence that there is, suggest that a very high dosage of chitosan (3 grams per day) is needed in order to be effective. It’s extremely unlikely that you’ll see that amount in any diet pill on the market today. As of right now, chitosan gets a thumbs down from us.