Are they, however, as good as they appear? This is a comprehensive look at carb blockers and how they affect your health and weight.
What Are Carb Blockers?
Carb blockers, in basic terms, aid to “prevent” the breakdown of starches. This turns the starches indigestible, transforming a molecule that would ordinarily deliver 4 calories per gram and raise blood sugar into an inert material that just passes through our gastrointestinal system.
Carb blockers accomplish this feat by limiting the activity of particular enzymes that aid in the breakdown of longer chains of carbohydrates molecules into easily digested simple sugars. These substances are known as Phaseolus vulgaris extract or white kidney bean extract and are derived from beans. Others include alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs), which are prescription drugs used to treat excessive blood sugar in type 2 diabetics.
How Do Carb Blockers Work?
Carb blockers lower the amount of glucose and insulin spikes that your body experiences after consuming refined carbs. Anything from rice, pasta, and bread to pizza, popcorn, carbonated beverages, sugary cereals, chocolates, sweets, and pudding—you get the picture.
Here’s how carbohydrates work: simple carbohydrates may be found in meals such as fruits and dairy products. They can also be present in processed foods like sodas, sweets, and flavored yogurts. Foods like pasta, bread, rice, and starchy vegetables like potatoes contain complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates comprise many simple carbohydrates. These simple carbohydrates are joined to create chains, which need to be broken down by enzymes before being absorbed.
Carb blockers are essentially chemicals that stop certain enzymes from breaking down complex carbohydrates. As a result, these carbohydrates travel through the large intestine unbroken or absorbed. They don’t add any calories or boost blood sugar levels.
If you’re trying to stick to a balanced diet but finding it tough to forgo the odd high carbohydrate treat, a carb blocker might help reduce the release of glucose into the bloodstream, requiring less insulin.
Carb Blockers and Weight Loss
Recent years have been tumultuous, and one consequence of it has been a collective weight gain. In fact, 48% of people were found to have gained weight during the first year of the pandemic alone. Our food consumption soared as we transformed our eating environment into a recreational paradise for our taste senses, overflowing our bodies with energy.
As a result of this energy excess, our bodies begin to store more and more fat, while our blood sugar levels rise to dangerously high levels. According to the CDC, cases of diabetes and obesity are rising at an alarming rate every single year.
If you choose the correct carb blocker, you may lower the number of carbohydrates your body absorbs from food dramatically, meaning that you’re storing less fat from your diet.
We mentioned earlier that carb blockers help you avoid some of the calories from consuming food—50 to 65% of carb-digesting enzymes, to be precise. Inhibiting these enzymes, however, does not always imply that the same percentage of carbohydrates is prevented. A study of a powerful amylase inhibitor discovered that it stopped 7% of carbohydrates from being absorbed (although it can also inhibit 97 percent of the amylase enzyme).
This is possible because carb blockers may not always prevent carbohydrates from being absorbed directly. They might merely lengthen the time it takes the enzymes to digest them.
Benefits of Carb Blockers
The most typical applications for carb blockers are weight loss and dieting. The pills are often seen as a less time-consuming alternative to a balanced diet and moderate exercise.
Carbohydrate blockers may have the following benefits:
- Lowering carb consumption can help you lose weight.
- Reduces the quantity of sugar consumed from carbs to reduce blood sugar levels.
- Provides nutritious resistant starch, which has been related to a reduction in body fat and healthier gut bacteria.
- Allows you to consume high-carbohydrate foods without gaining weight.
- You only need to take 1–2 tablets before each meal to get started.
- It’s easier to incorporate into your lifestyle because there are technically no dietary or physical activity changes required.
Should You Take a Carb Blocker?
Carb blockers have been shown in a few trials to aid with weight reduction, hunger suppression, and blood sugar control.
However, there hasn’t been enough research done to determine if carb blockers have a long-term effect. As it stands, they are most likely beneficial to people who eat a moderate-to-high-carbohydrate diet.
It’s important to remember that carb blocker supplements are just that—supplements. They are not a replacement for a healthy way of living. To obtain long-term effects, you still need a good diet and exercise.
What RxBODYfx Can Do for You
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If you’re ready to get started, reach out to RxBODYFx today! For a free consultation, call us at (281) 612-2320, or request an appointment online.
