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Would taking herbal supplements like Chitosan be the right diet plan for you? Ever wondered how using Chitosan in your diet stacks up against using traditional diet programs like Weight Watchers, LA Weight Loss or other weight loss programs? Will diet pills containing Chitosan work for you? Take our Top 60 Diet Profile to find out which diet program is best for you. Our comprehensive diet analysis examines your lifestyle and dieting preferences, and reviews your needs to find the best weight loss plan for you. Then BestDietForMe.com gives you a list of your best diet program matches and unbiased reports describing each company’s diet program, complete with reviews of diets, so you can choose the right one…

Chitosan

After you read our review below - Try our Top 60 Diet Quiz to find out which diet programs are best suited to your specific needs, and which ones will help you keep the weight off.

Note: BestDietForMe.com does NOT provide medical advice or diagnoses. You should always consult your physician first, before beginning any weight loss regimen or if suffering from a medical condition.

Retail Diet pills Market Summary

Diet pills sales were down 5% in 2005, as new competitors entered the market and the post-ephedra ban’s effects lingered on and dampened consumer’s enthusiasm for these products. In addition, there was more government scrutiny of this category, and ultimately fines levied on several major marketers of heavily advertised and popular brands. In addition, consumers may be growing weary of claims of fantastic results, which they are not experiencing.

Competitors have already switched to new ingredients other than ephedra (like Hoodia, green tea extract, chromium, etc.), and will continue to do so. We also think that mail order and infomercials will remain popular with the do-it-yourself dieter, despite FTC fines and regulatory actions.

The biggest competition for OTC diet pills is new prescription diet drugs that may enter the market.

It is only new product innovations and continued heavy advertising that will support this very moderate growth. For example, SLIMQUICK was the first OTC diet pill to offer consumers a comprehensive diet and exercise program and a free 32-page booklet. Slimage is targeted at women over age 35, and promises a weight loss product that defies the visible signs of aging. It also offers a free weight loss booklet, with a walking program and recipes. Marketers will likely need to complement their diet pills with more—informational websites (as Slim-Fast has done with meal replacements), booklets, guides, and appealing to specific niches (women, men, elderly overweight, etc.). Other health benefits and boosting energy will be touted along with weight loss.

Description of Chitosan

According to nutrition expert and founder of quackwatch.com, Stephen Barrett, MD, chitosan is derived from chitin, a polysaccharide found in the exoskeleton of shellfish such a shrimp, lobster, and or crabs. Many sellers claim that chitosan causes weight loss by binding fats in the stomach and preventing them form being digested and absorbed. Some refer to it as a "fat magnet".

Chitosan is not a drug but a natural fiber.

Chitosan is processed by removing the shells from shellfish such as shrimp, lobster and crabs. The shells are then ground into a pulverous powder. This powder is basically stripped of specific chemical groups which allows it to thus actively "soak up fats". Or so this is what the producers clam. The present form of chitosan has just recently been introduced as a weight loss supplement.

Although chitosan can decrease fat absorption, the amount contained in the capsules is too small to have much of an effect on cholesterol levels. In addition, with better cholesterol lowering products available, it doesn't make much sense to use chitosan for that purpose. There is no evidence that chitosan is effective for weight control.

How It's Used

The instructions in which to properly administer the supplementation of chitosan are quite simple. The most common advice is to follow some sort of simple plan such as one that follows: Take one or two capsules 10 minutes before each of your daily meals. Here the chitosan will supposedly help bind excess fat from the meal or snack which has just been consumed.

Besides from the obvious effect that fat is not absorbed into the body with the presence of chitosan, it goes a lot deeper in benefiting weight loss. Chitosan is 100% natural and acts a super fiber. Thus, supplementing the diet with chitosan is part of creating a cleansing process which is said to be extremely vital to weight loss. Take note that these are again the simple declarations made by the producers of chitosan and are supported with no background studies or medical proof of any sort. Another stated advantage of chitosan comes from the idea that chitosan bound fat leaves the intestinal tract without ever entering the bloodstream. Exactly how this process takes place is not clear and seems to be somewhat far fetched.

Many of the products on the market today which contain chitosan as a chief substance also include the addition of some sort of vitamin C supplement. One such product is the Fat Zapper, which contains 250mg of chitosan, 240mg of high quality grapefruit fiber, and 10 mg of vitamin C per capsule.

The Critics' Opinions

There are many other benefits which chitosan claims to have other than weight loss. It also inhibits LDL cholesterol and boosts HDL cholesterol. However, note that there is no specific research to accompany these claims or any hard data which would classify their validity.

In summary, chitosan appears to be virtually too good to be true. There are no known side effects and it appears to be extremely safe. However, these claims are very difficult to take seriously with such a lack of true scientific evidence. Perhaps now that such products are being advertised and surely the public is falling into the trap of this "miracle diet fiber," more studies will take place to test the validity of claims such as these.

Regulatory Actions

On August 31, 1999, the FDA warned the president of TRY-Lean, Inc., to stop making claims that his company's chitosan containing products would reduce the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, heart attack and cancer.

In 2000, the marketers of "The Enforma System" agreed to settle FTC charges of deceptively advertising that the user could "eat what you want and never, ever, ever have to diet again." The FTC complaint named Enforma Natural Products, Inc., its President Andrew Grey, and Fred Zinos, a former V.P. of sales and marketing. The system consisted of "Fat Trapper", a chitosan based product purported to prevent the absorption of dietary fat; and "Exercise In A Bottle," a pyruvate product that supposedly increases the body's capacity to burn fat.

The system was promoted mainly through televised 30 minute infomercials, featuring former baseball player Steve Garvey, as well as through the company's Web site. The settlement prohibits the marketers from making unsubstantiated claims that any product, service or program: provides weight control without dieting or exercise; prevents fat absorption; increases metabolism; burns fat; or allows weight loss even if users eat high fat foods. The company also had to pay $10 million to be used for refunds or distributed to the U.S. Treasury.

Commentary

As for now, chitosan is being used as a healthy alternative to the expensive and dangerous diet drugs on the market and is pictured as the "holy Grail" for those carrying around a few too many pounds. But, BE CAREFUL, it is easy to make claims of this magic diet solution with little or no evidence tot back it up.

In our opinion, herbal supplement formulas lack the scientific proof to be considered as part of a healthy diet plan for achieving and maintaining long term weight loss. We believe that use of diet pills alone falls short in that it does not educate dieters on healthy diet habits, and does not address the psychological issues many dieters face, as do many traditional weight loss programs. A diet program that fails to recognize these two important components may not sufficiently serve the needs of many dieters. Overall, we feel it would be unwise to rely on an herbal supplement as a long-term weight solution.

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