Obesity is on the rise. Every year the number of overweight and obese children and adults increase. As these numbers go up the search for the magic weight loss and diet bullet goes on. One of the recent crazes has been all the publicity about the new carb or starch blockers. So what exactly are these carb blockers? They are an extract that comes from either wheat germ or white kidney beans. This extract is called phaseolamin. It is the principal ingredient in these new supplements that are the recent talk of the town. The claims are that these extracts actually inhibit the bodies ability to break down and metabolize starches into simple sugars and fat stores.

Since obesity is such a major health concern which costs both consumers and insurance companies millions of dollars per year, everyone is scrambling to find products that will actually help people lose weight and keep it off. Diets today are full of carbohydrates and starches. Using a product such as this can go help people who find it very difficult to eat properly but still want to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. These are the people that this product is designed for. The product can also be helpful to dieters who are trying to lose weight at a quicker pace. By blocking carbohydrate break down, the body will store less fat making it much easier for the bodies metabolism to burn existing fat stores.

So how do the carb blockers work? The extract works to bind with and inhibit alpha-amylase from its purpose. This is an enzyme that is responsible for digesting and metabolizing starches. Since the starches are not digested, they are then flushed from the body through the bowels in the stool. By performing this function, the body is able to increase its metabolic rate to burn off existing stores which in turn helps to promote quick weight loss.

There are some arguments made that these carb blockers may not be as beneficial as the claims have stated. There has been some concerns due to preliminary results from clinical research that was done which revealed that when phaseolamin was digested it may have been broken down by the digestive tract prior to it being able to inhibit the alpha amylase production which metabolizes the carbohydrates.

This sent supplement producers back to the drawing board to produce an improved variant of the extract. In later studies they found that this version did indeed prevent the alpha amylase from metabolizing the carbohydrates present. Second, there was no deterioration of the extract from digestive juices noted.

There are several opinions as to what dosage of phaseolamin needs to be ingested in order for it to be effective in this. The Mayo Clinic did a study and stated that they felt that 4,000-6,000 mg needed to be ingested daily to be effective in inhibiting carbohydrate metabolism. The problem with this is that most of the supplements on the market do not contain anywhere near that dosage of the extract. Most seem to have around 500 milligrams per serving.

Another factor to remember when using supplements such as these to help maintain your weight or to achieve your weight loss goals is that these extracts do not work on sugary sweet snacks. They only work effectively on starches like breads, rice, potatoes, pasta and other foods of that nature. However, if a person tends to eat a diet that is high in those types of foods this supplement might be of benefit to them to help them lose weight.

As with any supplement or weight loss program, if a person has any type of chronic illness or takes medications on a regular basis, they should consult their physician or healthcare provider before taking this or any other type of supplement. This is very important to make sure that it is safe to take with other medications or with other health concerns.