Carb Blockers

With the increasing popularity of the Atkins diet and the closely related South Beach diet, millions of Americans have been inculcated with the theory that carbohydrates are bad for them and are most likely the reason they are overweight. Both of these well known weight loss programs focus a lot of attention on the glycemic index of foods. The premise of the plans is that carbs tend to have a higher glycemic index, on average, than other food groups.

A high glycemic index indicates that a food will be rapidly digested and quickly converted into glucose by the body. Next, a chemical called insulin is released by the pancreas into the bloodstream. The primary job of the insulin is to absorb the glucose in the blood and distribute it to body parts and cells that need it.

Of course, once the glucose is removed from the bloodstream, the cravings and hunger pains promptly return. Plus, any unused glucose is stored as fat in the body. Instead of eliminating their favorite foods from their diets altogether, many people opt to take supplements called carb blockers to circumvent this process.

How Carb Blockers Work

Carb blockers are formulated to prevent the metabolism of carbohydrates into stored fat. The key ingredient in most carb blockers is called "phaselous vulgaris," a substance that is extracted from the northern white kidney bean. This substance contains an enzyme called alpha-amylase that impedes the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose.