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Chitosan

Chitosan Supplements: Information

Chitosan (KITE-oh-san) is an type of fiber produced from a protein found throughout nature, chitin. Chitosan is able to combine with and bind irreversibly to dietary fat, which means you won’t be able to absorb all of those fat calories.

Chitosan's Health Benefits

Chitosan can help offset the impact of a high-fat meal on your diet and weight loss program.1 It shouldn’t be considered a weight loss program or approach in and of itself, but it is a great thing to keep on hand for whenever you have a high fat meal, fast food, traveling or other times.

Using Supplements

Using chitosan supplements as directed, taking them before fat-rich meals and avoiding taking them at the same time as fat-soluble supplements (see next section). Chitosan can also be combined with carb blockers.

Side-effects and Cautions:

Note: Chitosan is made from shellfish shells (crab, shrimp, lobster) so customers allergic to these foods should use caution - but most are able to use Chitosan without any problems. That’s because shellfish allergies are sensitivities is to proteins in the flesh of the crab, not the polysaccharide fiber in the Chitosan material . In fact, like most fibers, Chitosan doesn’t enter the bloodstream or interact with the body’s cells at all– it only affects the fat content of the food you’ve eaten. You should not take Chitosan and fat soluble vitamins at the same time (fish oils, vitamins A, D, E, CoQ 10, lecithin, phosphatidylserine). Take them at least 4 hours apart.

References:
1. J Am Coll Nutr. 2006 Oct;25(5):389-94.