Can kidney beans help you lose weight?
A new pill, made from white kidney beans, can help millions of people shed their extra flab, a British pharma company has claimed. Digestion of carbohydrates leads to weight gain and there are a lot of drugs that block carbohydrate digestion. But they cause gas and diarrhoea as they pass through the digestive tract. Now, the new drug called DEcarb, which is the first carbohydrate blocker to carry an EU Certified Medical Device Status, claims not to produce these unpleasant side-effects.
According to its manufacturer, Global Goldshield Consumer Health, the pill is made from an extract of the white kidney bean called phaseolamin, which reduces the effectiveness of alpha amylase -- an enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates. DEcarb contains a very high concentration of phaseolamin that prevents carbohydrates being converted into sugar and this means side-effects are virtually eradicated, although some people may suffer flatulence for a few days as the stomach adapts, the company said. In a small study carried out at the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania, a 1.5g tablet cut the amount of carbohydrate absorbed in a meal by up to 66 per cent.
"To lose weight and keep it off, there is no alternative but to make significant lifestyle changes," explains Dr. Shivakant Upadhyaya. "DEcarb can help you only for as long as you take it and, of course, you can't take it for ever. Having said that, we know that one of the benefits is that it reduces carbohydrate cravings," Dr Upadhyaya was quoted as saying. However, Dr. Carel le Roux, an obesity specialist, said any product that can reduce carbohydrate consumption so dramatically should be treated with caution. He said: "Reducing carbohydrates in an overweight person's diet can be very helpful to lower blood sugars. But a product that can lower absorption of carbohydrates by 66 per cent may have significant side-effects, as the unabsorbed food would have to be excreted with smelly consequences. "The body may sense through the upper part of the gut that carbohydrates were consumed, but if it is not absorbed the body may increase the cravings that lead to over-consumption."