† Chitosan Reduces Body Weight? †

Many retail pharmacists say that chitosan is effective in reducing cholesterol as well as promoting weight lost. Is this true or even possible?

Chitosan is a linear polysaccharide composed of randomly distributed β-(1-4)-linked D-glucosamine (deacetylated unit) and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (acetylated unit). Chitosan is produced commercially via de-acetylation of chitin, which is the structural element found in the exoskeleton of crustaceans such as crabs, shrimp, lobster or any seafood with hard shell you name it. Surprisingly the chitin is found from seafood that cause high cholesterol in human body upon ingestion. Interesting isn't it?

Chitosan is frequently sold in tablet form at health stores as a fat attractor where it supposed to have the capability of attracting fat from the digestive system and expelling it from the body so that users can lose weight without eating less. Perhaps in other words we can call it a fat-magnet?

Chitosan appears to be virtually too good to be true and also there are lack of studies being done upon its effect. A research done in year 2001 showed that there was an insignificant reduction of cholesterol in comparison to other slimming medicines. However, some researches proves chitosan has a potential effect on reducing the body weight of the consumers.