Many people only focus on natural fat burners to promote weight loss, but there’s another smart solution - fat blockers.
Fat blockers are now more common than ever before in dietary supplements. However, before you buy the next product you see for your supplement stack, you may want to consider adding natural ingredients to your meal plans.
We’re definitely all for using supplements to help with weight loss, but thanks to some advice from our dietitian, we’ve been able to come up with a list of simple and natural ingredients.
Let’s start with some basics.
Quick Summary
- A natural fat blocker is a substance that slows down the digestion and absorption of fat molecules.
- The fat blockers work by binding to fat molecules, slows down enzymes, and by indirectly burning excess fat.
- Examples of the natural fat blockers include garcinia cambogia, white kidney beans, chitosan, and glucomannan.
What Is A Fat Blocker?
A fat blocker is a substance that slows down the body’s ability to digest and absorb fat molecules.
It means all the action happens in the stomach and digestive tract, where the body is working to break down food into macro and micronutrients.
We’ll get to details about how fat blockers work shortly, but they generally target two functions.
Either they include ingredients that attach to fat from food and make it difficult to break down, or they slow down the release of enzymes that break up dietary fat in the first place.
Both options may help you lose weight by reducing the amount of energy taken in.
Are Fat Blockers The Same As Fat Burners?
Most of the time, you’ll see people promoting weight loss pills in the form of fat-burning supplements. And many people think that they pretty much work the same way.
But slowing down fat absorption and boosting fat oxidation both happen in very different ways.
A fat burner won’t have much effect on how your body deals with dietary fat. Instead, it will boost metabolic processes to make it easier for your body to release fat storage.
But that difference also means these supplements could work very well in a weight loss supplements stack.
How Do Natural Fat Blockers Work?
We should first point out that fat blockers are not an excuse to eat junk food. You still have to stick with a healthy diet and regular physical activity to achieve your weight loss goals.
Here’s how a fat blocker might help with losing weight.
1. Bind To Fat Molecules
Many processes kick into action as food enters your stomach. Stomach acids, bacteria, and enzymes all help break down food so it can be absorbed into your bloodstream.
Some fat blockers target fat cells specifically and hold onto them. As a result, it becomes more difficult for enzymes to do their work and the fat simply passes through your bowels.
That means less energy absorption from your food intake, which may make weight loss a bit easier.
2. Slow Down Enzymes
Another way the fat-blocking diet pills control weight gain is by targeting the body’s release of certain enzymes.
When there are fewer enzymes in your stomach to break down the fat, more fat will pass right through you.
Now, you don’t want to completely stop these enzymes, as there are plenty of healthy fats that you still need.
But this way, you’ll ensure that more calories pass through you rather than have unwanted fat enter your metabolism.
3. Indirectly Burn Excess Fat
With the reduced fat absorption and calorie intake, it’s easier for you to get to net-negative energy consumption.
And when you don’t have enough energy in the form of blood glucose, your body has to resort to other sources, which should help your body burn fat more effectively.
It’s a completely natural way to lose weight that should also positively impact your blood sugar and blood pressure.
Are There Natural Ingredients That Block Fat?
To help identify the most suitable fat-blocking ingredients, we teamed up with our dietitian to analyze supplements and see if we could come up with some natural sources of those ingredients.
Surprisingly, there are some simple ways to adjust your meal plans for better weight loss success.
1. Garcinia Cambogia
This tropical fruit looks a little bit like a tomato, but it’s most commonly yellow. While it has been linked to some fat-burning benefits in clinical studies [1], there is also evidence that it can help slow down how much fat you process.
Because it’s a good source of fiber, you’ll find that it may trap some of the fat from your food and deliver it through your bowels undigested.
Not only may that help with weight loss, but it can improve the effectiveness of your overall bowel functions.
I would suggest buying the raw fruit in a health food store and adding it to your breakfast.
2. White Kidney Beans
You’ll find white kidney bean extract in quite a few different types of weight loss products and fat burners.
Similar to Garcinia Cambogia, it can support a balanced diet by increasing the amount of fiber intake.
White kidney beans are ideal for use in meal preparation.
Whether that’s on a salad or some form of side to your dinner, you’ll be able to deliver the fiber at just the right time where it could work its magic for your ideal body weight [2].
“The fiber content of white kidney beans supplies 23 percent of the daily value (DV) for that nutrient. An indigestible carbohydrate, fiber in general, promotes bowel health and feelings of satiety. In addition, the soluble fiber in beans reduces your body’s absorption of fat and helps lower blood cholesterol numbers.”
- Paula Martinac, Writer at SFGate.com
3. Phaseolus Vulgaris
Phaseolus Vulgaris is just a fancy name for the common French bean.
These beans are smaller than kidney beans, and they can help you lose weight by stabilizing both fat and carb intake.
That means a more stable blood sugar level after meals, so you avoid spikes that ultimately lead to hunger cravings again.
And with a strong boost of fiber with a meal, you’ll also trap some of that fat.
4. Chitosan
Chitosan is a bit more difficult to get into your meal plans because it’s mainly contained in the shells of shellfish. Now, I know what you’re thinking.
There’s no way you’re going to chew through those shells.
But you can make a broth by boiling up the leftover shells from shrimp or lobsters.
One study, in particular, found that Chitosan had a direct impact on the body fat percentage of test subjects and that it worked by reducing fat absorption [3].
5. Glucomannan
Glucomannan is the soluble fiber of the konjac plant. Some other root vegetables contain small amounts of this fiber, but the konjac plant has the richest sources.
Some Asian food stores offer dried and ground konjac that you can easily add to meals or into a morning smoothie because there isn’t much flavor to it.
Glucomannan has become increasingly popular in weight loss supplements for its ability to help reduce appetite, but there is also evidence that it binds to fat and carbs [4].
Related Article: Is Glucomannan Safe?
When Is The Best Time To Take Fat Blockers?
Weight loss can be difficult to achieve when your daily activities and food intake vary a lot. With a busy modern lifestyle and various work and family commitments, things become even more challenging.
We suggest adding some of the above ingredients to your daily meals and considering one of the following timing approaches:
1. First Thing In The Morning
Letting 12 or more hours pass between your last meal of the day and the first meal the following morning may help you boost metabolism activities.
And fat blockers may help even more when you introduce some dietary fiber along with your first meal. Not only will your fat metabolism become more effective, but you’ll also absorb less energy from your breakfast or morning snack.
2. With Every Meal
But then there are all the other meals of the day where you might need reduced macronutrient absorption.
That’s why we recommend adding some of the above ingredients into your lunch and dinner to get a continuous effect on dietary fat to work faster towards a healthy weight.
Related: What are Cortisol Blockers?
FAQs
Do Natural Fat Blockers Actually Work?
Yes, natural fat blockers actually work to reduce how much fat your body absorbs. This may have a direct impact on your body fat percentage as a lower calorie intake should lead to burning fat more effectively.
Are Fat Blockers and Carb Blockers the Same Thing?
No, fat blockers and carb blockers aren’t the same things, even though they work in similar ways. Ingredients that block carbs and carb processing enzymes are different from those that target fat. But both types of ingredients are often used in the same supplements.
Have You Considered Using Fat Blockers?
Although the diet industry mainly focuses on fat burning, there are plenty of good reasons to reduce fat absorption as well.
With the above ingredients, you may achieve your body weight goals faster as you will approach the weight loss process from multiple directions. Additionally, taking your favorite protein powders for muscle gain can be highly beneficial.
If you’ve used any of the above ingredients or supplements mentioned on the list, please share your experience with us below or on social media.
References:
- https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-018-2099-7
- https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-white-kidney-beans-4420.html
- https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-016-0122-8
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3892933/
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