Anybody here use Chitosan?

[bbernardini]

I remember hearing it advertised on Art Bell's show all the time. Anybody have any thoughts on it?

[Dogmudgeon]

1. Yes.

It's effective.

It's also way overpriced.

Most scientific studies report that users of chitosan need to use upwards of an ounce a day for results (weight reduction, improvement in serum lipid profile, etc). One ounce -- round it off to 30 grams -- is 60 tablets, the amount that's in an entire bottle that sells for $15.

Similar for Citrimax, rhodiola, growth hormone nasal spray, commophora ("Guggulipid") and other supplements advertized as magical potions. They bottle miniscule amounts, charge a horrendous fee, and evangelize about the ill-health of us Americans "all the way to the bank."

Read up on chitosan; if you're still interested, look around for a cheap supply. Then, if you do, send me a note, because I gave up a couple years ago.

Good luck!

--bkl

[bbernardini]

2. $18 for 300 at The Vitamin Shop

Still, 60 a day? No wonder that would be effective for weight loss...you'd be spending all of your meal times on the crapper!

I usually take 4 before every meal, and it does the trick.

[izzie]

3. What is it?

n/t

[sam sarrha]

9. I heard that it is a fiber from 'shrimp shells', there are a lot of very

harsh intestinal "Flushes" out there and i dont use the term lightly.. I am not too sure i want to ingest something that my body wants to get rid of in such a hurry. I dont know much about your product but i would follow the middle path, tho i do the Master Cleanser Purge Fast twice a year. I use non processed bulk grain fiber with every meal, you can go to a bulk food health store and get a months supply of very gentle flax meal with lots of minerals, etc.. for a couple dollars. i get the flax seed, a 'LIVE' food that stores well and i use a blender to process it into a meal a cup at a time. There is NO quick fix.. good Health is a life style. If you want to lose weight, you must reduce the volume of intake, and walk about 2 miles get the flip down Pedometer or measure distance with car odometer, take the stairs.. consider that your stomach is about the size of your fist but you dont need to put that much in it , over fill it and the excess food will spoil before it can be digested... PPpppeeeewwwwwuuuuu!!!! some people just need to eat more often, you split a normal stomach size meal in half, or 2/3 and 1/3 and cut time between meals in half... a snack at work breaks...low fat non processed, fruit/veggie etc.. I make meals ahead in snack zip bags frig or freeze them, pre measured and i only cook 2 or 3 times a week, I can not emphasize enough the importance of Medidation... I lost 40 pounds in less than 3 months and didn't realize it till my clothes didn't fit. Doing Meditation on the breath and noting the thoughts and emotions as thinking and letting them go soon carries over to normal time.. i see temptation and say "thinking".. it is just grasping, i dont need to eat and i let it go. 'being here now', eliminates all the rationalization for eating when i am not hungry and dont need to eat. There is a good Buddhist site .. www.buddhanet.net ..that has a very well done video Meditation instruction. Buddhism isn't a religion, Meditating doesn't make you a Buddhist, meditation existed long before Buddhism. Meditation is used by lots of different groups to train the Mind to remain in the present.. and separate the normal flow and floods of thoughts and emotions from what is actually real and relevant. there are many sites to surf on meditation, different types of meditation, but the meditation on the breath is the standard traditional place to start, 10 minutes a day for the first 30 days, more later if you get into it.

[sam sarrha]

4. soluble fiber, there are lots of very CHEAP soluble fibers that do the

same thing. some are better tolerated than others by different people. I can not use Psyllium, tho it works very will, if i miss using it with "every meal" it seems to 'back me up' for a day or two or 3.. I quit using it. I have developed a 'Mix' that solves that problem. I use 1/3 quick oats, 1/3 oat bran and 1/3 Flax meal. for breakfast I put about 1/4 to 1/3 fiber mix into about a cup+ of boiling water. you can make it thiner with yogurt or milk and drink it, try to mix some saliva with it to start the digestion process, prevents gas, but i dont have a problem with that. I am always doing special things for my wife... I cut up 1/2 an apple in 1/4 to 1/8 inch squares, some golden raisins/dates/bananas/etc some Cinnamon and brown sugar...whatever you like and microwave with enough water you can stir it up when it is done...I store a container diluted in the frig and drink some mixed with Kieffer drink with every meal... all soluble fiber has a glutinous quality without sufficient water... I have a *Sunbeam electric wand mixer i got specifically for this. I am a biologist, "CAUTION THE FOLLOWING MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO THE SQUEAMISH AND UNEMFORMED".... i buy Kieffer or yogurt with 5 to 6 different Live intestinal bacterial Floria and put 1/2 cup into a gallon of 1% milk, leave some space at the top and DONT put the cap on tight/'set' on top, shake it up and culture like yogurt. Actually, I just put it on top of the frig, shake up once a day toll it gets creamy thick then put in the frig.. if you miss the creamy stage usually 3 days/or it separates before or after putting in the frig, just smooth with blender or wand. I add some live culture to the oat meal and drink at least 1/2 cup with every meal to maintain intestinal Floria, Especially after taking antibiotics, without proper intestinal Floria levels yeasts can change the PH and inhibit growth of bacteria and TAKE OVER the intestinal environment. especially if one uses alcohol/sugars/acid foods/drinks. I am 55 and my doctor actually sent me back to have my blood test panel redone because, at my age i, "Could not have results that good." all the results were in the 20 year old "Perfect Health" level. I got my mother and several friends off cholesterol medicine using this... CAUTION: dont tighten the cap on the milk container, it will carbonate and erupt like a champagne bottle, put the container in a pie pan or plate on the frig.. in case you forget about it. REMEMBER this isn't "processed" food, it takes learning about thru experience, it takes effort and an open mind...It is a life style. I delight in my good health, still learning how, while some of my friend slowly slip away to chronic bad health. WE can prevent a LOT of bad health and sometimes make better some problems... but frequently once it goes bad it is very difficult to get better... always better to prevent. fiber moves the food through quickly, isolating and insulating the cholesterol and fats preventing their absorption. there is hard evidence that a high fiber diet prevents different types of cancer, some by more than half. some people have better response to flax and need to reduce the amount. Pills are not the solution.. but real convenient. I get my fiber in bulk, flax meal for $1.30 a pound, but at Walmart it is over $12 a pound. Oats at Sun Harvest are $1.20 a pound, oat bran $0.89. i try to patronize small local business. might take some effort to locate a bulk or natural foods supplier, and it can be more expensive or not. but if we dont keep these business alive we will all be slaves to the corporations and victims of their products.

[Midwest_Doc]

5. If your interested in fat blocking

Ask your physician about Xenical. It is much more effective than chitosan, but has some unpleasant side-effects if not used properly.

[The_Gopher]

6. side-effects...eat more than 30 grams fat, best have a change of undies

xenical will eff you up.

[bbernardini]

7. For example?

Warning: Xenical may cause skin failure, loss of head, or armageddon. Do not taunt Xenical. If Xenical begins to glow purple, evacuate the area immediately.

[The_Gopher]

8. i thought that was "Happy Fun Ball" on SNL?

.

[bbernardini]

10. Well, yeah!

At least the "do not taunt" part. If any of the rest of it was from SNL, it was completely unintentional. Oh, "skin failure" is from "The Simpsons".

[The_Gopher]

11. i just thank P&G everyday for bringing us the term "anal leakage"

.