Carbo Grabbers® from Nature’s Sunshine is being advertised as a weight loss product that blocks the absorption of carbohydrates upon consumption. A pill before a high carbohydrate meal is supposed to keep the food from being digested thereby preventing it from turning into fat.

The active ingredient is White Kidney Bean extract which contains amylase inhibitors.

The other ingredients included are cellulose, gelatin and water.

Amylase is a digestive enzyme that plays a major role in the metabolism of complex carbohydrates. White Kidney Bean Extract has been shown to inhibit the actions of the enzyme, thus preventing digestion. In other words, the undigested materials never get past the intestines.

Although this extract is said to help in weight loss, it does not work as wonderfully as the manufacturers make us believe. Carbo Grabbers® is supposed to be able to block 50% of eaten carbohydrates, what is not made known to consumers is the fact that White Kidney bean extract does not work on simple sugars (such as cakes and biscuits) and that there are other digestive enzymes that take over when amylase activity stops.

Two capsules of Carbo Grabbers® are to be taken before a high carbohydrate meal. This preventive type of approach is actually not much different from bingeing and purging. Because this method prevents important nutrients from being absorbed by the body, it is not an advisable practice to follow as it may develop into a dangerous lifestyle. The basic principle of this product is obviously: What goes in, must come out.

We tend to look with skepticism at weight loss plans which endorse over-eating. We believe good whole carbohydrates are an important source of energy and when eaten in moderation should not cause any problems. What should be avoided are refined carbohydrates which have a negative effect on the body.

Positives

• Product is described in advertisements as being “all natural”
• Formula is simple

Negatives

• Increased bowel movements
• “Scientific study” not cite

Carbo Grabbers® weight loss principle is quite simple—take a pill, indulge in carbohydrates, flush it out of your system before it turns into fat. It sounds too good to be true. Based on the ingredients included in the formulation and the lack of published studies to validate the choice of ingredients, the effectiveness of this product is doubtful.

In 2004. the US Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to the manufacturer, Nature’s Sunshine, citing the claims made in the marketing of Carbo Grabbers®, to be false with no scientific research to validate them and the product itself being “misbranded”. Even if dietary supplements do not have to be FDA approved as they are not medicines, every product that claims to have an effect on the “structure or function of the human body” must be able to substantiate their claims.