Herbal Pharmacist Discusses Benefits of Phase 2 Carb Controller Ingredient During Nutritional Outlook Webcast

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On March 23^rd, herbal pharmacist David Foreman, RPh, discussed the topic of carb blockers and whether these ingredients really work for weight management.

Foreman began by talking about the obesity epidemic and how obesity has replaced hunger as the number-one global health crisis, killing three times as many people as malnutrition, according to a recent Lancet study. In America, more than half (68%) of adults are overweight. Foreman also cited Duke University statistics that 42% of Americans will be obese (not just overweight) by 2030, with top health risks of obesity and overweight subsequently being heart disease/stroke, cancer, diabetes, and osteoarthritis.

Foreman then turned his attention to carbohydrate control, calling it “one of the biggest components of weight management.” He pointed to statistics showing that obesity rates started rising in the 1980s concurrently with the rise of low-fat guidelines and a rise in sugar consumption. Why the link? Foreman said that when people began eliminating fats from their diet, they began eating more starches instead to satisfy their hunger; in addition, food manufacturers began using more sugar and sodium to make up for the flavor lost in low-fat foods. As a result, Foreman said, “Sugar and starch were really the common denominators of how we got to this obesity/overweight epidemic.”

Foreman then talked about the efficacy of low-carb diets. He pointed to a 2014 JAMA study[1] which found that low-carb diets, above all other diets, achieved the highest levels of weight loss and that subjects on a low-carb diet also saw improvements in lean muscle mass, as opposed to other diets that caused subjects to lose both fat and muscle. (If you lose muscle, you slow your metabolic rate and won’t burn calories as quickly.)

One proven tool in the carb-management box, he said, is Phase 2 Carb Controller, a branded ingredient from Pharmachem Laboratories (Kearny, NJ), the sole sponsor of the Nutritional Outlook webcast. Phase 2 is a proprietary, natural extract of the white kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) that is clinically shown to bind with amylase, the digestive enzyme that breaks down starch molecules and converts them into glucose. By binding with amylase, Phase 2 prevents starches from breaking down in the blood stream, thus avoiding impacts to blood sugar and weight.

Finally, Foreman cited the largest clinical trial involving Phase 2 Carb Controller to date, published in Obesity. In this 123-subject study, Phase 2 Carb Controller subjects lost an average of 7 lb more than those on placebo after 12 weeks, and 73.5% of participants in the weight-management phase successfully maintained their body weight after 24 weeks. Phase 2 subjects also lost more fat mass and waist circumference compared to the placebo group, and after 12 weeks, the Phase 2 group experienced significantly fewer food cravings

Finally, Foreman cited statistics showing that 49.5% of blacks were obese in 2009-2010 (almost half of the black population), while 39.1% of Hispanics were obese in that same time period. (By comparison, 34.3% of whites were obese).

“If you’re thinking about a new functional food item or a supplement, then looking at those two demographics-blacks and Hispanics-and trying to think outside of the regular box and be more targeted to those ethnic backgrounds” is one promising strategy, Foreman said. “Keep that thought in mind when you’re thinking of moving forward on a new product, whether it’s a functional food or a supplement.”

Did you miss this webcast? View the webcast on demand for free, here!

References:

[1] Johnston BC et al., “Comparison of weight loss among named diet programs in overweight and obese adults: a meta-analysis,” JAMA, vol. 312, no. 9 (September 3, 2014): 923-933