By Mitch Skop, Senior Director, New Product Development, Pharmachem Laboratories, Inc.
Carbohydrates are comfort foods, notably for those who live in frigid climates and those who are enduring chronic or acute stress. Through a complex interaction, carbohydrates have been found to stimulate serotonin production — the “feel good” neurochemical.
Of course, the downside to over-consumption of carbohydrates is both weight gain and higher blood sugar levels. A recent study conducted by Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, showed that those on a reduced carbohydrate diet lost four times more than those on a reduced fat diet.
On the same token, carbohydrates are a necessary part of a healthy macronutrient ratio — people who are setting about to lose weight and improve overall health need to learn how to discern the bad carbs (refined flours, white rice) from the good (cruciferous vegetables, whole grains) and wean their palates off those foods that spike blood sugar and weight.
Ideally, achieving any healthy weight goal is most successful through slowly adapting to a healthier diet rather than going completely “cold turkey”: healthy eating habits need to be learnt and this is not an overnight process. In addition, the body needs to take time to adjust to a reduced sugar intake.
Also ideally, a proven dietary supplement, such as Phase 2 Carb Controller®, provides significant assistance during this time of transition. This supplement is a proprietary, technologically sophisticated extract of white kidney bean that has more than 20 years of research showing safety, mechanism of action and actual weight loss and blood glucose balancing in human clinical studies. It works to deter clinically significant percentages of ingested carbohydrates from absorption — it’s as though those last few potato chips were never eaten.
Phase 2 Carb Controller has been proven by approximately 18 clinical human studies to demonstrate weight loss via carbohydrate absorption inhibition while on a healthy diet regimen. In the largest human study conducted on Phase 2 Carb Controller to date, those subjects taking Phase 2 Carb Controller lost an average of seven pounds more than those on a placebo after 12 weeks. In addition, 73.5 per cent of the participants in the weight management phase successfully maintained their body weight after 24 weeks.
According to lead researcher Barbara Grube, MD, this weight-management study was the longest single clinical study conducted on the proprietary extract, and the first to show benefits for weight management. Study results were published in the journal Obesity.
After 12 weeks, the active arm in the weight-loss study experienced a statistically significant decrease in their desire as well as in their frequency and strength of food cravings for chocolates and other sweet foods, whereas the placebo group experienced a significant increase in the difficulty in resisting particular types of food.
Phase 2 is also suitable for those who want to support healthy blood sugar levels. In this manner, Phase 2 is backed by studies showing that it has a synergistic impact on healthy glucose response via preventing a percentage of carbohydrates from being absorbed into the system.
A 2010 study in the peer-reviewed publication The Open Nutraceuticals Journal describes two double blind human pilot studies demonstrating the ability of Phase 2 Carb Controller to decrease glucose absorption.
The article, “Investigation of an Amylase Inhibitor on Human Glucose Absorption after Starch Consumption,” by Vinson et al, concluded, “the bean extract has in vivo efficacy for inhibition of starch absorption and may prove beneficial in weight reduction in individuals consuming large amounts of starch. It also may inhibit starch-induced hyperglycaemia in normal and diabetic subjects.”
Furthermore, in 2014, Pharmachem Laboratories received a licence from the Natural Health Products Directorate, Ottawa, to market the ingredient with two health claims:
- “At 6 capsules (3000 mg) per day: Assists in weight management when used with a program of reduced intake of dietary calories and increased physical activity”.
- “At 4 to 6 capsules (2000 to 3000 mg) per day: Provides support for healthy glucose metabolism following a carbohydrate rich meal”.
The application for the claim was made on behalf of Pharmachem by the Toronto-based Dicentra, and according to Ryan Ramdeo, regulatory affairs associate, the “claims are unique to Phase 2 as the particular wording for the weight management claim is a rare phenomenon for licenced NHPs in Canada. Furthermore, the glucose metabolism claim emphasises a ‘carbohydrate-rich meal’, which is valuable information to consumers as it reflects the true efficacy of Phase 2 and its intended use”.
He added that, “the weight management claim is a real breakthrough, because the requirements for the clinical trials required to gain the claim are quite stringent. However, it was our belief that Phase 2 had the studies, the potency and safety to meet those requirements.”
