Diabetes Talking

Question:

   Back in the early 80’s, before the FDA banned them, starch-blockers    (an enzyme extract of kidney beans, if I remember correctly) helped me    lose bocoodles of pounds with almost no side-effects (beside an    occasional case of the Aztec Two-Step).    Now, after serious injuries in an accident, and with osteo-arthritis,    my extra poundage is more bothersome than ever.    Not all countries are as insanely anal as ours, are they?    Is there somewhere where starch-blockers are legal and available?  If    so, is there a legal way to procure them? There’s a new drug approved by the FDA for Type II diabetes called acarbose which acts by blocking the hydrolysis of polysaccharides to simple sugars.  Naturally, it requires a prescription.  Whether that’s the same stuff as what was formerly sold OTC or whether it works in the same way, I’m not sure.  I’m not aware that it’s all that effective for weight loss.  It tends to blunt the rise in blood sugar after a meal by reducing the rate that simple sugars enter the bloodstream from the gut. — Steve Dyer

Response:

I justr found this group, and didn’t see an FAQ, so please forgive me if this question has been asked and answered in ancient times. Back in the early 80’s, before the FDA banned them, starch-blockers (an enzyme extract of kidney beans, if I remember correctly) helped me lose bocoodles of pounds with almost no side-effects (beside an occasional case of the Aztec Two-Step). Now, after serious injuries in an accident, and with osteo-arthritis, my extra poundage is more bothersome than ever. Not all countries are as insanely anal as ours, are they? Is there somewhere where starch-blockers are legal and available?  If so, is there a legal way to procure them? I would be very grateful (not to mention thin again) for any such information either by e-mail or posted to this group. |   No Smileys.  Find the jokes yourself.  |

Response:

This is probably not what you had in mind, however, the Boston Globe earlier this week had a full-page ad for what sounds like a fat-blocker. It described four different ingredients, which when used in unison is supposed to destroy fat cells. The stuff costs close to $50 a bottle. I know someone who ordered it (not me!) and if you want to know how she makes out, let me know and I will E-mail. If this stuff does half of what it claims it would be better than the startch blockers you are talking PS-This ad spread probably cost over $50K. It was massive.

Response:

I’m not aware that it’s all

that effective for weight loss.  It tends to blunt the rise in blood sugar after a meal by reducing the rate that simple sugars enter the bloodstream from the gut. — Steve Dyer

Another way to blunt the rise in blood sugar after a meal is to eat primarily Protein/Fat, not carbohydrates.  All carbohydrates are converted into sugar when digested whereas protein and fat are not. Blood sugar levels become much more stable when you eliminate or reduce carbohydrates.

Response:

Starch blockers were alpha-amylase inhibitors.  These are colloid enzymes that split or hydrolyze starch.  Starch blockers did just that, they blocked the digestion of a certain amount of starch in the diet.  They allowed one to eat bread and pasta and effectively made the diet a low-carbohydrate plan.   I also lost some good weight using starch blockers coupled with L-tryptophan before the feds yanked their availability.  Starch blockers had some pretty serious side effects for SOME people and were being hyped like drugs, so they were treated like drugs and the producers vanished rather than go through the required proof to assuage the federal bureaucrats. So, let me again interject my paranoid ranting that fenfluramine and phentermine are not a slam dunk for lifelong availability.  What the fed gives the fed can taketh away. Lee I just found this group, and didn’t see a FAQ, so please forgive me if this question has been asked and answered in ancient times. Back in the early 80’s, before the FDA banned them, starch-blockers (an enzyme extract of kidney beans, if I remember correctly) helped me lose oodles of pounds with almost no side-effects (beside an occasional case of the Aztec Two-Step).

122+ pounds lost since June 1994 Thanks to God, Atkins and Chemistry.

Response:

Thanks for the info, both chemical and personal.  But my original question still remains unanswered: Is there *anywhere* where they can still be obtained, like f’rinstance Tijuana?  I mean, the FDA doesn’t control the world, does it? Once again: are they legally available ANYWHERE? That’s all I want to know.  Thanks again. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Starch blockers were alpha-amylase inhibitors.  These are colloid enzymes that split or hydrolyze starch.  Starch blockers did just that, they blocked the digestion of a certain amount of starch in the diet.  They allowed one to eat bread and pasta and effectively made the diet a low-carbohydrate plan.   I also lost some good weight using starch blockers coupled with L-tryptophan before the feds yanked their availability.  Starch blockers had some pretty serious side effects for SOME people and were being hyped like drugs, so they were treated like drugs and the producers vanished rather than go through the required proof to assuage the federal bureaucrats. So, let me again interject my paranoid ranting that fenfluramine and phentermine are not a slam dunk for lifelong availability.  What the fed gives the fed can taketh away. Lee I just found this group, and didn’t see a FAQ, so please forgive me if this question has been asked and answered in ancient times. Back in the early 80’s, before the FDA banned them, starch-blockers (an enzyme extract of kidney beans, if I remember correctly) helped me lose oodles of pounds with almost no side-effects (beside an occasional case of the Aztec Two-Step). 122+ pounds lost since June 1994 Thanks to God, Atkins and Chemistry.

|   No Smileys.  Find the jokes yourself.  |

Response: