I'm not giving up bread. I'm not going keto. I'm not getting on Ozempic. But I am curious about what happens if my body just... processes fewer of the carbs I eat.
That curiosity is what led me to spend the last 30 days taking a carb blocker before my most carb-heavy meals, keeping a diary of what I ate, when I took it, and how I felt afterward. The product: Macra CB-628, a white kidney bean extract supplement that claims to block the enzyme your body uses to break down starch.
Here's what actually happened.
The Premise
Let me back up. Carb blockers aren't new. White kidney bean extract has been studied for over two decades as a natural alpha-amylase inhibitor. Alpha-amylase is the enzyme that breaks down starch into simple sugars your body can absorb. Block some of that enzyme, and a portion of the starch you eat passes through your digestive system undigested. Fewer carbs absorbed. Fewer calories from those carbs. Less of that heavy, bloated, "why did I eat the entire basket of garlic bread" feeling.
A 2018 meta-analysis led by Jay Udani reviewed 11 randomized controlled trials with 573 total subjects and found statistically significant results for white kidney bean extract versus placebo in both body weight and body fat measures.
The science isn't fringe. It's just not flashy.
Let me back up. Carb blockers aren't new. White kidney bean extract has been studied for over two decades as a natural alpha-amylase inhibitor. Alpha-amylase is the enzyme that breaks down starch into simple sugars your body can absorb. Block some of that enzyme, and a portion of the starch you eat passes through your digestive system undigested. Fewer carbs absorbed. Fewer calories from those carbs. Less of that heavy, bloated, "why did I eat the entire basket of garlic bread" feeling.
A 2018 meta-analysis led by Jay Udani reviewed 11 randomized controlled trials with 573 total subjects and found statistically significant results for white kidney bean extract versus placebo in both body weight and body fat measures.
The science isn't fringe. It's just not flashy.
