Chitosan: properties, use, contraindications

Chitosan is a polysaccharide extracted from chitin present in the skeleton of marine crystals useful for reducing body weight and controlling cholesterol, as it has the ability to bind the fats to itself, preventing it from accumulating. Let's find out better.

Crustaceans from which chitosan is extracted

What is chitosan

Chitosan is a linear polysaccharide, composed of D-glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, which protects crustaceans and insects, giving hardness and resistance to shells, shells and shells.

Where is the chitosan

Chitosan is synthesized by deacetylation of chitins, with a basic aqueous solution. Chitin is found, in nature, in the exoskeleton of marine crustaceans such as crabs, prawns.

Chitosan as a natural weight loss supplement: discover others

Properties and use of chitosan

Chitosan is used in low-calorie diets to reduce body weight, as it has the ability to bind fats to itself, preventing it from accumulating. The amino groups of chitosan with a strong positive polarity attract carboxylic groups negatively charged to lipids ( cholesterol, triglycerides) and bile ones.

This ability to absorb fats, favoring their elimination with feces, is exploited in many products intended for people who are overweight or have high levels of triglycerides and cholesterol in their blood because chitosan limits their absorption and accumulation, favoring thus the balance between fat mass and lean or muscular mass.

These electrolytic bonds that form between chitosan and lipids show little tendency to bind with water, are not digested by the enzymes of our digestive system and consequently cannot be absorbed intestinally; thus the chitosan captures the fat by absorbing it, to then be eliminated through the faeces in the intestine.

Contraindications of chitosan

Natural supplements based on chitosan should not be taken during pregnancy (they may contain traces of mercury, lead, copper, iron and arsenic), breastfeeding and in case of food allergy to shellfish .