Carb Blockers vs Fat Blockers

Alli Fat Blocker (Orlistat).

Alli Fat Blocker (Orlistat).

This page will explain briefly about the differences between Fat Blockers and Carb Blockers which are often used in conjunction, but are actually very different things. I should also add at this point this includes Fat Binders which are grouped with Fat Blockers. All binders are blockers, but not all blockers are binders, I will explain why below. I will also purely for completeness mention Fat Burners, but won’t be dwelling on them for very long as they are not within the remit of this site.

I will also lightly cover using them at part of a multi-prong attack on fat and weight loss along with Carb Blockers. They are a very good combination, block carb absorption while increasing metabolism, reducing appetite and boosting energy is a winning formula to losing excess weight.

Fat Binders are considered to bind or merge with fat within the body, turning it into substance which stops the body absorbing it very well if not at all. Think if it like if the body can absorb water for hydration, you mix it with gelatin and your body can’t absorb it as a liquid its a food.

An example of a Fat Binder would be Proactol or Chitosan.

Fat Blockers generally work with the enzymes in your body to stop them breaking fat down, so the fat passes through unchanged and undigested.

An example of a Fat Blocker would be Orlistat or Alli.

Fat  Burners* are really products with speed up your metabolism, give you energy or reduce your appetite. Quite often they will do all of those things, an example would be an ECA Stack or Adiphene.

Proactol (Prickly Pear Cactus)

Proactol (Prickly Pear Cactus)

You can see there how fat binders and fat blockers can be thought of as the achieving the same thing, but 2 slightly different methods of action.

The 3 most known fat blocking and binding products will include:

Chitosan – Organic long chain polysaccharide, found in the shells of crabs, shrimps and other sea creatures.
Orlistat – Synthetic chemical working as lipase inhibitor, usually found in prescription drug Xenical, and the Over-The-Counter product Alli.
Opuntia Ficus Indica – Organic Cactus Fibre also known as Prickly Pear..

Originally the main fat binder was Chitosan, and it stood alone in the marketplace, now there are many more like Proactol and Lipobind, that doesn’t mean Chitosan isn’t worth the time of day. Its just a little dated, but very cheap so often worth adding either way you look at it.

The active ingredients in all fat blocking supplements interfere in some way with dietary fats from your meals and/or bile acids and/or enzymes. This means some have side effects worse than others, while some have minimal side effects, do your research and choose which suits you best.