First, the control feces sample is collected. The next day, the participants are each given two starch blockers that contain 500 mg of the enzyme inhibitor to take at meal- time. On the last day, the subjects are given two placebos to take in a similar manner. If the product had blocked all of the starch absorption, the fecal calorie output would have increased by 680 kcal. It was concluded that the fecal calorie output was not greater when starch blockers instead of placebos were administered 1 .
Several sources cite similar procedures and outcomes, though without sharing statistical results.
Detailed research on the effectiveness of starch blockers on starch is rather scarce, though opinions abound on web sites and in magazines, mainly to support commercialism. Other researchers have used a similar procedure and placebo comparison, but measured tidal breath hydrogen, plasma glucose, and insulin responses to a constant test meal instead of fecal calorie output. They also reported that there were no significant differences in breath hydrogen, or plasma glucose and insulin responses and concluded that starch blockers are ineffective weight loss supplements. One study reported that people who took the starch blocker before eating a high starch meal had lower blood sugar levels after the meal than those who took a placebo before the meal. This means that the starch blockers did not allow the digestion of carbohydrates to sugar, and ultimately that the pill was effective.