Chitosan by Now Reviewed

Chitosan is derived from shellfish and is a linear polysaccharide, commonly used in medical circles as a haemostatic agent. Chitosan is deemed hypoallergenic and has properties which seem to rapidly clot blood, prompting the use in gauze dressings and bandages. Chitosan bandages used on battlefields in Iraq showed drastic increases in survival of wounded army personnel. As a nutritional supplement, chitosan is often marketed as a fat attractor. It is deemed a nutritional fiber and supposed to bind lipids in digestive tract, not allowing them to enter the blood stream and be stored in fat cells. Sometimes paired with glucomannan, this new supposed weight loss supplement has not yet received any pertinent clinical trials, which would prove its effectiveness, but some bile acid circulation interruption has been officially registered, partly proving the claims.

Chromium.

Gelatin constitutes the shells of pharmaceutical capsules in order to make them easier to swallow. Gelatin is a translucent, colourless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid substance, extracted from the collagen inside animals' connective tissue. It has been commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceutical, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing.

Magnesium Stearate is coommonly used as a filling agent in the manufacture of capsules and tablets, such as vitamins, the source of this ingredient is typically bovine. However, there is an increasing number of vegetarian options in which the product specifically indicates it contains magnesium stearate from vegetable sources.