The Starch Blocker Diet [Hardcover]

Steven Rosenblatt (Author), Cameron Stauth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 2003

Are high-carbohydrate, starchy foods -- breads, pasta, potatoes -- your dietary downfall? Here's a program that's almost sinfully satisfying but low in calories, a new medical strategy based on thirty years of clinical testing that helps people lose weight without giving up their favorite foods.

The anti-carb revolution that's sweeping America has finally found a sane solution. A recently discovered natural substance derived from legumes instantly eliminates most of the calories in starchy foods, giving you a huge caloric reduction and an effective fat-burning metabolism. No more denial diets! Using the groundbreaking information in this book, you can lose weight without hunger for the first time in your life.

The calorie-neutralizing substance known as Phase 2 binds with the enzyme that digests starch, so when you take it just before meals, most starch, similar to fiber, passes through your system without releasing calories. There are no side effects, but a huge benefit: up to 1/3 of your total daily calories are instantly eliminated! The Starch Blocker Diet provides a simple, three-step program for achieving safe, lasting weight loss:

Step 1: Redistributing Calories
You'll actually eat more starchy foods -- to maximize the power of this new way to lose weight!

Step 2: Taking Emotional Control
This program helps you regain power over food by stopping cravings and improving mood chemistry.

Step 3: Burning Body Fat with Supercharged Exercise
When starch calories are neutralized, you burn body fat faster, so exercise has a heightened fat-loss effect.

This no-hunger, nondenial strategy lets you eat a richly satisfying diet while still losing weight. You'll find formulas for individualizing the program to fit your own caloric and lifestyle requirements, a unique starch calorie chart, detailed scientific data, sample menus, and more than 100 delicious, high-starch recipes, many by James Beard Award-winning chef Philippe Boulot.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steven Rosenblatt, M.D., Ph.D., O.M.D., practices in Los Angeles, California, and is president of Sierra Medicinals.He holds degrees in medicine, psychology, and oriental medicine and has authored several research articles published in peer-reviewed journals. He is board certified in Family Practice and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs as a leading authority on complementary medicine.He has served as director of the Complementary Medicine Program at Ceders-Sinai Medical Center and was appointed to the Medical Advisory Commision of the 1984 Olympic Games.He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Collins; 1 edition (April 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060548231
• ISBN-13: 978-0060548230
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #580,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Can you neutralize the calories in the foods you love ?, July 25, 2003

By 

Lee Mellott "Skin Care For Wrinkles" (Frederick, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Starch Blocker Diet (Hardcover)

...The book describes a progrom that explains how you can eat carbohydrates like rice, pasta, bread and potatoes and lose weight. You lose the weight by taking a starchblocker. This calorie neutralizing substance called Phase 2 binds with the enzymes that digest starch. So when you take it with your meals most starch passes through your system without releasing calories. Phase 2 is made from white kidney beans and is very safe with no side effects aside from minor bloating or gas for some people.

The authors outline a 3 step program. You redistribute your calories so you eat more starchy foods so you will neutralize some of those calories. You learn to take emotional control of your eating and you burn body fat by exercising.

The authors state that by taking the correct dose of the product Phase 2. you will negate about 50%-75% of the starch calories in a carbohydrate meal. If you eat carbohydrate rich meals and take the supplement several times per day you will negate those calories thus be eating less calories and lose weight... In one study, patients lost an average of 3.9% of total body weight or an average of 6.45 pounds over 30 days compared to those on a placebo who lost 3 quarters of a pound. Another study shows a weight loss of .5 to 1 pound per week using the starch blockers...The biggest qualm I had with the book is it is not consistent with other informations as to when to take the starch blockers. The book says right before a meal. At the website of the starch blocker the authors sell it says take 30 minutes before (yes the authors sell starch blockers). So exactly when to take it is unclear. And very important for someone to know to have success with the plan.
After checking with representatives from several different brands and getting a number of different answers I learned that in the study the supplement was taken 30 minutes before.

The authors also make a few errors in the text. They refer to 40% protein 30% fat 30% carbohydrate being a typical low carb diet..when the actual ratios are 40% carb, 30% protein and 30% fat. On p. 69 they refer to gymnema sylvestre as a sugar blocker that is not readily available. Gymnema Sylvestre is marketed not as a sugar blocker but as a way to make it so your taste buds don't taste the sweet so you don't enjoy it. It's still available at health food stores. They suggest you supplement with chromium but do not specify chromium picolinate or chromium polynicotinate. They also tell you not to take more that 6 capsules a day of starch blockers. Yet in examples given they neutralize the calories from 3 meals and 2 snacks each day. Starch blockers have to be taken near the meal to work. So this would have you taking more than 6 starch blockers per day. The authors also suggest you switch your calories to more starchy ones so you can then block them. But this does not teach healthy eating habits. Perhaps it is better to try to control your intake of the energy dense starcy carbs like potatoes and bread and use the blockers as an additional helpmate.

The authors email addresses are given at the back of the book and I emailed both of them. But unfortunately, neither returned my emails to answer my questions. Finally I emailed customer service where the Dr. Rosenblatt the author sells his product (starchstoppers are sold under a variety of brand names) and a super representative named Susan answered my questions.

Skepticism aside there are a lot of good points in the book. The authors discuss how for many folks starch blockers are very helpful in combating the intolerance to carbohydrates. Many folks bloat up when they eat carbs in reasonable amounts and the authors explain how the blockers can help with this.

The book details how to determine your calorie level based on your size and activity. It lists a lot of foods and their starch content so you can plan your own meals. It also rates foods based on how effective they would be on the starch blocker plan. "If a food contains a high amount of starch it is given a better grade" I did not find this list that useful. For example eggs are given a B but they dont have starch so I think the list is based more on what is healthy for you than the starch content of the item.

The book also includes a number of recipes from a French Chef including, hot crab sandwhich, chocolate hazelnut shortcake, chicken paprika, and a number of other tasty meals.

I often bloat when I eat small amounts of carbs and my stomach looks it. So I decided to try the starch blocker program. After just a few days on the program I felt less bloated (my imagination perhaps?) but have not lost any weight. However, it does take time. This is not a magic pill, its a helper. Thus it will be a while before I can clearly attest to the book or starchstoppers effectiveness. When I know for sure I will update this review. Meantime I have my fingers crossed and my starchblocker on hand!

UPDATE - I personally did not notice any difference after taking the starch blockers except less money in my purse. I feel the best course of action to lose weight is exercise and eating real food in small quantities. There is no magic pill.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a great idea and it works, August 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Starch Blocker Diet (Hardcover)

If you are tired of low/no carb diets and and still want to lose weight say hooray for this book and starchblockers. The book has some helpful info in it but mostly it serves to motivate you to get started. The effect of taking the starchblockers seems to be:
1 you don't absorb the calories from the starchy food we all eat and love
2 you seem to crave these foods less and be satisfied with normal size porions. This may also be because you take the starchblockers with a large glass of water before you eat so they probably fill you up some.
3 the starchblockers ameliorate adverse reactions to carbs especially bloating and gas.
4. The guilt goes away because you can eat what you like without toturing yourself about it. So food becomes just food, not the enemy or the unattainable pleasure.
Of course taking the starchblockers is not a oppotunity to just sit around and eat whole loaves of Wonder Bread. The author encourages exercise and balanced eating. And again without a high protein/fat low carb emphasis or any super special meal preparations. Eating in restaurants and packing your sandwhich for lunch once again become doable and fun.
I have taken them and they really work. Of course not as dramatcally as they are advertised to but they do work. And that is the good news. The other news is that you have to keep taking them with every starchy meal. I think 3 or 4 times a day for any supplement of this sort is a bit much. You can choose to eat non starch meals (veggies, fruit protein etc) or low starch meals and that way moderate the amount of the starch blockers that you take if you share these concerns.
But that is the only down side I have discovered.
And yay for being able to eat, happily, and enjoy popcorn and mased potatoes again and still lose weight!

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Howard Hughes and Dead Rats., September 12, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Starch Blocker Diet (Hardcover)

This is not just another Weight Loss book! It is a guide to healthy eating and living!

It is an instruction manual for the body and how different foods affect your energy, mood, alertness and general health. When reading the book I was reminded of the phrase, "You Are What You Eat". When I first opened the book, I was initially disappointed with what I thought was "fluff". I thought I was buying a book that would tell me straight out, "Eat this or eat that". However, after reading the first couple of pages in the introduction, I was glad I didn't get the type of book I had expected-I just could not put it down. The Authors mix health education with mystery and history to make this book a wonderful read. Several times while I was reading, my jaw dropped over some of the information.

I had tried Starch Blockers in the 1980's just before the FDA pulled them but I did not know their history (The Howard Hughes and Dead Rats connection). I thought that Starch Blockers were just another gimmick of the "Health food" industry for a quick fix to overeating. Starch Blockers got a bad (but deserved) rap in the 80's because a few "Quick Buck" artist produced an inferior product based on solid a research into controlling Blood Sugar Levels (Not Weight Loss) . I found in reading that our blood sugar levels control our moods, energy, alertness and the ability to gain or lose weight. Among other things, I have learned about food allergies and food reactions from this wonderful text.

More importantly, I have learned that Starch Blockers by themselves are not a "Magic Weight Loss Bullet". This book details how (and why) to use Phase 2 in conjunction with proper food selection and exercise to create a non-self defeating weight loss (Not Diet) and wellness program. Reading this book and following its advice will make a program using the Phase 2 Starch Blockers more effective.