A new study has claimed that taking supplements of seaweed-based fiber per day before meals can help people to lose weight. But this diet will only work if you can tolerate the taste of these supplements are not good.

More than one-fifth of people who eat seaweed-based supplements are stopped in the middle of the road because it no longer can tolerate the effects of supplements taste, texture and side effects.

“Researchers have explored the potential of seaweed as an appetite suppressant, but no one can make these supplements has good taste,” said Dr. Arne Astrup, a researcher from the University of Copenhagen, as reported from msn.

Previously seaweed-based supplement bit slimy and has a fishy taste. The new supplement that is used in this study also has a taste and texture that is less fun and still needs much improvement.

This supplement is based on alginate and seaweed extract common ingredient in foods such as soups and jellies. Materials are also increasingly used by industries that emit a weight loss product as an appetite suppressant.

Seaweed supplements are packaged in powder form. How to eat them is by mixing the powder with water and drink supplements, alginates will expand in the stomach to form a thick gel that will keep you full.

“The gel is really like pudding that will take place in the stomach for hours, it will gradually lower your appetite and lose weight,” Astrup said.

The researchers conducted a randomized study of 96 people aged 20-55 years who are generally healthy but obese. Study participants were divided into two groups.

One group was given a packet of seaweed supplement containing 15 grams of fiber, and the other given a placebo drink that is free of seaweed. Both the seaweed supplement and a placebo drink has about the same number of calories.

For three months, study participants drank seaweed supplement that is dissolved in two cups of water, 30 minutes before eating. Participants were also told to reduce daily caloric intake.

At the end of the study, people who eat seaweed supplements, the average loss of 15 pounds compared with the placebo group who lost 11 pounds of weight. But there were about 16 participants who gave up to continue the study until the end.

It turned out that this study also affect systolic blood pressure of study participants who dropped an average of nearly six points in the placebo group during the 12-week study period. While the participants who ate seaweed supplements, systolic blood pressure increases one to two points.

According to the researchers, the higher sodium content of the beverage alginate, a total of 1 gram, or about half a teaspoon of blood pressure can compensate for the potential of reducing the effects of the supplements. This is quite high due to the American Heart Association recommends that adults only require a sodium intake of 1.5 grams per day.

Five people who eat seaweed supplements left the study because it has a problem with flatulence, nausea and diarrhea because of it. While the two men who took placebo had also left the study because it has the same problem.

“Alginate consists of several types, so the trick is finding the right alginates in appropriate doses. Only rely on feeling less hungry because of this supplement will not make you lose weight unless offset by caloric restriction,” said Richard Mattes, a researcher who has studied effect on appetite alginate fibers from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

“The research group work finding a new supplement that uses 80 percent less alginate, the sodium is also less, feel better and have fewer side effects than current seaweed supplements,” Astrup. The research was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition