Alginate

aagaag

Just wanted to say that I am currently experimenting with alginate. It sounds like a chemical, but actually it is a kelp extract - essentially the same as starch, but entirely devoid of calories. Like starch and cellulose, alginate consists of long, polymeric chains of sugars. However, the sugars are linked to each other in a way that cannot be digested by the human GI tract. Hence no calories.

Alginate can be used for everything which you would use starch for - binding soups, etc. These days I am trying to use it as a softener for super-low-calories ice cream. I shall keep you posted on my progress!

nomorebamboozles

I've only heard of alginate when I made dental impressions/models in high school. If you mix it with water, does it create a (literally) gelly/rubber substance? I didn't even know you could eat it... maybe they are different substances? Weird!

A bit of googling comes up that it's been studied to block fat absorption... meaning that it blocks the dietary fat from being absorbed, therefore lessening the calories you take in a day. Sounds like a natural substitute type of diet pill. Do keep us updated of your experiences! I've never heard of anything like this, it's pretty interesting

swissmardi

I tried it and started having gallbladder problems if I took it too late after eating....

aagaag

I wouldn^t recommend alginate (or anything else, FWIW) as a inhibitor of intestinal fat uptake. Firstly, you would need to ingest enormous amounts in order to have a significant effect. Secondly, iatrogenic lipid malasorption has brutally inconvenient (though medically harmless) untoward effects - just google "orlistat side effects" for details (spoiler alert: you will find rather disgusting things).

What I am planning to do, is to use alginate as a binder for soups and similars (same as starch, but no calories), and as an antifreeze/emulsifier for icecream which will prevent the formation of ice crystals and maintain the ice as a creamy mass (same purpose as dairy cream and egg white, but again no calories).

So far, I have found that 3% alginate in water gives a very viscous gel. It took several hours in a warm bath for it to dissolve though. I have tasted it and it is absolutely neutral (it does not taste like algae/kelp, nor is it salty). I have frozen down 150ml aliquots, which I assume can be kept indefinitely.

Next, I will try to dilute it 1/10 or even 1/20 into ice-cream and sauces/soups. If that works fine (and I presume it will), we are talking about extremely small amounts of alginate (0.1-0.3%) in the final dish. I cannot imagine that this would have any biological effects - good or bad as they may be.

nomorebamboozles

I have heard of those types of pills and their side effects before (namely the infamous Alli). I also wouldn't experiment with them... it's just not worth it and it's not realistic for a long-term goal/lifestyle. As for the alginate, it sounds like a great substitute. It also sounds like you're doing science experiments in the kitchen, lol, which I think is awesome. There's only one way to find out if something works, right? :P

aagaag

I found something that is even better than alginate: Carob's flour (St. John's bread)! A teaspoon of carob (ca. 5 kcal) suffices to make a kg of soft, creamy ice! I am amazed!