Benefits of Glucomannan in weight loss

Losing weight or maintaining weight is one of the ideal ways of living a healthier life. However, most people have the mindset that losing weight is difficult and almost impossible. Some people are of the mindset that it requires a lot of effort in order to maintain a healthy weight.

There are several methods of losing weight. These include adhering to regular exercise, adhering to a strict eating habit including taking diets with restricted calories, but another inexpensive option to lose weight is by the use of food supplements such as Glucomannan.

What is Glucomannan?

Glucomannan is a water-soluble dietary fibre which is extracted from many sources such as Lily, Orchid, Redwood, Suisen, Ramie, and Eastern White Pine, but the most common source is obtained from the root of the konjac plant also known as elephant yam which has its origin from Southeast Asia.

It was used formerly in herbal and traditional medicinal products and has the capacity for water absorption and the highest viscosity in comparison to any dietary fiber.

A small quantity may turn a glucomannan into a gel in a glass of water. Glucomannan is produced mainly in powder, capsules and tablets. Additionally, it is produced as foods like noodles and gels.

Due to its effectiveness in helping people bring down the fat content in their body to a state where it poses no harm to an individual’s health, Glucomannan has become a preferred source to reduce weight.

How Glucomannan is Manufactured

Basically, Glucomannan is manufactured in these three basic steps:

• – Firstly, a dry konjac root tuber is ground into flour.
• – The flour is then processed into konjac jelly.
• – Glucomannan is obtained upon further purification of the Konjac jelly.

The Role of Glucomannan in Weight Loss

In case you are wondering how Glucomannan helps in weight loss, take a look at the following points. The benefits of glucomannan in helping with reducing weight works by;

 Promoting Satiety

• One important benefit of Glucomannan absorbs water and expands in the stomach thereby making you feel full, and as it is taken before eating, you will not feel like eating much and you will last longer between meals and not crave food again.

Absorption of fat, sugar, and carbohydrate

• When Glucomannan is taken before meals, it blocks fat, sugar, and carbohydrates in the intestines by absorbing it from the foods thereby preventing the body from absorbing them.

• It blocks carbohydrates and helps to regulate blood sugar levels and avoid the impact that starches and sugars have on the body’s blood sugar level.

• Inside the intestine, Glucomannan turns into a gel that absorbs fats and debris in the colon and gently pushes it out of your digestive system.

Excretion of cholesterol

• Glucomannan causes weight loss by supporting liver function which involves converting cholesterol to bile acids and lowering cholesterol, this improves the overall efficiency of all the metabolic processes.

Other Health Benefits of Glucomannan

Besides glucomannan working as a weight loss supplement, other health benefits of Glucomannan include; lowering cholesterol, controlling blood sugar levels, decreasing inflammation, protecting the skin from Ultraviolet (UV) radiations, preventing constipation, promoting antioxidant activity, it also has the potential of reducing aging.

How Glucomannan Works

• – It takes occupies space in the stomach, this makes you feel full and hence you eat less.
• – Another benefit of glucomannan is that reduces the amount of the hunger hormone called ghrelin (the hormone that stimulates appetite).
• – It reduces the absorption of nutrients that causes weight gain; nutrients like proteins, fats, and sugars.
• – Glucomannan removes bile acids.
• – It promotes the growth of good bacteria in the gut.

Dosage – How much should you take

Glucomannan absorbs 50 times its weight when mixed with water. Therefore, the recommended dosage is lower compared to other fibre supplements.

A dosage of 1 gram, 3 times per day is recommended to be sufficient for weight loss. Glucomannan supplements should always be taken before a meal in order to have effective weight loss results. Usually, it is recommended to be taken from 15 minutes to 1 hour before a meal.

Pure Food’s Supplements Weight Management contains glucomannan (derived from the konjac root) which offers the benefits of glucomannan. The beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 3g in three doses of 1g each with 1-2 glasses of water before meals.

Due to its high absorption capacity, glucomannan supplement should not be taken with other medicines. Usually, glucomannan should either be taken about 1-2 hours after taking other medicines.

Glucomannan  Side effects

Glucomannan is generally considered safe for consumption. However, if it expands before reaching the stomach, it may cause choking in the throat or oesophagus. In order to avoid this, Glucomannan should be taken with a lot of water to prevent choking.

Other side effects include bloating, flatulence, soft stools, or diarrhoea, but these negative effects are not common.

References

Atli Johnson (2018). Glucomannan- Is it an Effective Weight Loss Supplement. [online] Available at: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/glucomannan [Accessed May 25, 2019]

Denise Mann. 12 Things You Need to Know About Glucomannan. [online] Available at: https://www.rd.com/health/diet-weight-loss/what-to-know-about-glucomannan/ [Accessed May 25, 2019]

Dr Biljana Novkovic, PhD (2019). 15 Surprising Health Benefits of Glucomannan + Risks & Side Effects. [online] Available at: https://selfhacked.com/blog/glucomannan-benefits/ [Accessed May 30, 2019]