Glucomannan has been used for years as a weight loss aid due to its alleged ability to reduce fat and cravings while promoting dozens of health benefits.
Rich in dietary fiber, most health product manufacturers are using this extract to produce either medicinal drugs or as a slimming supplement.
If you haven’t tried this herb yet for your diet program, then you might want to read this short review and see for yourself if this konjac plant-based extract can truly help you lose weight.
What is Glucomannan?
As mentioned above, glucomannan is a natural, water-soluble fiber sourced from the roots of the konjac plant (pictured above and in this post’s thumbnail).
It is native to China and cultivated in warm subtropical eastern Asia, Japan and as far as Indonesia.
This compound has been promoted as an effective weight loss agent, due to numerous clinical studies that shows its efficacy on fat loss and appetite reduction.
It is also marketed as an effective treatment aid to digestive issues such as constipation, stomach upset, bloating and other gastrointestinal disorders.
Other uses of this herb include treatment of diabetes, high cholesterol, thyroid problems and many other health conditions.
Curiously, this herb is also present in beverages, food products (such as pasta and flour) and is heavily used as food additives.
Glucomannan is best known for its ability to absorb water in the stomach and intestines to form a bulky fiber that helps treat constipation.
It also helps slow the absorption of sugar and cholesterol from the gut, which helps lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
How does Glucomannan Work for Weight Loss?
As a dietary fiber, glucomannan can do a lot of wonders to your body especially with regards to weight loss.
Like other compounds that are rich in soluble fibers, glucomannan is low in calories and promotes a feeling of fullness and satiety as it takes up a big chunk of space inside your stomach.
When you take this supplement, you can expect increased satiety and significant reduction in protein and fat absorption.
It also have a positive effect on the functions of good bacteria. Glucomannan is a good food for these bacteria which is converted into short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate (which is proven to help prevent fat gain based in some animal studies.
Most dieters like glucomannan as it offers a different kind of soluble fiber. Some even describes it as a viscous aid for weight loss.
In fact, one of the largest clinical study for this herb conducted by NCBI experts showed glucomannan’s weight loss efficacy.
176 overweight individuals were all subjected to either a placebo or three different kinds of glucomannan supplement, on a calorie-restricted diet program.
Results showed significant weight loss in overweight individuals who took glucomannan supplements before meal.
Another study for this herb has been shown to cause modest weight loss, but combined with another popular slimming supplement – garcinia cambogia.
Both glucomannan and garcinia cambogia formula resulted in loss of fat mass, visceral fat, lipid and blood glucose profiles.
One such diet supplement that has both these ingredients is CHEATmeals.
So yes, this herb is one prove weight loss agent.
Glucomannan’s Other Uses
As mentioned above, this herb has other health benefits to offer you. Aside from weight loss, glucomannan is heavily used as an aid to constipation and other gastrointestinal issues.
So aside from digestive health benefits, lets see more facts about glucomannan’s possible health benefits.
Immune System Booster
Aside from being a fiber-rich supplement, glucomannan can also help boost your immunity due to its anti-bacterial and antioxidant properties.
According to a mice study, this herb greatly increased antioxidant enzyme levels which reduces neutrophil free radical production.
Fights Inflammation
Aside from being a potential antioxidant agent, glucomannan also have high amounts of anti-inflammatory compounds which helps with bone and joints.
This herb has been proven to help reduce gut and skin inflammation, treats arthritis in animals by lowering Th2 response.
Controlled Blood Pressure
This is a no brainer as most fiber-rich foods do help lower blood pressure levels.
But glucomannan is a very potent blood pressure stabilizer due to its high fiber content. So this means that it can truly benefit your cardiovascular health.
Slows Down Sugar Absorption
Does your blood sugar spikes regularly? If this sounds like you, then this herb can help you out!
There are numerous glucomannan studies that showed effectiveness for reducing blood sugar and even cholesterol levels.
Even commercially-produced foods that are enriched with glucomannan reduced blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetic patients.
Boosts Your Good Bacteria Levels
We already know that this herb can help improve your digestive system. But one big reason why is its ability to increase your body’s production of good bacteria.
Even a small dose of this fiber-rich herb can increase the number of beneficial bacteria (such as lactic acid and bifidobacteria) and the production of short-chain fatty acids.
So yes, glucomannan is a good prebiotic agent.
Promotes Healthy Thyroid Function
According to some research, taking glucomannan along with methimazole and propranolol helps reduce thyroid hormone levels in people with too much thyroid hormone in the body.
Oral and Dental Benefits
Konjac glucomannan naturally has anti-bacterial properties, which is a perfect aid to minor oral and dental health problems such as toothache.
Plus, this herb may also have the ability to clean teeth and fight bacteria that causes bad breath.
Improves Eye Health
Since this herb has the ability to reduce inflammation, it may also help aid in optical health as well.
Glucomannan helps strengthen optical nerves which keep your eyes to function well. It also help fight eye-related issues such as eye inflammation.
Other potential benefits of this herb include acne prevention and overall skin health improvement, fights allergies, delays aging, reduces cholesterol levels, aids in PMS symptoms, and helps improve your body’s mineral absorption capacity.
Possible Side Effects
According to experts, glucomannan-rich products (powder, flour, capsules, etc.) are likely safe for both adults and children.
Of course, too much ingestion of glucomannan is not recommended as it can cause mild to severe adverse effects.
Plus, you also need to consult your doctor first before you take any glucomannan supplements because it may interfere with various medicinal drugs.
Conclusion
Based on this article, you learned that glucomannan is a proven agent for weight loss. It may trigger fat loss, metabolism boost and can definitely suppress appetite, all of which are important for a successful weight loss program.
This herb may also give you numerous health benefits as detailed above. So yes, glucomannan is an essential aid for your overall health.
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References:
See page for author [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
Dietary Fiber and Weight Regulation
by: Howarth NC, Saltzman E, and Roberts SB
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11396693
Dietary Fiber Decreases the Metabolizable Energy Content and Nutrient Digestibility of Mixed Diets Fed to Humans
by: Baer DJ, Rumpler WV, Miles CW, and Fahey GC Jr.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9109608
Butyrate Improves Insulin Sensitivity and Increases Energy Expenditure in Mice
by: Zhanguo Gao, Jun Yin, Jin Zhang, Robert E Ward, Roy J. Martin, Michael Lefevre, William T. Cefalu and Jianping Ye
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2699871/
Long-term Effects of Garcinia Cambogia/Glucomannan on Weight Loss in People with Obesity
by: Andrea Maia-Landim, Juan Ramirez, Carolina Lancho, Maria S. Poblador and Jose L. Lancho
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5781311/
Glucomannan Reduces Neutrophil Free Radical Production in Vitro and in Rats with Adjuvant Arthritis
by: Drabikova K, Perecko T, Nosal R, Baureova K, Ponist S, Mihalova D, Kogan G, and Jancinova V
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19429472
Dietary Pulverized Konjac Glucomannan Suppresses Scratching Behavior and Skin Inflammatory Immune Responses in NC/Nga Mice
by: Onishi N, Kawamoto S, Suzuki H, Santo H, Aki T, Shigeta S, Hashimoto K, Hide M, and Ono K
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17536217
Dietary Fiber in the Diabetic Therapy of Diabetes Mellitus. Experimental Data with Purified Glucomannans
by: Melga P, Giusto M, Ciuchi E, Giusti R and Prando R.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1339216
Glucomannan
by: WebMD
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-205/glucomannan
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