Glucomannan Supplement: Benefits And Weight Loss Efficacy

There is always a lot of interest and curiosity about using natural weight-loss diets like the one we are discussing now.

Some popular prescription weight-loss pills have been incredibly harmful in recent years, with long-term health consequences.

Most of us prefer natural supplements because they are safe for our health.

Glucomannan is one of the best natural weight loss supplementation that has a good reputation today.

It has been more than a few years since this diet was first made known to the weight loss community by Dr. Oz. He claimed this supplement to be “one of the best ways to control your hunger and body weight.”

Dr. Oz also called glucomannan “nature’s skinny sponge,” which can suppress the appetite and make you lose weight in a way you’ve never experienced before.

We cannot take all the tall claims Dr. Oz makes on his TV show as 100% true and infallible.

This glucomannan review will examine the science and truth behind these natural weight loss supplementation.

What Is Glucomannan?

Glucomannan is an extract from the roots of elephant foot yam in the form of water-soluble dietary fiber. It is a soluble, fermentable, and highly viscous dietary fiber.

The binomial name of this plant is Amorphophallus paeoniifolius. It is also popularly known as a white-spot giant arum. The konjac plant is another subspecies of Amorphophallus konjac, which is very popular in Japan for making dietary noodles and pasta.

The elephant foot yam is a tropical tuber crop grown primarily in the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and East Asia. This elephant foot yam is popularly used to make various kinds of vegetable cousins, so it is grown as a cash crop in most countries.

The glucomannan konjac extract is a vital part of many Indian herbal medicines and has a lot of medical value.

It comes in powder, tablet, and capsule forms. It’s a natural treatment for type 2 diabetes, asthma, abdominal pain, emesis, dysentery, spleen and enlargement, Also often used to treat piles, elephantiasis, diseases caused by vitiated blood, and rheumatic swellings.

The elephant foot yam has a long history of varied uses in food preparations, such as vegetable cousins, powder for preparing pasta, flour for making noodles, etc.

Glucomannan konjac has recently gained much attention as a weight loss aid.

The best quality of this weight loss solution comes from the elephant foot yam grown in the Indian subcontinent.

Konjac glucomannan accounts for nearly 40% of the dry yam powder.

It is also a food additive, specifically a thickener and emulsifier.

It is an excellent dietary fiber supplement because it has an unusual ability to soak up a lot of water.

A single konjac glucomannan capsule weighing about 1 gram can absorb a full glass of water and turn it into a thick gel-like sponge. It is the unique quality of this supplement that helps with weight loss in overweight and moderately obese people.

How Is Glucomannan Used?

As a powder or in a capsule, glucomannan could be used safely to make you feel less hungry and help your body absorb fat.

There are three different ways one can use this dietary fiber. Let us have a brief look at each of them.

Glucomannan powder. It is pleasant and practically tasteless. The powder is usually mixed into other foods or smoothies. Usually, when used with water, the powder adds a good bit of thickness and bulk to the food.

Glucomannan in processed food. I am sure you have already heard about the ‘miracle noodles,’ the Japanese shirataki noodles, the most popular food with glucomannan mixed into it. You will also find some chewing gums and candies with this ingredient blended into them.

Konjac glucomannan suppelementation. Konjac in pill or capsule form is the most convenient and commonly used method, especially, for weight loss.

For best results, about 1 gram of this product should be taken along with 8 ounces of water about 30 minutes before the meal.

The powder in the capsule mixes with water in the intestine, which causes it to expand into a giant fiber sponge in the stomach.

The powder “sponges” up the water in the digestive tract and absorbs the carbohydrates and fat that will be expelled from your body through a natural route later on. This directly affects weight loss, as your body will not get a chance to absorb more than the required amount of glucose and fat.

As this dietary fiber occupies a lot of space in the stomach, you begin feeling fullness and satiation even before eating. So, it makes you feel less hungry by filling your stomach with gel-like fiber.

Glucomannan Diet  Review

Glucomannan Effect on Weight Loss

The glucomannan powder absorbs much water and forms a sponge-like fibrous bulk. It is an excellent natural constipation treatment used in the Indian Ayurvedic medicine system for centuries.

But then, recent studies conducted on the supplement showed that the bulky fibrous formation of glucomannan helps in weight loss in several ways.

First, konjac will soak up water, glucose, fructose, and fat, like a sponge, before sending them into the bloodstream.

This has a direct impact on lowering blood sugar and LDL cholesterol levels.

It swells up like a spongy fiber and will occupy the space in the stomach for our food. This fibrous formation will make us feel full and prevent us from eating more food.

This spongy fiber also remains in the stomach for longer, and we would not feel hungry for longer.

Konjac is a soluble fiber that helps the body absorb protein and fat. It does this by acting like the walls of the intestines.

It also nourishes and feeds the friendly bacteria in the intestine that turn into fatty acids like butyrate to prevent fat storage in the belly.

Studies’ results suggest one of the possible reasons for weight gain is the inactivity or non-existence of friendly gut bacteria. If that is the case, this diet supplement has even more reason to be an excellent weight loss diet.

Glucomannan has all the beneficial effects of all other soluble fibers, but it is better than all because it is more viscous.

Does Konjac Glucomannan For Weight Loss Work?

It is easy to say many good things about this natural diet’s possible weight loss effects.

But we are more interested in its actual weight loss results in real-life situations.

Let us look at some of the studies conducted on konjac.

In one of the randomized controlled trials (the gold standard in clinical trials) on glucomannan, 176 overweight people were chosen and randomized into four groups. Out of the four groups, three were assigned to different dosages of the glucomannan supplement, and the fourth group was on placebo pills. All of them were given the same calorie-restricted diet.

After five weeks of the trial period, the glucomannan diet groups showed significantly more excellent weight loss results, with variations in the particular dosages to which they belonged.

In another study done in 2007 and published in the British Journal of Nutrition, people who followed a psyllium husk supplementation with glucomannan lost about 10 pounds in 16 weeks, while the placebo group lost only 1.7 pounds.

Another study that used only glucomannan indicated weight loss results of up to 5.5 pounds in an eight-week trial period. This result was achieved without changing my lifestyle or regular diet.

Almost every study conducted on this diet has acknowledged its effectiveness in weight loss.

Glucomannan may work for modest weight loss as it is one of the best soluble fibers. Eating this regularly before meals will make you feel less hungry and help your body absorb less protein, glucose, and fat.

The preliminary studies’ results and the feedback from actual users are promising. On the other hand, the FDA has not approved any konjac products or accepted the weight loss claims of several research studies. Here are the final verdicts of 3 major glucomannan studies:

When combined with a limited diet and regular exercise, glucomannan is an excellent way to lose weight.

Safety And Efficacy of Glucomannan

Glucomannan is a water-soluble fiber. For this reason, in Indian Ayurvedic herbal medicines, glucomannan is traditionally used as a natural remedy to overcome constipation and indigestion.

As we discussed at the start of this article, konjac can soak up a lot of glucose and fat in the digestive tract, leaving less for the body to use.

As this diet is highly viscous, it is like a sponge that sucks up even the excess cholesterol in the gut.

For these reasons, it helps reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels in the blood. This directly impacts the management of heart disease and Type II diabetes.

Glucomannan is an ingredient in several medicines. For example, glucomannan plus methimazole and propranolol reduce thyroid hormone levels in people who suffer from excess thyroid hormone production.

Glucomannan Supplement

Possible Side Effects of Glucomannan 

This is a natural extract from elephant foot yam with no harsh chemicals, strange drugs, or additives that can cause severe side effects on your health.

As we already know, people in the Indian subcontinent are using elephant foot yam as a vegetable. So we cannot expect any side effects from the pure extract of this yam.

In the initial stages, as your digestive system and stomach are getting used to glucomannan supplementation, some of you may experience mild side effects like bloating, flatulence, soft stools, or diarrhea. The rich soluble fiber in it will naturally make the stools softer than usual.

People under regular medication may find this dietary fiber unsuitable, as it may slightly block the complete absorption of the medicine.

Make sure to consume only the suggested quantity of the konjac diet.

You must drink at least 8 ounces of water immediately after consuming a glucomannan capsule. Or else this can sometimes cause blockages of the throat or intestine.

Like every other diet supplement, this one is not recommended for pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers.

If you have problems with low blood sugar, this supplement should be consumed with strict monitoring of your blood sugar level. Glucomannan usually reduces blood sugar levels.

Dosage And Use  

A typical dose of glucomannan capsule is 1 gram. All ordinarily healthy overweight and obese people can use glucomannan dietary supplement in a 1-gram dose, taken 30 minutes before meals with two glasses of water.

It is highly viscous and can absorb a lot of water—50 times its weight. Therefore, high dosages can cause unwanted troubles for you.

You may take glucomannan for the best weight loss result, about 30 minutes before meals.

You can buy it from reliable online sellers that sell the best quality products.

Conclusion

As I surfed through several glucomannan reviews, I could see that almost every one of them was very optimistic about the excellent weight loss results from this fibrous diet.

The many studies that have already been conducted on this diet pill have also shown proven results in managing overweight and obesity.

Besides the weight loss results, this pill has several other health benefits. You can get rid of constipation and diarrhea issues with it. This is also useful for type II diabetes and cholesterol control.

The glucomannan supplement will undoubtedly give modest weight loss results; it will be very effective if combined with a controlled diet and physical workouts.

Recommended reading list: