What is “Glucomannan” & Can It Help You Lose Weight?

The western world is known to create a big hoopla about any new “weight loss” discovery.

On the same note, the current rage is an age-old dietery fiber, Glucomannan. So is this “new thing”, Glucomannan, “Nature’s Skinny Sponge”, the answer to your weight-loss goals?

Glucomannan is a natural, highly soluble dietary fiber which has been proven to help in losing weight and fat. When the world was plagued with excuses such as “I don’t have time to exercise”, “I can’t control my hunger”, the diet pills came to the rescue. However, with the ever increasing list of diet pills available, it becomes necessary to make an informed choice. Glucomannan, a natural drug, shows promise.

Glucomannan is extracted from Elephant Yam or Konjac roots which is available in Asian countries such as India, Japan, China and Korea.

What it does with respect to helping with weight loss is rather very simple. When consumed, Glucomannan absorbs water and expands in the stomach.

This makes the person feel full faster and hence making the person to eat less amount of food, which ultimately translates into a healthy weight loss.

This fiber is then expelled from the body via the natural route and this helps in treating constipation.

Although drugs containing Glucomannan haven’t been approved by either the Indian FDA or the US one, clinical studies have shown that Glucomannan actually works, and just maybe, it can become part of a

healthy diet plan

One study

had 20 obese candidates who were given two 500 mg capsules of Glucomannan an hour before the candidates had their meals. In a period of eight weeks, the candidates had lost on an average 5.5 pounds.

There were no changes required in the lifestyles of the candidates. Also, there were no adverse side effects reported at the end of the study. Lipozene, a product primarily made of Glucomannan, claims that approximately 78% of each pound lost is from fat.

When talking about side effects, Glucomannan seems like a safe drug. It is an all natural compound which is extracted from the roots of konjac plant. However, it must be noted that Glucomannan is a water absorbing compound.

Hence sufficient amount of water has to be drunk while consuming the Glucomannan pills or powder. In rare cases, if there was no water for the capsule to reach the stomach, the capsule had absorbed water in the throat and expanded. And that resulted in choking.

Also, the number of pills a day must be limited to a maximum of 6 pills a day.

As Glucomannan slows down the absorption of carbs and cholesterol, there can be accumulation of gas and a feeling of bloating. Serum Cholesterol and low density lipoprotein amounts are also reduced with the use of Glucomannan, hence helping in fat loss. Glucomannan should be avoided by Children, Pregnant and nursing women.

It is always advisable to consult your doctor before using any new pill or beginning your

quest to lose weight

, and so is the case with Glucomannan.

Glucomannan is available in three forms; Glucomannan powder which can be mixed into different food stuffs. Glucomannan is already added into some food products in Japan.

The third form is in the form of pills and capsules. Like mentioned above, Lipozene packs Glucomannan and is a weight loss supplement. Although, Glucomannan in the form of pills and capsules are the most convenient, they are most susceptible to the above mentioned side effects.

The required dosage of Glucomannan is 1 g about thirty minutes before every meal. This helps in making you feel full before actually eating the meal, and hence you end up eating less amount of food.