Glucomannan: Nature’s Appetite Suppressant

Glucomannan supplements are great for supporting weight loss and management.

Glucomannan, extracted from the konjac plant, has the most evidence backing it out of the natural appetite suppressants on the market.

It is a water-soluble fibre that promotes numerous benefits.

Here are some facts about Glucomannan:

• It is a natural product, not synthetic.
• Its benefits are supported by clinical trials.
• It absorbs water and other liquids in the stomach and expands – this bulk fills the stomach and reduces the appetite.
• It slows digestion of food transit from stomach by creating gel-like consistency; delays hunger pangs between meals.
• It helps to regulate blood sugar levels – can help to counteract pre-diabetes (insulin resistance). Promotes increased water consumption.
• It helps support a calorie restricted diet by limiting hunger.
• It also binds with fats in the stomach, reducing calorie intake from meals.

How do fibre-based appetite suppressants work?

Fibre-based appetite suppressants such as glucomannan work in several different ways to combat hunger.

First, when the fibre reaches your stomach, it begins to absorb water. A lot of it!

Because of the way it absorbs and binds with water, your stomach is now partially filled with a thick gel. This essentially reduces the capacity of your stomach when you eat your next meal (ideally at least 30 minutes to an hour later), meaning that you can eat less food before you feel full.

The thickness of the gel slows down digestion, and slows the emptying of the stomach. Here is the second phase of appetite suppression: by slowing down digestion, it takes much longer for your stomach to empty, delaying hunger.

This means that you are far less likely to reach for snacks to tide you over to your next meal, saving yourself yet more calories.

The slower rate of digestion also leads to the third element of appetite suppression: slower digestion means that carbohydrates and sugars are broken down and absorbed into the blood stream at a much slower and steadier rate.

Usually, sugars and even more complex carbohydrates are broken down relatively quickly, and the sugars all enter the bloodstream at once.

This spike in blood sugar levels leads to a spike in insulin levels; all of the sugar is dealt with very quickly, and leads to a sharp drop in blood sugar levels.

This sharp drop is what causes sugar cravings, and that mid-afternoon slump in energy levels.

When you take a fibre-based appetite suppressant, sugar enters the bloodstream at a staggered pace, insulin is released at lower levels to process the sugar, and there is no sudden drop in blood sugar levels.

By levelling everything out, and making this end stage of digestion a more level process, we can minimise those awful cravings that have us reaching for the biscuit barrel between meals.

Appetite suppressants that are fibre-based help make eating less food easier by taking the edge off of hunger, both during and in the hours after your meals.

You can see the effects of fibre supplements yourself by emptying a capsule into a glass full of water; within about 10 minutes, the glass of water becomes super viscous.

Glucomannan is seemingly the most effective fibre-based supplement; a fibre extracted from the konjac plant, it is processed into a powder inside a capsule.

Glucomannan extracted from konjac is also the main ingredient in many zero-calorie pasta and noodle alternatives, which are often available from Asian supermarkets, or from specialist health stores.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has given glucomannan certified status as a product that contributes to weight loss.

This status is only given to products sold in Europe if there is enough clinical evidence to support the claim, proving that glucomannan works.