Potential Weight Loss Benefits of Glucomannan
Glucomannan comes from the konjac plant, also known as elephant yam, and is a type of water-soluble dietary fiber. The popular weight loss supplement PS1000 includes this fiber as one of its main ingredients. Companies also sell stand-alone glucomannan supplements for weight loss, but it works best in combination with the other PS1000 ingredients.
So just how does this fiber promote weight loss?
Promotes Feelings of Fullness
One of the major benefits of soluble fiber is its ability to absorb water. The resulting gel takes up a significant amount of space in the stomach without containing very many calories, as your body can’t actually digest fiber. While the glucommanan occupies this space in the stomach, you feel full, making it easy to stick to the low-calorie ps1000 diet and lose weight.
Limits Absorption of Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein
Glucommanan also acts in other ways to promote weight loss. For example, it decreases the absorption of the carbohydrates, fats and proteins you eat, thus limiting the number of calories the body absorbs. Don’t expect it to totally eliminate the absorption of these nutrients and the calories they contain, however. It’s a relatively small effect overall, but it can help contribute slightly to weight loss.
Slows the Emptying of the Stomach
As with some other types of soluble fiber, the gel formed when glucomannan mixes with water helps slow down the emptying of the stomach. This means you’ll feel full for longer and may be less likely to want snacks in between meals, potentially limiting your overall calorie intake for the day and increasing weight loss.
Increases Blood Levels of Cholecystokinin
Another potential way in which this fiber helps with weight loss is by positively affecting the blood levels of cholecystokinin, or CCK. This hormone helps control appetite and body weight and is typically released when you eat fat and protein, which is part of the reason why low-carb diets can be particularly helpful for weight loss in some people. The more CCK in the blood, the less hungry you feel and the less you’ll eat. Glucomannon may help decrease the CCK-lowering effects typical of a low-calorie diet.
Decreases Blood Levels of Ghrelin
This type of fiber may help to decrease the amount of hunger hormones like ghrelin in the body, potentially making the brain and the body be satisfied with a smaller amount of food and increasing weight loss.
Limits Blood Sugar and Insulin Surges After Eating
Because glucomannan slows down the absorption of carbohydrates after meals, it can limit the after-meal blood sugar and insulin responses in the body by as much as 50 percent, meaning that overall blood sugar levels will be steadier. Controlling swings of blood sugar levels can help people feel full for longer and have more energy as it limits crashes and makes it less likely calories from carbohydrates will be stored as body fat.
Reducing these blood sugar and insulin surges may also make it less likely you’ll develop insulin-resistance and leptin resistance. Leptin resistance makes it so you don’t feel full or satisfied, making it difficult to lose weight and avoid overeating. High blood sugar can cause an increase in the release of cortisol, further interfering with weight loss efforts, as cortisol is a stress hormone associated with weight gain.
Increases Fat Loss
Weight loss typically consists of a mix of fat and lean body mass, with strength training exercises helping to tip this balance toward higher loss of fat and less loss of lean body tissue. Increasing your intake of fiber, such as glucomannan, may also help to make it so when you restrict your calories to lose weight, more of that weight will come from fat rather than muscle.
Limits the Constipating Effects of a Low-Carb Diet
Because fiber is essential for healthy bowel movements, people who switch to a low-carb diet for weight loss are more likely to experience an unpleasant constipating effect. Adding glucomannan to your daily routine can alleviate this effect and thus make dieting easier.
More Effective Than Other Types of Soluble Fiber
One of the major benefits of glucomannan compared to other types of soluble fiber is that it is one of the most viscous types of soluble fiber, which means that it has even more effects on satiety, nutrient absorption, and stomach emptying than other similar types of fiber. It can absorb 50 times its weight in water, so a little bit goes a long way.
Works Best When Timed Right
To get the most benefits from glucomannan and supplements containing this fiber, it’s essential to take it before meals and with water. This will help it have time to fill up the stomach a bit so you can eat less and still feel full. Taking this supplement after meals will have much less of a beneficial effect since you’ll already have eaten until you feel full.
Effects Increased By Exercise
While it may be tempting to just take a weight loss supplement like PS1000 without making any other changes, research shows that adding exercise to your routine will increase the beneficial effects of glucomannan for fat loss by about 50 percent. Consider adding 30 minutes of cardio to your routine most days of the week and doing a full body strength training workout twice per week with at least a day of rest in between each strength training workout.
Other Potential Benefits
Glucomannan may also improve health in a few other ways. For example, it slows the absorption of sugars, helping diabetics control their blood glucose levels and potentially improving their insulin sensitivity. It also helps with constipation and may help decrease blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and some evidence points to benefits for hyperthyroidism as well. Research shows it to be a prebiotic, helping to improve the concentration of beneficial bacteria in the gut.
Potential Side Effects to Be Aware of
This supplement is considered pretty safe, but some people do experience bloating and gas, especially when they first start consuming glucomannan. This is most likely due to the increase in overall fiber intake. Whether you are taking glucomannan in the PS1000 supplement or standalone, make sure you take the supplement at a different time than your other medications to make sure it doesn’t affect your medication’s absorption.
