Hi! I'm Dr. Brian Yeung, a naturopathic doctor
here in Toronto. We'll be presenting a series of videos related to different types of weight
loss on this channel so subscribe if you're interested in learning more. Full disclosure: I'm
not being sponsored by any supplement companies I'll be speaking from the experience
of many of my weight loss patients who have used glucomannan and shed some light to what
you might expect if you use glucomannan yourself. Glucomannan, also known as Konjac fiber
or Konjac root, is a type of dietary soluble fiber. It's eaten for weight loss
in numerous forms like as a pill or capsule, as a powder dissolved in water, or as the
main ingredient of Shiritaki noodles Like many soluble fibers, the primary way it helps
with weight loss is by suppressing your appetite by creating bulk in the stomach when mixed with
liquid and by filling your stomach up without significantly adding more calories to your
diet.
Another way it may help is by feeding and helping to cultivate good gut bacteria, since some
research suggests that unhealthy gut bacteria is associated with weight gain and obesity. Compared
to other soluble fibers like wheat bran or psyllium, glucomannan is somewhat unique in that it appears
to have the highest proportion of soluble fiber This means that when it's dissolved in
liquid, glucomannan tends to be thicker and hold more water. This property makes glucomannan
an ideal soluble fiber to create this appetite suppressing bulkiness in the stomach. Side effects. Glucomannan is usually pretty well tolerated. However some people will experience mild
gastrointestinal disturbances things like extra gas, bloating, or mild abdominal pain. Some
people become constipated, however this particular issue is often fixed by simply drinking more
water or reducing the dose of glucomannan taken Gastrointestinal obstructions and blockages are
possible when taking a soluble fiber supplement like glucomannan, so if you have medical issues
that put you at risk of an obstruction like abdominal surgeries or Crohn's disease, make sure
you check with your doctor before you try it. Is it effective? If used with a complete weight loss protocol
it can be helpful specifically to suppress appetite and reduce overeating.
Used by itself
glucomannan, is unfortunately not very effective for weight loss in my experience.
Proper usage is important, for example, it needs to be dosed sufficiently, with most studies
using anywhere from 3 to 5 grams per day in divided doses. It should also be consumed with
your meals. Keep in mind glucomannan is a bulking agent that suppresses appetite. This means there
needs to be enough to bulk out your stomach and used to ultimately reduce the amount
of food you eat at each meal. Should you do it? Remember that glucomannan is
just an appetite suppressant This means that it should be used
in combination with a proper weight loss diet to manage hunger and help
patients feel fuller quicker. I prefer using other dietary, behavioral, and lifestyle interventions
for hunger control, as they tend to produce more permanent results. Things like training yourself
to eat slower and properly differentiating between hunger and cravings. However if you're still
finding it difficult to control hunger and tend to overeat you might find glucomannan a
useful temporary tool to help you feel fuller It's important to keep in mind that the type of
fullness experienced by glucomannan may be very different from what you might experience from say
a filling turkey dinner.
Many of my patients report that the type of fullness from glucomannan is more
of a gross almost kind of nauseating feeling that stops them from eating rather than the warm
satisfying fullness you get from a large meal Let me know in the comments down below if
you have any experiences with glucomannan you'd like to share, and if you found this video
helpful please leave me a like. As before I'm Dr. Brian Yeung bringing you weight loss info on
this channel, subscribe and hit the notification bell if you're interested in learning more and
share with someone you know can use the help!.