Glucomannan is a type of soluble fiber, produced from the root of the konjac plant (Amorphophallus konjac), that grows in both China and Japan as well as other tropical climates.
Glucomannan forms a gel when dissolved in water. Research has shown that it’s more viscous and produces more gel than other types of soluble fiber. It is good for fat loss because it’s very filling; has no calories; and it suppresses appetite, controls glucose and insulin surges, and lowers cholesterol.
Konjac root is made into noodles that are similar in taste and texture to bean thread noodles. They contain zero calories, 9 grams of fiber, and 20% of your daily requirement for calcium in one nine ounce bag. The thinner angel hair and linguini noodles have the best texture. The thicker ones are a bit more chewy.
Glucomannan powder can be used in making custards and as a thickener.
Suppliers:
Konjac Noodles and Powder from Konjac.com:
http://www.konjacfoods.com/order/
Konjac Noodles and Powder from Miracle Noodle:
http://www.miraclenoodle.com
Articles:
Glucomannan minimizes the postprandial insulin surge: a potential adjuvant for hepatothermic therapy.
Med Hypotheses. 2002 Jun;58(6):487-90.McCarty MF.
Source: Pantox Laboratories, San Diego, California 92109, USA.
Abstract: Glucomannan (GM) is differentiated from other soluble fibers by the extraordinarily high viscosity of GM solutions. Administration of 4-5g of GM with meals, blended into fluid or mixed with food, can slow carbohydrate absorption and dampen the postprandial insulin response by up to 50%.
Controlled clinical studies document that GM can promote satiety and weight loss, lower LDL cholesterol, improve diabetic control, and correct constipation, with minimal if any side-effects.
Rodent studies suggest that GM may have potential for decreasing cancer risk and possibly even slowing the ageing process.
Hepatothermic therapy, a technique for achieving rapid loss of body fat by optimizing the liver’s capacity for fat oxidation, can only achieve its optimal efficacy if diurnal insulin levels are kept low; ingestion of GM with meals will evidently be of benefit in this regard by moderating postprandial insulin surges.
PMID: 12323114 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
Web Links:
- http://www.nutritionexpress.com/article+index/authors/jeff+s+volek+phd+rd/showarticle.aspx?articleid=296
- http://www.raysahelian.com/konjac.html
- The Nutrional Impact of Konjac Flour
- Konjac-mannan (glucomannan) improves glycemia and other associated risk factors for coronary heart disease in type 2 diabetes. A randomized controlled metabolic trial
- Evidence for intermolecular binding between deacetylated acetan and the glucomannan konjac mannan
- Degradation of konjac glucomannan by enzymes in human feces and formation of short-chain fatty acids by intestinal anaerobic bacteria
- Isolation and characterization of an active mannanase-producing anaerobic bacterium, Clostridium tertium KT-5A, from lotus soil
- Purification and characterization of konjac glucomannan degrading enzyme from anaerobic human intestinal bacterium, Clostridium butyricum-Clostridium beijerinckii group
- Effect of konjac fibre (glucomannan) on glucose and lipids
- Effect of short-term ingestion of konjac glucomannan on serum cholesterol in healthy men
- Konjac – Glucomannan – Propol
- About Konjac Powder
Blood Sugar and Diabetes
- Glucomannan prevents postprandial hypoglycaemia in patients with previous gastric surgery.
- Dietary fiber and OGTT: blood sugar variations after administration of a new purified glucomannane
- Konjac-Mannan and American ginsing: emerging alternative therapies for type 2 diabetes mellitus.
- Konjac-mannan (glucomannan) improves glycemia and other associated risk factors for coronary heart disease in type 2 diabetes. A randomized controlled metabolic trial. {pdf format}
- Long-term effects of dietary fiber supplementation on serum glucose and lipoprotein levels in diabetic rats fed a high cholesterol diet.
- Dietary fiber in the dietetic therapy of diabetes mellitus. Experimental data with purified glucomannans
- Beneficial effects of viscous dietary fiber from Konjac-mannan in subjects with the insulin resistance syndrome: results of a controlled metabolic trial. {pdf format}
- Effect of Konjac food on blood glucose level in patients with diabetes.
- Effects of long-term high-fiber diet on macrovascular changes and lipid and glucose levels in STZ-induced diabetic SD rats.
Cholesterol
- Effect of short-term ingestion of konjac glucomannan on serum cholesterol in healthy men.
- Cholesterol reduction by glucomannan and chitosan is mediated by changes in cholesterol absorption and bile acid and fat excretion in rats.
- Comparison between physiological effects of konjac-glucomannan and propionate in baboons fed “Western” diets.
- Low levels of viscous hydrocolloids lower plasma cholesterol in rats primarily by impairing cholesterol absorption.
- Antisteatotic effects of four kinds of dietary fibers in rats fed on high cholesterol diet: a preliminary morphometric analysis
- Effects of dietary konjac mannan on serum and liver cholesterol levels and biliary bile acid composition in hamsters.
- Influences of refined konjac meal on the levels of tissue lipids and the absorption of four minerals in rats.
Obesity
- Evaluation of the action of glucomannan on metabolic parameters and on the sensation of satiation in overweight and obese patients
- Childhood obesity treatment: double blinded trial on dietary fibres (glucomannan) versus placebo.
- The use of highly purified glucomannan-based fibers in childhood obesity
- Chronic use of glucomannan in the dietary treatment of severe obesity
- Effect of glucomannan on obese patients: a clinical study.
Constipation
- Effect of the dietary fiber glucomannan on chronic constipation in neurologically impaired children.
- A clinical study of the use of a combination of glucomannan with lactulose in the constipation of pregnancy
- Action of glucomannans on complaints in patients affected with chronic constipation: a multicentric clinical evaluation.
- Mouth-to-cecum transit time in patients affected by chronic constipation: effect of glucomannan.
Colonic Pathology
- Purification and characterization of konjac glucomannan degrading enzyme from anaerobic human intestinal bacterium, Clostridium butyricum-Clostridium beijerinckii group.
- Efficacy of rifaximin in the treatment of symptomatic diverticular disease of the colon. A multicentre double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
- Use of glucomannan dietary fiber in changes in intestinal habit
- Efficacy of rifaximin on symptoms of uncomplicated diverticular disease of the colon. A pilot multicentre open trial. Diverticular Disease Study Group.
Others
- Glucomannan prevents postprandial hypoglycaemia in patients with previous gastric surgery
- Inhibitory effect of refined Amorphophallus konjac on MNNG-induced lung cancers in mice
- Immunologic clinical evaluation of a biological response modifier, AM3, in the treatment of childhood infectious respiratory pathology
References:
- Garcia MJ, Charlez M, Fauli C, Del Pozo Carrascosa A, Ghirardi PE. Physiochemical comparison of the dietary fibers glucomannan, galactomannan, carboxymethylcellulose, pectin, and wheat bran. Curr Ther Res. 1988 June;43(6):1010-3.
- Reffo GC, Ghirardi PE, Forattini C. Glucomannan in hypertensive outpatients: pilot clinical trial. Curr Ther Res. 1988 July;44(1):22-7.
- Walsh DE, Yaghoubian V, Behforooz A. Effect of glucomannan on obese patients: a clinical study. Int J Obes. 1984;8(4):289-93.
- Livieri C, Novazi F, Lorini R. [The use of highly purified glucomannan-based fibers in childhood obesity] Pediatr Med Chir. 1992 Mar-Apr;14(2):195-8.
- Vita PM, Restelli A, Caspani P, Klinger R. [Chronic use of glucomannan in the dietary treatment of severe obesity] Minerva Med. 1992 Mar;83(3):135-9.
- Cairella M, Marchini G. [Evaluation of the action of glucomannan on metabolic parameters and on the sensation of satiation in overweight and obese patients] Clin Ter. 1995 Apr;146(4):269-74.
- Biancardi G, Palmiero, Ghirardi PE. Glucomannan in the treatment of overweight patients with osteoarthritis. Curr Ther Res. 1989 Nov;46(5):908-12.
- Doi K. Effect of konjac fibre (glucomannan) on glucose and lipids. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1995 Oct;49 Suppl 3:S190-7.
Hopman WP, Houben PG, Speth PA, Lamers CB. Glucomannan prevents postprandial hypoglycaemia in patients with previous gastric surgery. Gut. 1988 Jul;29(7):930-4. - Shima K, Tanaka A, Ikegami H, Tabata M, Sawazaki N, Kumahara Y. Effect of dietary fiber, glucomannan, on absorption of sulfonylurea in man. Horm Metab Res. 1983 Jan;15(1):1-3.
- Scalfi L, Coltorti A, D’Arrigo E, Carandente V, Mazzacano C, Di Palo M, Contaldo F. Effect of dietary fibre on postprandial thermogenesis. Int J Obes. 1987;11 Suppl 1:95-9.
- Jenkins DJ, Wolever TM, Taylor RH, Barker H, Fielden H, Baldwin JM, Bowling AC, Newman HC, Jenkins AL, Goff DV. Glycemic index of foods: a physiological basis for carbohydrate exchange. Am J Clin Nutr. 1981 Mar;34(3):362-6.
- Brand-Miller JC. Glycemic load and chronic disease. Nutr Rev. 2003 May;61(5 Pt 2):S49-55.
McCarty MF. Glucomannan minimizes the postprandial insulin surge: a potential adjuvant for hepatothermic therapy. Med Hypotheses. 2002 Jun;58(6):487-90. - Vuksan V, Sievenpiper JL, Xu Z, Wong EY, Jenkins AL, Beljan-Zdravkovic U, Leiter LA, Josse RG, Stavro MP. Konjac-Mannan and American ginsing: emerging alternative therapies for type 2 diabetes mellitus. J Am Coll Nutr. 2001 Oct;20(5 Suppl):370S-380S; discussion 381S-383S.
- Vuksan V, Jenkins DJ, Spadafora P, Sievenpiper JL, Owen R, Vidgen E, Brighenti F, Josse R, Leiter LA, Bruce-Thompson C. Konjac-mannan (glucomannan) improves glycemia and other associated risk factors for coronary heart disease in type 2 diabetes. A randomized controlled metabolic trial. Diabetes Care. 1999 Jun;22(6):913-9.
- Vuksan V, Sievenpiper JL, Owen R, Swilley JA, Spadafora P, Jenkins DJ, Vidgen E, Brighenti F, Josse RG, Leiter LA, Xu Z, Novokmet R. Beneficial effects of viscous dietary fiber from Konjac-mannan in subjects with the insulin resistance syndrome: results of a controlled metabolic trial. Diabetes Care. 2000 Jan;23(1):9-14.
- Arvill A, Bodin L. Effect of short-term ingestion of konjac glucomannan on serum cholesterol in healthy men. Am J Clin Nutr. 1995 Mar;61(3):585-9.
- Gallaher DD, Gallaher CM, Mahrt GJ, Carr TP, Hollingshead CH, Hesslink R Jr, Wise J. A glucomannan and chitosan fiber supplement decreases plasma cholesterol and increases cholesterol excretion in overweight normocholesterolemic humans. J Am Coll Nutr. 2002 Oct;21(5):428-33.
- Chen HL, Sheu WH, Tai TS, Liaw YP, Chen YC. Konjac supplement alleviated hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetic subjects–a randomized double-blind trial. J Am Coll Nutr. 2003 Feb;22(1):36-42.
