What's Glucomannan?

Glucomannan is high in fiber, essential for cleaning the digestive system. Glucomannan is taken from the Konnyaku root and is from the same family as the yam, which is 100 percent natural dietary fiber without calories. Since lack of fiber is a major cause for the high incidence of growing gastrointestinal disorders, it is a valuable herb.
It helps reduce cholesterol, helps maintain regularity and promotes bowel health. It helps to normalize blood sugar, to relieve stress on the pancreas and to discourage blood sugar abnormalities, such as hypoglycemia.
Glucomannan absorbs toxic substances produced during digestion and elimination. It binds toxic material and eliminates them before they can be absorbed into the blood stream.
Glucomannan acts as a prevention of chronic disease and a weight control agent. As a diet aid, it expands to about 50 times its original volume when used with a large glass of water.

Atheroslerosis Hemorrhoids
Constipation High blood pressure
Diabetes Hypoglycemia
Digestive problems Obesity
Diverticular disease Pancreas (reduce stress)

What's Konjac Flour?

Konjac flour is obtained from the tubers of various species of Amorphophallus.It is a soluble dietary fiber that is similar to pectin in structure and function.

konjac flour consists mainly of a hydrocolloidal polysaccharide, glucomannan. Glucomannan is composed of glucose and mannose subunits :inked with B-1 ,4 linkage at a molar ratio of i .O:1 .6. It is a slightly branched polysaccharide having a molecular weight of 200,000 to 2,000,000 daltons. Acetyl groups along the glucomannan backbone contribute to solubility properties and are located, on average. every 9 to 19 sugar units. In general, the konjac tuber is ground and milled, and its impurities are separated by either mechanical separation, water Wash, or aqueous ethanol wash to produce konjac flour. All processes are similar and result in a flour that is enriched in glucomannan and meets the specification listed in the Food Chemicals Codex.

konjac flour has a long history of safe use. The first documented use of konjac tuber as a source of food In China and Japan was In the ancient Japanese written work entitled, "Man-you-shuu." which was edited In the sixth century AD. A comprehensive collection of historical materials, which reference konjac in novels, essays and poems, was published by the Japanese Konjac Society in April 1985. The collection of materials document that its use as food is deeply rooted in the lives and customs of the people in Japan and China for centuries, Historical[y, konnyaku, the alkali•treated konjac flour, was used to cleanse one's digestive tract of irritating and poisonous substances and keep one's internal organs clean. The konjac tuber was introduced into Hawaii in 1858 and konnyaku was commonly eaten as food once or twice a week by Japanese in Hawaii. Assuming a worse-case estimate of consumption for konnyaku once a week for eaters only, the estimated consumption of konnyaku as a food is 20 g/day.

The Food Chemicals Codex lists the current uses of konjac flour in the United States as a gelling agent, thickener, film former, emulsifier. and stabilizer. Assuming that konjac flour would replace all uses of pectin, modified pectin, and gelatin. a worse case estimate for konjac flour consumption as a food ingredient In finished foods would be I .2 g/person/day. However, because use of konjac flour is self limiting and would not substitute for all uses of pectin and gelatin,a more reasonable estimate would be that konjac flour would substitute for one third of the uses and, thus. would be consumed at a level of about 0.4 g/person/day.

The major component of konjac flour. Feeding studies with rats and dogs indicate that the no-observed effect level for glucomannan was 2.5%of the diet. There are several studies which deal with the effects of glucomannan on aspects of the biochemical dynamics of cholesterol, triglyceride, phospholipid, bile acid, glucose and insulin in the,e.experimental animals, While none of these studies can be called a safety study, they provide, some information on the safety of glucomannan in that they do not mention any adverse toxicological effects associated with the administration or glucomannan. These studies, in total, demonstrate that glucomannan has the ability to lower serum cholesterol levels and to delay glucose absorption.

Studies using glucomannan have been tested on humans, principally to study its influence on cholesterol and glucose absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. These studies indicate that glucomannan has the ability to lower serum cholesterol and may lower serum triglyceride and bile acid level as well. Glucomannan may also have an influence on glucose tolerance and glucose absorption. These findings have also been seen in the animal studies, mentioned above. While these studies cannot be deemed to be human safety studies they do indicate that no adverse toxicological effects were associated with the administration of glucomannan.

In addition, the results from several in vitro iron absorption studies demonstrate that glucomannan, the major component of konjac flour, does not bind iron.

What is Konjac?

Konnyaku(Amorphophaiius Konjac,K. Koch.) produced from tubers of Konnyaku root, has been consumed as a part of important Japanese dishes for over 2,000 years. Science now unvail the real value of the Konnyaku as a high dietary, non fat, fiber low calorie diet food which shows several unique functions for maintaining a well-being.
When taken with foods, it reduces speed of sugar intake which prevent rapid blood sugar level jump. Instead, it gives graduale increment. Study also indicates Konnyaku lowers Choresterol level. Konnyaku is ideal for weight reduction since Konnyaku forms jelly like material and expands about 30-50 times in the digestive system and gives the feeling that the stomach is full. The Konnyaku cleans the digestive tract of toxins.
Most recently, the food industry is paying attention to the Konnayku flour to replace conventional starch formulations since the Konnyaku is lower in calories and lower in fat without sacrificing texture and taste.

In 1977, American Senate nourishment special committee published a report that says the shortage of fiber in eating habits is one of the reason that adult diseases (fatness, constipation, arteriosclerosis, heart sickness, diabetes, cancer, gallstone, and hemorrhoids) have come to be popular. For example, dietary fiber activates the function of intestines and let the harmful things go quickly out of your body. As a result, it defends you from intestine cancer. Konnyaku contains much fiber in it and keep you away from such diseases.

Moreover, Konnyaku is one of the most effective items for defending yourself from fatness. If you would like to keep your body slim, it is necessary to keep the caloric intake in some amount. However it needs a great deal of patience if you decide to reduce your meal without any help. It may be also no good for your mental health to endure hunger.
But if you use Konnyaku, you can eat ordinary or more amount of food every day because Konnyaku hasvery low CALORIE (3Kcal/100g). Since long time ago, Japan has such healthy foods like Konnyaku and Tofu. They will surely help your physical and mental health.