THE IMPORTANCE OF SOLUBLE FIBER

When you're trying to trim down, soluble fiber is your best friend--it expands in your digestive tract, making you feel fuller and wards off snack attacks. But a gal or guy can only eat so many bowls of All-Bran before one feels so gassy and bloated you are afraid to leave the bathroom.  Besides, bran fiber is the least friendly and useful of the fibers available. There is two kinds of soluble fiber, however, that works without the nasty side effects, Glucomannan and raw Psyllium Seed Husks.

The Full Factor
The second piece of that ideal plan is making sure your food fills you up. Let's face it: If anything dooms a diet, it's hunger. When your stomach's always rumbling, you're cranky, less motivated, and more likely to dive face-first into a plate of nachos. Your ally against hunger is cholecystokinin, or CCK, one of the five hormones your digestive system produces to let your brain know it's okay to tell you to stop eating. How much CCK is released depends on how full you are--more after a bellybuster of a meal, less after a small snack. Because you have to eat less to lose weight, your stomach will get stingy with the CCK if you let it. The way not to????

FIBER. FIBER. FIBER.

Fiber bulks up in your stomach, tricking you into releasing CCK, so you feel full even when you haven't consumed a heap of calories. Thanks to one easy-to-use supplement called Glucomannan you can consume exceptionally high amounts of satisfying fiber--without the constant worry of fiber-bomb side effects like bloating or gas.

GLUCOMANNAN, which comes from a perennial plant unique to Asia known as the konjac root, or elephant yam, is nature's get-skinny sponge. Able to expand up to 20-50 times its own water weight, it's one of the world's most effective fibers, so you can cut down on calories without even trying. Researchers at Chicago Rush University College of Nursing reviewed 12 clinical trials to determine the benefits of glucomannan and found that it promotes weight loss and satiety. Historically, Konjac has been used in traditional Asian foods such as noodles and other food products for over 2 centuries.

Glucomannan is also flavorless, so you can add it in powder form to just about anything you drink, even water. When you are in the maintenance phase you can sprinkle it on your food or a smoothie. Mix it in thoroughly (otherwise you might get some clumps but they go down easily) and wait 2 to 3 minutes for it to soak up whatever sauce, broth, dressing, or other liquid is on your plate. It will thicken your food and fill up your stomach, sending satiety signals to your brain. Because of that, you'll want to wash it down with plenty of water, which you need to do anyway, so drink at least a quart with each serving.

The Importance of Supplementing with Soluble Fiber

The average American currently consumes only 12 grams of fiber a day from dietary sources, far below the 25-35 grams recommended by the American Dietetic Association and the 30 grams or more suggested by both the American Heart Association and the National Cancer Institute.

• Increases satiety
• Encourages growth of “good bacteria” Bifidobacterium in the gut which decrease pro-cancerous nitrosamines, proteins thought to lead to liver cancer
• Encourages better gut motility moving waste products out before they can promote cancer or other illnesses
• Reduce absorption of fat and carbohydrates consumed
• Relieve chronic constipation without side effects

Glucomannan is available in our office in capsule, powder and noodle form. The noodles are an effective means to stretch your meal during the HCG program and contain zero calories and zero net carbohydrates. You may eat as much as you want on the program!