Dietary fiber in the diet and how it can help us lose weight
Fibre has many important functions for human health. But how can they help you lose weight and what special role does resistant starch play? Find out in today's blog post.
What is dietary fiber
Fibre is primarily hard-to-digest carbohydrates that cannot be broken down by the enzymes in the digestive tract. They therefore pass through the small intestine unchanged and enter the large intestine. They are found in plant-based foods, mainly in the outer layers of cereal grains as well as in fruit and vegetables.
Functions of dietary fiber
Fibre performs a number of important functions in the human body. For example, they improve intestinal activity, shorten the passage through the intestine and thus promote digestion. This can prevent functional disorders of the intestine such as constipation.
Fibre also prolongs the feeling of satiety, making it easier to maintain or reduce body weight. Studies show that subjects who consume a lot of fiber have a lower risk of obesity than subjects who consume less fiber. In addition, dietary fiber influences carbohydrate metabolism by lowering fasting or blood sugar levels after eating. By increasing the binding or release of bile acids, fiber can reduce the cholesterol concentration in the blood and thus the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure and coronary heart disease..In addition, some dietary fibers are broken down (fermented) by intestinal bacteria in the large intestine. This produces the so-called short-chain fatty acids, including butyrate, which serves as the main source of energy for the cells of the colon mucosa. Soluble fiber, resistant starch and indigestible oligosaccharides are fermentable. The three fiber groups are therefore important for an intact intestinal flora and can prevent chronic inflammatory bowel diseases.
What is resistant starch and how can taking it help you lose weight?
Resistant starch is a type of dietary fiber and has similar properties to dietary fiber in terms of usability. Around 10% of ingested starch reaches the large intestine unchanged, so it is resistant and the body can process it much more slowly. In the large intestine, the resistant starch can then be utilized by the intestinal bacteria and thus serve to generate energy.
There are three different forms of resistant starch:
There is also a range of synthetically produced resistant starches.
Retrograde starch is particularly interesting because it cannot be broken down by the body and therefore provides fewer calories. It is also able to influence the glycaemic index of a meal. It also promotes the formation of lactic and acetic acid by microorganisms such as lactobacilli.
A study showed that test subjects who ate cooled pasta had a lower blood sugar level after eating than test subjects who ate freshly cooked pasta. Reheating the pasta again reduced the blood sugar level even further. People with type 2 diabetes in particular can therefore benefit from retrograde starch.
But our Kilopurzler can also help you lose weight: Because our Kilopurzler consists of glucomannan, a dietary fiber that swells in the stomach and therefore leads to faster satiety.
Recommended intake of dietary fiber
According to the guidelines of the German Nutrition Society (DGE), adults should consume at least 30 g of fiber per day (that's around 16.7 g/1000 kcal for women and 13 g/1000 kcal for men). Ideally, around half should consist of cereal products and the other half of fruit and vegetables.
However, most people consume too little fiber. According to data from the National Nutrition Survey II, men consume 25 g and women 23 g a day. Only vegans and vegetarians usually reach the guideline value.
Food Fiber content 3 slices of wholemeal bread, 50 g each 12.1 g 1 apple 2.5 g 150 g wholemeal pasta 7.5 g 1 small bowl of red fruit jelly 2.5 g ½ bell pepper 3.6 g Mixed salad with corn 2.5 g 30.7 g
Lose weight in your sleep - there are now countless slimming products on the market that promise miraculous effects. However, there is usually not much to these claims. This is not the case with glucomannan or the konjac glucomannan extracted from it. This dietary fiber can actually help you lose weight, as has been scientifically proven by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). In this blog post, we will show you how glucomannan works in the body and what you should bear in mind when taking it
What is glucomannan
?Glucomannan (or glucomannan) is a dietary fiber that occurs naturally in the root of the devil's tongue/konjac plant (Amorphophallus konjac), which is native to Asia. To obtain glucomannan from the root tuber, it is first crushed, dried and ground. Konjac glucomannan is extracted from the resulting flour and then dried.
In South East Asia, the root has been cultivated and used in food production for many centuries. Konjac glucomannan is also known in Germany as a thickening and gelling agent under the European approval number E425. This is because konjac glucomannan swells together with water to form a solid gel. This gel has a high tensile and compressive strength and is therefore ideal for making jelly-like desserts or glass noodles.
It is also becoming increasingly popular as a dietary supplement. As a result, there are now countless products on the market in powder or capsule form. Our new product Nutri-Plus Kilopurzler made from konjac glucomannan is 100% vegan and the ideal diet companion.
.How does glucomannan work
?Glucomannan is a soluble dietary fiber. This means that glucomannan can bind large amounts of water. It is therefore able to swell up to 50 times its own volume. This means that the stomach sends a satiety signal to the brain. Although it passes through the gastrointestinal tract, the body does not absorb it directly. The body is fooled into thinking that the stomach is full, so that less is eaten.
Numerous scientific studies confirm these positive effects on weight loss. The effect of glucomannan has also been proven by the EFSA. The health claim "Glucomannan contributes to weight loss as part of a low-calorie diet" is accepted under EU guidelines.Several studies show that taking glucomannan leads to weight loss in slightly and severely overweight people if they eat a low-calorie diet at the same time. Further studies show that the dietary fiber not only helps with weight loss, but also has positive effects on cholesterol and triglyceride levels. As glucomannan binds bile acids and these are particularly important for digestion, they have to be formed from cholesterol. This leads to a reduction in cholesterol levels. A study carried out in 2008 came to the conclusion that dietary fiber has a positive effect on total cholesterol levels, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. There was a decrease of 19.28 mg/dL in total cholesterol, 15.99 mg/dL in LDL cholesterol and 11.08 mg/dL in triglycerides.
What should you bear in mind when taking konjac glucomannan?
Take 2 capsules 3 times a day with 2 glasses of water. As the dietary fiber only has a positive effect on body weight if it is taken shortly before meals, we recommend taking it around 30-45 minutes before a meal.
In order for the weight-reducing effect to occur, 3 g of glucomannan should be taken daily. This is best done in three portions of 1 g each in combination with two glasses of water. If you want to have a positive effect on your blood cholesterol levels, you should take 4 g of glucomannan a day.
In general, konjac glucomannan is well tolerated and is considered harmless to health. However, if large quantities are consumed, gastrointestinal complaints such as flatulence, diarrhea, constipation and stomach pain can occur. As glucomannan has a high swelling capacity, there is a risk of choking for people with swallowing difficulties or insufficient fluid intake. The capsules should therefore not be sucked, chewed or bitten into.Sources:
- www.dge.de/wissenschaft/referenzwerte/kohlenhydrate-ballaststoffe/
- www.dge.de/presse/pm/mehr-ballaststoffe-bitte/
- Elmadfa, Ibrahim (2015) Human nutrition. 5th completely revised and expanded edition, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart.
- Biesalski, Hans-Konrad (2018) Ernährungsmedizin : nach dem Curriculum Ernährungsmedizin der Bundesärztekammer. 5th completely revised and expanded edition, Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, New York.
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16320857
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15614200
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18842808
