Balancing your blood sugar with a low GL diet is vital for good energy and weight control. ‘InsulinInsulin is a hormone made by the pancreas. It is responsible for making the body’s cells absorb glucose (sugar) from the blood…. resistance’ is the logjam that sends the energy in the food you eat into storage as fatThere are many different types of fats; polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, hydrogenated, saturated and trans fat. The body requires good fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) in order to….
Ultimately, no approach to weight loss works unless it reduces hunger, which is what stabilising your blood sugar is all about, since blood sugar dips make you hungry.
It’s also to do with a balancing act between two hormones:
- Insulin, which takes glucose into storage when your blood glucose level rises, and
- Glucagon which releases stores of glucose when your glucose supply in the blood has gone (think gluc-has-gone.)
There’s a clever little enzyme called GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like-Peptide) that helps control your blood sugar level and your appetite, slowing down digestion so you don’t get an overload of sugar that turns into fat. That is, in essence, what my low-GL diet does.
But drug companies have worked out how to make drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy which are GLP-1 agonists (so it mimics rather than ant-agonise) that achieve a similar result so you feel less hungry and lose weight. In this way they also help reverse diabetes. They do work for weight loss but at a cost. Apart from short-term side-effects such as vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation there are long-term concerns about pancreatitis, thyroid tumours, gallbladder issues, and diabetic retinopathy.
Natural nutrients for weight management
In addition to my low-GL diet you can achieve the goal of weight loss and reduced appetite with two natural nutrients which don’t have the risk of these adverse effects and may actually be good for you. These are:
Allulose
This rare, natural sugar is found in some fruits such as figs, jackfruit and maple syrup.
It is a natural GLP-1 agonist. Unlike fructoseFructose is a simple sugar that occurs naturally in fruits, vegetables and their juices, as well as in honey…., it isn’t turned into fat. Quite the opposite. Consider this experiment on type-2 diabetic rats given a tiny amount of allulose for 12 weeks. They exhibited lower food consumption and increased levels of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), enhancing glucose regulation and appetite control. Additionally, allulose prevented liver triglycerideTriglycerides are a type of fat found in the blood – the body uses them for energy. However, high levels of triglycerides can raise the… (fat) accumulation and promoted mitochondrial uncoupling in adipose tissue. These findings suggest that allulose supplementation can improve metabolic health markers, making it a promising dietary component for managing obesity and type-2 diabetes.” Human studies have shown the same thing with as little as 4.5 grams of allulose, which is a teaspoon.
Glucomannan fibre
We’ve all heard of the benefit of soluble fibreFibre is an important part of a balanced diet. There are two type of fibre; soluble and insoluble. Insoluble fibre helps your bowel to pass… but this soluble fibre, extracted from the Japanese konjac plant is about 50 times more potent, that is water-absorbing, than oat fibre. This means that a tiny amount of 3 grams, which is a flat teaspoon, lowers the GL of your meal, reduces appetite, promotes regular bowel movements and even lowers cholesterol.
A study in Thailand found that giving 1g of glucomannan before meals significantly lowered the GL, and the need for insulin, in people with type-2 diabetes.[i] Other studies have shown that glucomannan lowers cholesterol[ii] and also stabilises blood sugar[iii], which is associated with improving insulin sensitivity. It has also been shown to reduce the amount of food you want to eat in the accompanying meal.[iv] It also promotes a healthy gut microbiome and does just about everything you’d want to help control or reverse diabetes type-2.[v]
It’s also a brilliant aid for healthy weight loss. One study reported an additional 450g (1lb) in weight loss a week when patients took 3g of glucomannan a day. [vi] In a US study Dr Gilbert Kaatz and colleagues gave 73 overweight men and women either 1 gram of glucomannan, taken three times a day before meals, or an identical placebo pill for 60 days.
Those on placebo gained an average of 2.18lbs. Those on glucomannan lost an average of 2.75lbs. So those on glucomannan lost 4.93lbs, almost 5lbs (2.2kg) more over 60 days. Further analysis found that most of this weight loss, almost 4lbs (3.86lbs) was actually fat loss. LDL cholesterolLDL is short for low density lipoprotein. It is the “bad cholesterol” which collects in the walls of blood vessels, causing blockages. High LDL levels… also reduced in those taking glucomannan.
At the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, we decided to put glucomannan to the test by giving 3g a day to ten overweight people over a three-month period.[vii] None made any apparent change to their diet or exercise regime. Nine completed the trial, with an average weight loss of 3kg (6.6lb) each. A review of all studies in 2005, concluded ‘At doses of 2–4 g per day, glucomannan was well-tolerated and resulted in significant weight loss in overweight and obese individuals.’[viii]
You need about 3g a day, or a flat teaspoonful, for this kind of effect although, for diabetes, I recommend this before each meal, together with allulose, ideally added to water then drunk at the start of, or during a meal.
References
[i] S. Chearskul, et al., ‘Glycemic and lipidFats, oils, waxes and sterols are collectively known as lipids…. responses to glucomannan in Thais with type-2 diabetes mellitus’, Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand, 2007 Oct;90(10):2150–7
[ii] M. Yoshida, et al., ‘Effect of plant sterolsPlant sterols are compounds similar to cholesterol which occur in plants. They can help to prevent cholesterol being absorbed in the body…. and glucomannan on lipids in individuals with and without type II diabetes’, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2006 Apr;60(4):529–37; see also H. L. Chen, et al., ‘Konjac supplement alleviated hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia in type-2 diabetic subjects: A randomized double-blind trial’, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2003 Feb; 22(1):36–42.
[iii] V. Vuksan, et al., ‘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; see also V. Vuksan, et al., ‘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
[iv] V. Vuksan, ‘Viscosity of fiber preloads affects food intake in adolescents’, Nutrition, MetabolismMetabolism is a term that is used to describe the chemical reactions that take place within the body’s cells. The body gets the energy it… and Cardiovascular Diseases, 2009 Sep;19(7):498–503
[v] Fang Y, Ma J, Lei P, Wang L, Qu J, Zhao J, Liu F, Yan X, Wu W, Jin L, Ji H, Sun D. Konjac Glucomannan: An Emerging Specialty Medical Food to Aid in the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Foods. 2023 Jan 12;12(2):363. doi: 10.3390/foods12020363. PMID: 36673456; PMCID: PMC9858196.
[vi] D. Walsh, ‘Effect of glucomannan on obese patients’, International Journal of Obesity, 1984;8:289–93
[vii] P. Holford, ‘The Effects of Glucomannan on Weight Loss’, ION (1983)
[viii] J. Keithley and B. Swanson, ‘Glucomannan and obesity: A critical review’, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 2005 Nov–Dec;11(6):30–4
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