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Konnyaku (こんにゃく) and Shirataki (シラタキ) is produced from Konjac, a plant of the genus Amorphophallus (taro/yam family). Since the Edo Period (1600-1868), it was consumed primarily in Japan and China as a medicinal staple food by the royalties and the rich and famous.
This is because of A. Konjac are grown in Japan Prefectures on mountainous slopes that is between 2000 to 4000 above sea-level. Its harvesting period is about 1000 days or more (rice & other grains takes approximately 150 days).
More importantly, at that period, abbots, monks, physicians jointly testified that it is a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being. At a very basic level, Konnyaku & Shirataki consist of these nutrients:
- Antioxidants
- Healthy fat
- Fiber
- Phytochemicals
Today, these traditional super food from Kyoto-Japan has evolved from a type of medicinal food into a new era of instant noodles, rice, pasta, snacks and desserts (Sunaoroshi).
Reports About Konjac Foods
By USA & World No.1 Nutritionist
About Konjac Glucomannan In
Konnyaku & Shirataki
By FEDERAL REGISTER, USA
Dr. Josh Axe, DNM, DC, CNS, is a certified doctor of natural medicine, doctor of chiropractic and clinical nutritionist with a passion to help people eat healthy and live a healthy lifestyle.
"The Best Gut-Healthy Rice & Noodle for Your Waistline"
By Rachael Link, MS, RD
Imagine being able to chow down on your favorite pasta dish, totally guilt-free. It might sound too good to be true, but it’s not! Shirataki noodles are almost entirely free of calories and carbohydrates and are the perfect option for those looking to cut calories and shed a few pounds while taking advantage of some added benefits to your health.
From reducing blood sugar levels to cutting cholesterol and improving gut health, these noodles boast some seriously impressive health benefits. They can also help slim your waistline by helping you stay full and even reducing levels of certain hormones that stimulate hunger.
Whether you’re on a low-carb ketogenic diet, following a grain-free Paleo diet or just looking for simple ways to reduce your caloric intake, adding these low-carb noodles to your diet can have a powerful impact on many aspects of your health.
In recent year, konjac glucomannan (KGM) has attracted more attention due to its non-harmful and non-toxic properties, good biocompatibility, biodegradability and hydrophilic ability.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001 has evaluated the available toxicity data and as well as the relationship of the results of the studies to human risk. EPA concluded that dietary exposure (food and drinking water) to konjac glucomannan has NO toxicological endpoint of concern.
Over the last few decades, hetero-polysaccharides have gained special importance in the biomedical and drug delivery systems. Among them, KGM is chosen as a preferred biopolymer. Considering this fact, Konnyaku & Shirataki are recognized as a safe food according to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration, USA) for therapeutic consumption as a super staple food.
Health Benefits of Konnyaku & Shirataki According To ...
Most amazing aspect about them is when it meets with oil or fats in the body, it breaks them down and flushed them out of the body system together with the enveloped carbohydrates, proteins and other toxins. This is the distinctive detoxification value in Konnyaku & Shirataki.
Combined with other benefits supplied by glucomannan fiber, it makes konnyaku & shirataki a MUST HAVE supplement for rice, pasta, instant noodles, including:
a. American fast food diet
b. European love of butter-delight foods
c. India bent towards instant noodles
d. Asian fondness of fried oily diet
When in the mouth, its most distinctive characteristics are not taste but its mouthfeel:
Firmness - referring to sensory of bite
Cohesiveness - the extent to which its structure is disrupted
Springiness - degree of recovery after compression
Adhesiveness - related to stickiness to teeth at biting
Cooking yield - weight gained after boiled relative to raw
Resilience - how much it fights to regain its original shape
In this regard, when the characteristics of taste dances with the mouthfeel, the word that floats in the brain has to be "Cool".
Effect of glucomannan on obese patients:
a clinical study.
Walsh DE, Yaghoubian V, Behforooz A.:
PMID: 6096282
01. Aid in Weight Loss
Konnyaku Rice & Shirataki Noodles is nutrient dense and contains almost no calories. it is the perfect option when it comes to losing belly fat and slashing your caloric intake.
One cup of cooked spaghetti, for example, contains 220 calories, while a cup of konnyaku or shirataki is calorie-free. Swapping your spaghetti for konnyaku or shirataki just a few times per week is an easy way to cut out a huge chunk of calories and can lead to significant weight loss over time.
Additionally, the fiber found in konnyaku or shirataki can slow stomach emptying, causing you to feel fuller for longer.
Glucomannan fiber (KGM), the main ingredient in konnyaku or shirataki, has also been shown to influence certain hormones that contribute to hunger.
A study in Bangkok published in Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice showed that eating glucomannan fiber reduced levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger. (1)
Dietary fiber and type 2 diabetes mellitus
Tabatabai A, Li S. PMID: 11858448
Another study published in the International Journal of Obesity showed that taking just one gram of glucomannan fiber (KGM) daily led to a 5.5-pound mean weight loss over eight weeks in 20 obese subjects without any changes in diet or activity. (2)
To optimize your weight loss, regular physical activity plus a balanced diet is key and you can follow Sassa-Nakaki's suggestion on the simplest and best way to eat konnyaku or shirataki.
Simplest or Best Way to Eat:
You can toss or stir-fry the rice and or noodles with teriyaki sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, hot salsa, your favorite pasta sauce or ingredients like pepper, onion, or garlic to make a quick meal.
If you are those who always want to enjoy a good meal, they are best eaten with one or a few side dishes, such as seafood, meat, vegetable, soup to ensure you consume all the essential nutrient and minerals one's body system needs.
02. Reduce Blood Sugar
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM; non-insulin-dependent DM) is a completely preventable and reversible condition, and with diet and lifestyle changes, you can greatly reduce your chances of getting the disease or reverse the condition if you’ve already been diagnosed.
If you are one of the tens of millions struggling with diabetes symptoms, begin the steps to reverse diabetes naturally today. With Eat To Live & Eat For Life diabetic diet plan, suggested Konnyaku Rice & Shirataki Noodle as staple of the meal, super foods as supplements and increased physical activity, you can quickly regain your health and reverse diabetes the natural way.
International Journal of Biological
Macromolecules 92 (2016) 942–956
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijbiomac
Konjac glucomannan, a promising polysaccharide of Amorphophallus konjac K. Koch in health care
Glucomannan KGM) dietary fiber shows promise in the management of type 2 DM. The inclusion of sufficient dietary fiber in a meal flattens the postprandial glycemic and insulinemic excursions and favorably influences plasma lipid levels in patients with type 2 DM.
KGM fiber helps slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, which can maintain normal blood sugar levels and prevent dangerous spikes and crashes. Because both rice and noodles are high in glucomannan fiber, scientific evidence suggests that they could help decrease blood sugar levels.
Water-soluble fiber appears to have a greater potential to reduce postprandial blood glucose, insulin, and serum lipid levels than insoluble fiber. The viscosity of the dietary fiber is important; the greater the viscosity, the greater the effect.
A 2007 study from Mahidol University’s Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok found that taking KMG fiber before a load of glucose significantly lowered blood sugar levels compared to a placebo. (3)
Another study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found glucomannan supplementation lowered fasting blood sugar levels by an impressive 23 percent.(4)
Taking glucomannan has also been shown to lower levels of fructosamine, a marker used to measure average blood sugar levels. Researchers from the St. Michael’s Hospital’s Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto found that “KJM fiber added to conventional treatment may ameliorate glycemic control, blood lipid profile, and sBP in high-risk diabetic individuals, possibly improving the effectiveness of conventional treatment in type 2 diabetes.” (5)
Patients with type 2 DM should substitute 30% of eating rice, pasta, noodles with Konnyaku Rice & Shirataki Noodles as staple of the meal, and also other super foods until it increases their dietary fiber intake to 20 to 35 g/d. The nurse and medical practitioner are in an ideal position to promote dietary fiber intake in such patients.
A B S T R A C T
In recent year, konjac glucomannan (KGM) has attracted more attention due to its non-harmful and non-toxic properties, good biocompatibility, biodegradability and hydrophilic ability.
We have reviewed the nutritional aspects of KGM covering the various aspects of functional foods, food additives and their derivatives. This review aims at highlighting the diverse biomedical research conducted on KGM in the past ten years, covering therapies for anti-obesity, regulation in lipid metabolism, laxative effect, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, prebiotic to wound dressing applications.
© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
