Kate Donohoe has long paid close attention to her eating habits and alcohol intake.
The 44-year-old personal trainer had previously transformed her health, losing 140 pounds after overhauling her diet and committing to regular workouts.
Even so, Kate says her appetite and weight continued to fluctuate depending on the time of year, including as recently as last Christmas.
She says the festive season, filled with sugary treats, rich meals and alcohol, would often derail the healthy routine she had worked to maintain.
‘I would always gain weight after Christmas,’ Kate says. ‘My body became accustomed to the extra sugar, carbohydrates and alcohol, then seemed to demand even more.’
At one stage, she even began looking into prescription weight-loss injections, including Mounjaro and Wegovy.
But a discussion with a friend about appetite-suppressing medications prompted Kate to consider another option.
Before trying injections, her friend encouraged her to test glucomannan, a natural supplement often promoted as having appetite-control effects similar to those associated with newer weight-loss drugs.
The market now offers a wide range of natural slimming products. Researchers say glucomannan has some of the strongest supporting evidence, and European health authorities recognize it as a weight-loss aid under specific conditions.
Kate bought a $14 tub of glucomannan from Amazon, enough to last a month, with each pill costing roughly 60 cents
Experts also point to emerging evidence that glucomannan may help reduce cholesterol and blood sugar, two factors associated with potentially serious heart-related conditions.
Although she remained doubtful, Kate decided to try glucomannan in January.
‘I wasn’t expecting anything from it,’ she says. ‘Still, I thought it was worth trying.’
She ordered a one-month supply through Amazon for approximately $14, working out at around 60 cents per capsule.
Following the product directions, Kate took three or four capsules daily, based on her appetite, before lunch and dinner.
She says the change in her cravings became noticeable very quickly.
‘After two days, the cravings had disappeared,’ Kate says. ‘I wasn’t longing for anything in particular. I could eat a balanced diet without constantly thinking about food.’
Kate, who operates the UK-based Boom Weight Loss and Fitness, also says she found herself drinking less than before.
Over the following month, she says her waist measurement fell by more than an inch, taking her back to the weight she had reached before the holidays.
‘It made returning to a healthy routine feel much easier,’ Kate says.
‘It just made it really easy to get back on track with a healthy routine,’ says Kate.
‘Now, it’s become my crutch – I keep a massive tub of them in the cupboard to take whenever I find it hard to keep on track with my meal plan.’
So, what is glucomannan? And how does it help patients lose weight?
Weight-loss drugs, like Mounjaro and Wegovy, have been revolutionary to millions, helping them lose, according to studies, up to a fifth of their body weight in less than a year.
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However, the jabs do not work for everyone. Research also shows that around two-thirds of patients who come off the costly drugs put the majority of the weight back on.
Earlier in her life, Kate, a 44-year-old personal trainer, managed to lose 140 lbs by radically changing her diet and taking regular exercise – but she still worried about her weight
Kate said: ‘I keep a massive tub of glucomannan in the cupboard to take whenever I find it hard to keep on track with my meal plan’
For these reasons, a growing number of patients are turning to natural weight-loss supplements, like glucomannan.
The supplement is made from powdered konjac, a root vegetable found in Asia.
The powder contains almost no calories, but is high in fiber – a crucial nutrient that is shown in studies to reduce food cravings.
The body, says John Lukey, a registered nutritionist from King’s College London, struggles to break down fiber, meaning it stays in the stomach for longer, slowing down digestion and holding off hunger pangs.
But crucially, Mr Lukey adds, when fiber combines with water, it forms a gel that swells up – often to as much as 50 times its size – taking up space in the stomach.
‘It’s this absorption that means glucomannan helps with weight-loss,’ says Mr Lukey.
‘It stretches the gut, which sends signals to the brain to say it is full, meaning you eat less.
‘There’s now quite a lot of data that shows it helps with weight management.’
One Norwegian study, published in 2005, found that patients who took glucomannan supplements alongside a reduced-calorie diet lost more weight than those who followed the diet and took a placebo pill.
Over five weeks, those using the supplement lost, on average, around 8 lbs, while those on the placebo lost around 5.5 lbs
‘We also know that glucomannan helps with cholesterol,’ says Mr Lukey, who is also the in-house nutritionist at health firm Nutravita. ‘This is something we see in all fiber supplements.’
Cholesterol is a waxy plaque that builds up in the blood and can trigger deadly heart attacks or strokes.
However, experts also warn that glucomannan can lead to mild but uncomfortable side effects like bloating, flatulence, diarrhea and stomach pain.
These symptoms tend to occur when patients begin taking the supplement, and ease over time.
Experts also add that glucomannan is not a substitute for a healthy diet and exercise.
In particular, they advise that patients eat plenty of naturally rich fiber foods – like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains – as well as plenty of protein, found in meat, dairy, fish, pulses and some vegetables.
‘A high-protein, high-fiber diet is the best way forwards for those looking to lose weight,’ says Mr Lukey.
Kate Donohoe says she would recommend glucomannan to anyone looking to lose weight.
Kate stopped taking the tablets after January because she was satisfied with her weight loss. However, following Easter, when she once again indulged in sugar and alcohol, she briefly went back on them again.
‘I just wanted to make that week after Easter easier for myself,’ she says.
‘Alongside diet and exercise, glucomannan could make weight-loss easier for anyone trying to give it a go. That’s why it would be my first port of call before trying weight-loss jabs.’
