Glucomannan Lowers Cholesterol And Other Lipids

Understanding cholesterol

The use of Glucomannan as a cholesterol-lowering agent is on the rise. Cholesterol is the amalgamation of fat (lipid) and a sterol compound. Cholesterol is not bad by itself. It is required by our body cells to make various hormones. As fat is the main ingredient, cholesterol is waxy in consistency, which is synthesized by the liver and intestines and it does not dissolve in water. Therefore, it needs some media for transport in our body. These transporters, called lipoproteins, can mix with blood. As the name suggests, lipoproteins are composed of lipid and protein. There are 4 major classes of lipoproteins and a lot of subclasses. Here we are concerned with three groups of lipoproteins that plays major role in cholesterol metabolism.

Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)

These are ‘bad’ lipoproteins. They carry about 75% of the body’s total cholesterol incorporated into blood to different organs. Too much LDL- cholesterol complexes are hazardous to our body. If we consume more cholesterol than our body can ‘use’, some of these are carried through our body and gets deposited in various organs, thus causing complications. The key areas are heart, major blood vessels (like that of heart, brain and kidney). The deposition gets bigger with time leading to partial or complete blocking of that particular vessel. Thus, the proper function of that organ is compromised.

Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL)

These also have similar action like LDL. They can reach further down the circulatory system causing damage that is more extensive.

High Density Lipoprotein (HDL)

These are considered ‘good’ cholesterol as they collect the free and deposited cholesterol back to the liver. It is then either recycled for reuse or excreted mainly through kidney. HDL is thicker as they are composed of more protein than fat.

Controlling cholesterol

The quantity and the type of food we eat is the determinant of good or bad cholesterol level in our blood. Exercise and balanced diet will lower the ‘bad’ cholesterol in helps to increase the ‘good’ cholesterol. Obesity, improper diet, smoking and sedentary lifestyle will result into increase in the LDL and VLDL. More horrible thing is that our genes can have a deleterious role in increasing the bad cholesterol level even we are on the right track.

Glucomannan can be a friendly medicine if we want to lower our cholesterol level.

Glucomannan as a cholesterol-lowering agent

Glucomannan has shown statistically noteworthy development to manage the total cholesterol level in the obese people [1]. Glucomannan has a hemicellulose active ingredient. It binds cholesterol from all through our body parts and brings them to the liver. From here, after filtration, either the cholesterol goes to the recycle area for reuse or they are excreted chiefly through kidney.

There is some good news for the healthy people also. In a double blind cross over study, it was seen that one month course of 3.9 grams of glucomannan significantly lowers the total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides (one type of lipid binding agent) by 23%. However, it did not change the HDL level in blood. It also reduces Systolic Blood Pressure [2].

In recent times, child obesity is increasing. This is mainly due to improper diet. Glucomannan is experimented in children suffering from obesity and high cholesterol level. The study showed - female children will have more beneficial effect than their male counterpart [3]

If glucomannan is administered along with Chitosan (a linear polysaccharide compound made from shrimp shells), the serum cholesterol level gets decreased significantly. The possible reason is glucomannan helps in excretion of steroids through feces.

Another study involving the patients suffering from Type 2 diabetes along with hyperlipidemia were administered glucomannan in conjuncture with regular anti-diabetic drugs. The observation was noteworthy. It was noted that in 75% of cases, there was marked reduction in the mean serum levels of LDL, VLDL and triglycerides after 20 days of glucomannan treatment.

One more study appraised a decreased of approximately 12% in the total cholesterol level from the start of the trial for the glucomannan supplement besides a reduction in the 17% for the combination supplement. No disparity between the non-diabetics or the diabetic patients was noticed.

Winding up the discussion

Glucomannan (FibraSlim) helps to reduce the blood cholesterol level significantly.

References

  1. PMID 6096282
  2. PMID 7872224
  3. PMID 15955465
  4. PMID 12356785

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