Konjac Foods

It’s comparatively a new product, konjac foods have really been around for many years. With Pasta, and lots of different konjac-based foods gaining in quality owing to the various health edges they provide (low calorie, protein free, high fiber), customers are getting a lot of intrigued by konjac foods and their origins. They’re shooting up in grocery stores all over, and folks have an interest in learning a lot regarding this food possibility.
Since recipes like Pasta is created from the basis of the konjac plant, we have a tendency to think it’d be an honest plan to present you some a lot of info regarding the history and evolution of konjac foods.

The transient History of Konjac Foods
Referred to as Konnyaku in Japanese, konjac foods area unit in a dietary staple in Japan. However, once it had been at first introduced regarding five hundred – 800 years a gone, it had been thought of a delicacy and solely out there to the royal house in Japan. It’s wide believed to be initially introduced by China as a healthful food that was ingested for therapeutic reasons by Buddhist monks.

It wasn’t till regarding one hundred years ago that konjac became out there to everybody in Japan, and since then it’s full-grown into one in every of the foremost well-liked kinds of food within the country. It’s out there in many various forms, with varied kinds of noodles being the foremost common manner konjac foods area unit consumed.
Today, konjac foods area unit a staple in Japan with entire food market aisles dedicated to that (similar to the alimentary paste aisles here in Canada). Konjac foods area unit well-liked in several Asian countries, and it’s conjointly changing into being well-liked in North America through innovative foods like Pasta and lots of different konjac-based product.

The Health Attributes of Konjac Foods
The konjac tree grows in Japan on slopes 1000 to 4000 feet on top sea level. The used part of the konjac plant is the root. It resembles an oval formed yam potato or taro, and it principally consists of fiber with little or no starch. To become edible, the basis of the konjac is dried and polished into a fine powder, making konjac flour – the ingredient of most konjac recipes.

As mentioned on simply Hungry, “Konnyaku is regarding as near a zero-calorie food as you’ll be able to get. No wonder, since it’s all most ninety seven percent water. The remaining three is usually fiber within the type of a viscous substance known as glucomannan, and some traces of macromolecule, starch and minerals like metallic element. It’s the glucomannan that produces it therefore attention-grabbing as a weight loss food, though. a giant block of konnyakuhas regarding ten calories, however it’s terribly filling.”
Hopefully this answers some or all of the queries you had regarding konjac foods.

It is the soluble fiber gotten from the roots of the konjac plant which is scientifically called Amorphophallus konjac. Konjac fiber is also known as glucomannan, the konjac plant is mostly found in parts of Asia, China, Japan, Korea etc. But if you are in Africa or America it is possible you may have never heard about it before.
The Japanese call it devil’s tongue and konnyaku, and this is prepared there in foods that will look like the squares and strips of the stiff gelatin, with rubbery texture. Konjac fiber is used as gelatin substitute that will thicken, and add texture to the foods. It’s also used in traditional Chinese medicine. In the Western world, konjac is best known as a dietary supplement for weight loss and cholesterol management.
Those who consume it say it has many virtues to the human body, some of which includes the fight against health problems such as constipation
BENEFITS
Constipation
Researchers have proven that konjack has many benefits to the human body and one of them is that it helps prevent constipation, which according to Wikipedia refers to bowel movements that are infrequent or hard to pass. This occurs due to fact that the stool is dry and very hard. Some minor symptoms include bloating, abdominal pain, or feeling like one hasn’t passed bowel movement. The result of the research showed adding konjac fiber to low-fiber diet results to amounts of the probiotic bacteria in the feces increase. It also increased bowel movement functions by 30 percent.
Cholesterol relief
A 2008 research found that konjac may help lower total cholesterol, and triglycerides. A later research found that konjac lowered LDL and recommended its use to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Weight loss
According to 2005 research result, by adding supplement glucomannan fiber in balanced, 1,400calorie of diet caused little more weight loss compared to 1,400calorie diet plus placebo. However adding additional fiber (guar gum and alginate) did not have any impact.
Help diabetes
According to Wikipedia, diabetes is group of the metabolic disorders where there are the high sugar levels over prolonged period. The symptoms of the high blood sugar will include the frequent urination, high thirst, as well as hunger glucomannan taken doesn’t matter means might help in reducing the cholesterol, or blood sugar levels or blood pressure in the diabetes patients, and reason why this must be a part of diabetic diet plan
konjac related risks
Konjac supplements may expand in esophagus and bowel and cause obstruction. Risk is much higher if you:
• Take konjac tablets
• Take konjac in any form without water
• Are elderly
• Have problems swallowing

Stop definitely taking konjac and get seek attention when you have symptoms of allergic reactions.
– Difficulty in breathing
– Hives or a rash
– Itchy skin
– Rapid heart rate
– Organ swelling, etc

Fiber is filling. Eating this regularly helps to keep you much fuller for longer, thus you are less likely overeat and snack between the meals. Konjac expands in stomach to help to keep you full.

Celiac disease is a long term autoimmune disorder that affects the small intestine; it is caused by reaction to gluten. Gluten is a composite of storage proteins, stored together with starch in the endosperm of some grains like wheat, barley, oat, etc.
Celiac is a genetic disease. Its symptoms can range from damage to several organs on any part of the body, or no symptoms at all. It begins between six months and two years of age. It is characterized by gastrointestinal problems like malabsorption, abdominal distention, chronic diarrhea, loss of appetite, and failure to grow normally for children. It is associated with some autoimmune diseases like diabetes mellitus typle1, psoriasis, vitiligo, autoimmune hepatitis and more.
The only known effective treatment is a strict lifelong gluten free diet mixed with the intake of probiotic, found naturally in konjac.
Konjac glucomannan (KGM) is a fermentable dietary fiber that is soluble in water. It is derived from the root of Konjac plants, native to Asia. It is famous for its numerous health benefits. For thousands of years, Asians have used the Konjac fiber, in powder form, to treat asthma, diarrhea, skin disorders and breast pain.
Dried Konjac root contains about 40% to 60% glucomannan fiber. Konjac Glucomannan is the most viscosity soluble fiber in nature. It has the highest water holding capacity of any soluble fiber; it can carry up to 100% of its own water weight. Because it is a soluble fiber, it lowers blood cholesterol when added to diet. It prevents sugar from rising too high after meals by keeping food in the stomach longer, thereby preventing free fatty acids and triglycerides from rising too high after meals. It binds to fats in the intestine, and preventing fat absorption, this dissolves fluids in large intestine as well as forms the gel that will bind with the bile acids in intestines, thus, liver converts more of cholesterol to bile the acids, blood cholesterol level gets reduced.
Konjac glucomannan has been known to act as a natural probiotic, by feeding the friendly bacteria in the intestine, it helps the gut health and the overall well being of a person. Glucomannan, as a non digestible fiber, passes through upper part of gastrointestinal tract as well as remains undigested because human body can’t break it down fully. But once it reaches the colon, where it is fermented by the gut microflora, it creates probiotics. Glucomannan increases the fecal concentration of probiotics in general, as well as probiotics like bifidobacteri and lactobacilli. These bacteria exert protective properties on epithelial cells from damage caused by gliadin.
This in turn yields these benefits:
• Better gut health.
• Higher immune function.
• Lower inflammation and autoimmune reactions.
• Constipation relief. It is a bulk forming laxative, so its intake promotes a larger bulkier stool that passes through the colon easily
This leads to recovery of mucosa, improved symptoms, and reduced risks of developing complications in most people suffering from Celiac disease.

Konjac flour is riped from the tubers of varied species of Amorphophallus.It is a soluble dietary fiber that’s almost like cellulose in structure and performance.
konjac flour contains primarily of hydrocolloidal carbohydrate, and glucomannan. Glucomannan consists of the glucose and the mannose subunits: and inked with B1 ,and 4 linkage at molar magnitude relation of i .O:1 .6. It’s a rather branched carbohydrate having a relative molecular mass of two hundred thousand to two million daltons. Acetyl radical teams on glucomannan backbone generally contribute to the solubility properties & situated, on and average, every nine to nineteen sugar units. All processes look alike and end with a powder that’s riche in konjac fiber and stands the specification enlisted in the Food and Chemicals Codex

The Food Chemicals Codex enlists konjac flour in the U. S. as a thickener gelling agent, film former, emulsifier and stabilizer. Forward that the konjac flour will replace all the uses of the cellulose and changed cellulose or gelatin. The worse case estimate of konjac flour consumption being food ingredient in the finished foods will be I .2 g per person per day. However, as a result of this, the use of the konjac flour is limited on human beings and wouldn’t substitute for uses of the cellulose and the gelatin, good estimate will be konjac flour will substitute for 1/3 of uses and, will be consumed at level of around 0.4 g/person/day.

The Konjac plant will live up to five years. However, throughout third year of the growth Konjac root matures & produces highest quantity of the konjac fiber. Once the tuber has absolutely matured, it is dug from earth, rinse then peel. The raw root is then chopped into slices then dried through the means of heated or warm air. The dried chips then processed into a powder. To separate the light Konjac starch in the hard glucomannan fiber, and air is blown on dried powder separates 2 carbohydrates. This glucomannan fiber is then refined with alcohol to get rid of any extra starch, alkaloids and alternative materials. The result’s a pure Konjac glucomannan fiber. This extremely refined Konjac fiber has no taste, and might absorb up to two hundred times its weight in water.
In conclusion for us to finally get the konjac powder, many processes must be crossed. This can be useful to those who want to do theirs themselves, but for this to happen you must go to china or japan or Southeast Asia in general.