The FastDay Forum

I have just googled konjak root and found this information.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/14923 ... njac-root/
It is worth bearing in mind

Nice! Konjac is shirataki noodles or zero calories.

I'm really surprised to see this here. I knew it was only a matter of time before someone tried to make money out of people eating less! But this is worse than I imagined -- telling us 5:2 is difficult without buying their product! Sorry, am I the only way who feels this way?

Delays gastric emptying? No thanks.

These are posts I've moved out from the competition entry post.

I knew there would be some folks who didn't like the idea of a supplement for 5:2 but I thought there might be some interest, especially given the konjac connection. No, most of us don't find fasting days difficult, but I know some do struggle with them and certainly one of the most common fears among potential 5:2ers is the fear of hunger. We've learned to deal with it but for some the fear is enough to stop them even trying. I'm going to try the product courtesy of the company and see if it does anything for me. I'll be totally honest when they offered a set for me to give away I thought folks might enjoy a chance to give it a go for free.

Scary stuff, I don't like supplements anyway and as for the objective of feeling full for longer, why not eat a weetabix/shredded wheat/oatmeal soaked in water? Gives you all the benefits of the fibre without all these potentially harmful side-effects.

No side effects in konjac, plenty of calories in weetabix...

From what I saw after a brief look yesterday, there's VitB, copper and konjac in this supplement. IMO, this doesn't justify its price. One can buy just the konjac and some vitamins and have the same effect.

Personally, I wouldn't buy it because I don't think that it is worth its money.

I don't know that I would be able to justify that sort of spend either to be fair, but some folks might (when you consider the money saved through doing 5:2, some might find the cost okay if it makes it easier for them). Certainly looking forward to seeing if it works.

The only side effects of konjac are listed on a link in one of the posts above and I guess those are as much a risk to folks who eat zero noodles/pasta as those taking a supplement!

I was very surprised to see this advert flashing up on the site. OK I suppose if it helps with the cost of running the forum? but surely part of fasting & 5:2ing is learning what feeling hungry really feels like & therefore learning how our own appetite works?

I have nothing against a supplement for 5:2 or having it promoted here, however:

The official page of the 5:2 Fast Formula presents the creator Dr. Alfred Hasselbacher vaguely as being "Germany´s leading doctor".

The doctor is also listed as being the Head of Medical Research of a web site called OrderVia (http://www.ordervia.com/index.php/products) specialized in the marketing of health supplements saying "Dr Alfred was previously the private physician for a Saudi Prince!".

His name also appears as being the developer of other supplements: Acai Berry Mix, Meratol, Nuratrim, Male Extra, and now the 5:2 Fast Formula.

The page selling the Male Extra supplement says he is a researcher and professor at Nauka University. A Google search sent me to this page: http://www.unauka.org/ - a virtual university in Russia with several pages "under construction".

I recommend caution.

monteverano wrote:
I recommend caution.

Agree most definitely. Im generally sceptical about any of the natural health supplement products out there though its a huge industry and obviously many buyers out there

but when you do a google search as you did, and im pretty good at google searching as i kind of do it for a living.. definitely caution needed.

probably cant hurt or bad side effects as its all natural stuff so caution not from that point of view but i guess, caution re efficacy for price paid.

Will be interested in your review of product Moogie though personally i will never be convinced as i dont like anyting from a bottle, tablet or liquid. if it once came out of ground, off a tree or off an animal.. im then all in favour.

Why not just have the konjac noodles/rice since they are already pre-soaked and at maximum bulk? Wouldn't that avoid the side-effect of taking the pill and possibly not drinking enough water to process the bulk properly?

It's just another tool for people to use. If they find it helpful, then what's wrong with them using it? Plenty of people here eat on a schedule to avoid feeling hungry and/or run into negative side effects from feeling hungry such as sleeplessness and distraction. Maybe some people would benefit from this.

And it did once come out of the ground. Konjac root is used to make zero calorie noodles. It's an herbal medicine. Some people take other fiber supplements. I don't see a big difference between this and, say, Metamucil.

Having said all that, I wouldn't use it. I prefer to stay away from supplements if I can find foods that give me the same benefits. My muesli helps keep my hunger under control and purportedly keeps cholesterol in check.

I didn't intend to start a thread, Moogie's moved my post. Had I thought about it I would have flagged the need to be cautious even when using the noodles as it can affect diabetic medicines. Also the products(don't know about the noodles) are banned in Australia.
I was only curious to find out what konjac actually was and I didn't like the sound of what I found.
Herbal doesn't necessarily mean good for you.

I have no knowledge of this product but assuming "natural" is safe is not good. There are many plants or mushrooms which would be lovely only the once.

I'd be wanting to know the reason for the ban in Oz.