Metamucil is a great product with tremendous health benefits. From lowering cholesterol to controlling one’s blood sugar levels, Metamucil is much more than a supplement to help with bowel movements. But one area where Metamucil is not great is weight loss.
Because of the many benefits that Metamucil brings to the table, the natural inclination would be to think that it would also be great as a weight loss supplement. Sure, it can’t be any worse than some of the pills and fads out there. But in order to understand whether Metamucil will work as a weight loss supplement, one must first look at what its main purpose is.
The FDA’s recommended intake of total dietary fiber is about 25 grams per day. A 1-cup serving of broccoli contains about 2.5 grams. A medium-sized banana has a little over 3 grams. One cup of pea soup contains about 16 grams. Lentils are also high fiber. But in truth, for the “average,” overweight American, getting enough fiber is a task.
And why is fiber important? In a word (or two), it’s all about digestive health. Fiber moves the goods along. When waste builds up in your digestive infrastructure, nothing can get better. It can increase your risk of colon cancer, and can definitely leave you constipated. Fiber helps a lot in keeping your digestive track clean.
It feeds the good bacteria in your gut. Fiber also slows digestion. Which is especially important in the case of sugar. By slowing the absorption of sugar, fiber can help achieve and maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
So, how does Metamucil work? First, its fiber from psyllium husks. When digested, these psyllium husks will expand in your digestive tract and become a gelatinous “blob”. This causes your bowel to contract and start pushing the drop inside. Metamucil began its life as a laxative, used to encourage bowel movements and reduce symptoms of constipation, and perhaps diarrhea.
Along the way, the FDA concluded that a healthy diet that was low in saturated fat, cholesterol and high in fiber could reduce the risk of heart disease. Additionally, some trials showed a positive effect of fiber on controlling blood sugar levels. It was and is good. Because Metamucil is fiber, Metamucil took advantage of this good news.
But the weight loss argument isn’t as convincing as some would have you believe. The notion that Metamucil may be an effective weight loss supplement comes in two parts. Firstly, taking it before a meal will result in a feeling of fullness. Eventually, the psyllium husk will expand in your stomach. And this feeling of fullness translates into eating less. In that regard, Metamucil can be great for regaining some control over one’s appetite. And it goes without saying, one cannot begin to lose weight until one can control one’s appetite.
Second, Metamucil takes things along. It hinders the absorption of sugar and flushes out waste. As a side note, Metamucil not only hinders the absorption of sugars, but it can also block the absorption of many things such as medications and other supplements. Metamucil recommends taking the medication 2 hours before or after drinking Metamucil or visit your doctor.
What is important is that the less that is absorbed, the less that goes into your belly fat. But Metamucil slows down the absorption. It is not like orlistat which reduces the amount of fat absorbed in the intestines. Fiber works in the usual sense. In a way, fiber is more about balance.
So really, Metamucil is the tool. The overarching principle for losing weight is simple. This is to achieve a caloric deficit on an ongoing basis. To lose weight smartly, that is, in a healthy way, the objective is to combine clean eating with aerobic exercise to strengthen your cardiovascular system and resistance training to maintain muscle mass.
Metamucil is a great tool to help control appetite. This fiber bridges the gap when there is a dietary deficiency. It promotes great digestive health. While taking Metamucil is clearly good for your health, Metamucil by itself is not going to help you shed those pounds.
Source by H. Kim
