/oss/taxonomy/term/1369/all en /oss/article/health-quackery-supplements-weight-loss/konjac-con <p>I just watched acommercial on TV for "Lipozene." What a miracle product this is! Magical weight loss with no side effects. Whoa...time to reign in the claims.</p> <p>Just take the pills a few times a day and watch the pounds melt away. So goes the claim. Whoaaa. Time to reign in the galloping hyperboles.</p> Mon, 30 Dec 2013 00:10:22 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2054 at /oss /oss/article/diets-drugs-health-you-asked/you-asked-can-much-advertised-lipozene-lead-weight-loss <p>The "active" ingredient in Lipozene is glucomannan, a form of dietary fiber that is extracted from the root of the konjac plant. Fiber, by definition, is any type of food component that cannot be digested and consequently makes its way to the large intestine or colon, where bacteria may break it down into smaller compounds. Most of these, along with intact fiber, are excreted. Glucomannan is made of glucose and mannose molecules joined together in long chains, but unlike digestible carbohydrates like starch, it is resistant to breakdown by our salivary or pancreatic enzymes.</p> Tue, 12 May 2015 12:00:43 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2258 at /oss