Glucomannan - Potential Health Risks

Potential Health Risks

A health advisory was released by Health Canada stating the following: "natural health products containing the ingredient glucomannan in tablet, capsule or powder form, which are currently on the Canadian market, have a potential for harm if taken without at least 8 ounces of water or other fluid. The risk to Canadians includes choking and/or blockage of the throat, esophagus or intestine, according to international adverse reaction case reports. It is also important to note that these products should NOT be taken immediately before going to bed." The health advisory was issued after authorization of some products containing glucomannan for the purposes of appetite reduction, weight management, treatment of constipation and management of high cholesterol levels.

Eating glucomannan in the form of shirataki noodles does not pose any choking risk due to the size of the noodles.

Read more about this topic:  Glucomannan

Famous quotes containing the words potential, health and/or risks:

    Much of what contrives to create critical moments in parenting stems from a fundamental misunderstanding as to what the child is capable of at any given age. If a parent misjudges a child’s limitations as well as his own abilities, the potential exists for unreasonable expectations, frustration, disappointment and an unrealistic belief that what the child really needs is to be punished.
    Lawrence Balter (20th century)

    Any balance we achieve between adult and parental identities, between children’s and our own needs, works only for a time—because, as one father says, “It’s a new ball game just about every week.” So we are always in the process of learning to be parents.
    Joan Sheingold Ditzion, Dennie, and Palmer Wolf. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 2 (1978)

    The amount of it is, if a man is alive, there is always danger that he may die, though the danger must be allowed to be less in proportion as he is dead-and-alive to begin with. A man sits as many risks as he runs.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)