Benefits of PGX®
Accelerate Your Weight Loss
PGX® Helps You Lose Weight
For almost everyone, the math behind weight loss is simple: your body has to burn more calories than it consumes. There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat. If you burn 500 more calories than you consume
each day, theoretically you will lose one pound a week. It is for this reason that all sensible diets focus on a combination of exercise and calorie reduction. PGX® does not burn calories, but it can make eating fewer calories each day much easier for you, correcting your appetite and helping you decrease the size of
your meals.
PGX® Controls and Balances Blood Sugar Levels
Most foods in the Western diet are highly processed. Convenience foods and “fast food,” especially, are laden with highly refined carbohydrates. These foods are too rapidly digested by the body, causing excessive peaks in blood sugar levels after meals. This rapid rise triggers the body to release insulin to bring blood sugar back down again. Coupled with a current or chronic blood sugar level imbalance, this creates a pattern in which blood sugar erratically rises and falls – it’s the so-called blood sugar roller coaster.
PGX® counteracts the effects of carbohydrate-heavy meals to control and balance blood sugar levels. The same highly viscous fibre complex created by adding PGX to your meals, the one that helps you feel full and retain that feeling of satisfaction longer, is also your source of assistance in regulating blood sugar levels. The slowed digestion that you experience when using PGX also slows the conversion of carbohydrates and other foods into sugar, resulting in a more gradual release of glucose into the bloodstream. Blood sugar levels are less likely to spike when using PGX. And when they don’t spike, blood sugar levels don’t tend to fall far enough to trigger excess production of insulin. As illustrated in the above graphs, once PGX is
incorporated into your diet and the recommended dosage is achieved, blood sugar can effectively be controlled and balanced.
PGX® has been clinically proven to reduce the glycemic index of foods by up to 50%2,3. The glycemic index (GI) is a scale that ranks carbohydrate-rich foods by how much they raise blood glucose levels after meals, when compared to a standard food (glucose or white bread).
PGX® Lowers Cholesterol
PGX® helps lower "bad" (LDL) cholesterol levels by increasing the excretion rate of blood cholesterol. The liver packages the cholesterol into bile acids and sends them to the small intestine for fat breakdown.
From there, the cholesterol finds its way to the bloodstream, where it can clog arteries and cause other kinds of health problems. But soluble fibre, like PGX, binds with some of these cholesterol-containing bile acids when they arrive in the small intestine, and quickly moves them out of the body. This removal results in lower total and “bad” cholesterol levels.
Research Results: In one published study involving healthy male and female volunteers, a dose of 10 grams of PGX® per day over 21 days was shown to reduce total cholesterol levels by 14% and LDL levels by 17%, respectively4. In males and females with a BMI ranging from 27 to 40, 10 grams of PGX® over 14 weeks was shown to reduce total cholesterol levels by 18% and LDL by 25% (5).
PGX® is Safe and Stimulant Free
With all the benefits of PGX® so far described, one might expect there to be drawbacks to using it, perhaps even unpleasant side effects. However, PGX is made from natural products and has been proven to be safe in two published studies (6,7).
PGX does not contain any stimulants that increase heart rate or leave you feeling anxious or jittery. In the clinical trials of PGX, some people reported gas or bloating, both of which are commonly noticed when increasing the amount of fibre in your diet. When these symptoms were noticed, they tended to last 3-7 days, but can be easily limited – by gradually working up to the recommended dose, and by drinking lots of water with your PGX.
PGX® is High in Fibre
PGX® is an excellent source of dietary fibre. According to current Health Canada recommendations, healthy adults should consume at least 25 grams of fibre (both soluble and insoluble) every day. It is well-known that fibre is good for you, but the effectiveness of fibre is proportionate to its ability to hold water.
PGX absorbs water slowly and maintains its gel-like viscosity throughout the digestive tract. As a result, a 5 gram serving of PGX is equivalent to as much as 20 grams of some other fibre sources. For example, to achieve the same results you would have to eat four bowls of oat bran to equal one 5 gram serving of PGX. Of course, it is important to get much of your fibre from eating foods high in fibre. But adding PGX to any diet will allow you to reach the recommended daily amount easily.
References
1. Lyon MR, Reichert RG. The effect of a novel viscous polysaccharide (PGX®) along with lifestyle changes on short-term weight loss and associated risk factors in overweight and obese adults: An observational retrospective clinical program analysis.Canadian Center for Functional Medicine, Coquitlam.
2. Jenkins AL, Vuksan V, Kacinik V and Lyon M. Glycemic index reduction by a viscous polysaccharide blend independent of food form: determination of the glycemic reduction index potential (GRIP). FASEB J. 2008; 22: 305.7.
3. Kacinik V, Jenkins AL, Vuksan V, Lyon M. The reduction of the glycemic index when a Viscous fiber blend is added or incorporated into commonly consumed foods. In Science Across Borders: 5th Annual NHPRS Conference; 2008 March 26–29; Toronto (ON), Canada.
4. Carabin IG, Lyon MR, Wood S, Pelletier X, Donazzolo Y, Burdock GA. Supplementation of the diet with the functional fiber PolyGlycoplex® is well tolerated by healthy subjects in a clinical trial. Nutr J. 2009; 8 (1): 9.
5. Lyon MR, Reichert RG. The effect of a novel viscous polysaccharide (PGX®) along with lifestyle changes on short-term weight loss and associated risk factors in overweight and obese adults: An observational retrospective clinical program analysis. Canadian Center for Functional Medicine, Coquitlam.
6. Carabin IG, Lyon MR, Wood S, Pelletier X, Donazzolo Y, Burdock GA. Supplementation of the diet with the functional fiber PolyGlycoplex(R) is well tolerated by healthy subjects in a clinical trial. Nutr J. 2009; 8 (1): 9.
7. Palma Ann Marone, Michael Lyon, Roland Gahler, Claudia Donath, Hana Hofman-Huther, Simon Wood. Genotoxicity Studies fo PolyGlycopleX (PGX)® : A Novel Dietary Fiber. Int J Toxicol 2009; 28; 318.
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