In this post we want to tell you about a new weight loss/detox supplement. In the past few months yacon root has received an increasing amount of column inches and headline space. So is this really the next big weight loss supplement?

What is yacon root?

Let’s start with the basics here. Yacon Root is, as the name might suggest, a completely natural product. It comes in a syrupy form that is extracted directly from the roots of the plant, which hails from South America. Hence you might also hear this referred to as Yacon Syrup.

You can get it as a syrup or in pill form, where the root is concentrated into an easy-to-take supplement. This means you can easily take it every day instead of figuring out how to work the syrup into a recipe. The pure syrup itself is very similar in texture and appearance to molasses.

What are the benefits of Yacon Root?

Experiments have been undertaken to see how the root works. One study back in 2009 focused on 55 women who needed to lose weight. Over the course of four months there was an average weight loss of 33 pounds per woman. They took three or four tablespoons of the Yacon Root syrup per day throughout the four-month period.

More recently, The Dr Oz Show also put the root to the test. Here they only added the Yacon Root to their daily routine and made no further changes to what they ate or drank. During a period of four weeks, 73% of those taking part lost on average 2.9 pounds. They took a teaspoon of Yacon Syrup with each meal to achieve these results.

What is inside Yacon Root?

To find out more about the Yacon Root we should look into it in more detail. The main element that seems to be helping people lose weight is something called FOS for short. The proper name is fructooligosaccharides.

As you might guess from the name it is essentially a sweetener; however it has a lot more to offer than this. While Yacon Root is made from sugar molecules they are very different to normal sugar molecules. As such the body doesn’t recognise them and react to them in the same manner it does to regular sugar. Thus the body gets the sweet taste but the digestive system can’t actually do anything with the Yacon Root except expel it.

Perhaps even more importantly, the root is packed with fibre. We all know fibre helps to bulk out a meal and makes the person eating it feel fuller for longer. While no extensive research has been done with the root, it is thought that it might help an individual feel full as well as supporting the healthy bacteria found in the gut. Since there are only around 20 calories per tablespoon of the actual syrup, you can take it regularly and not ingest lots of calories in the process.

Could Yacon Root help with weight loss?

If you are considering losing weight, you might consider using Yacon Root as part of a larger effort to lose weight. The original study in 2009 encouraged those taking part to walk daily as well as eating less, so perhaps the best use of the product is in conjunction with healthy habits.

While those using it in Dr Oz’s experiment lost weight without making any other changes, clearly better and faster results are seen when using a more all-in approach.

Yacon Root Syrup or supplement?

If you are going to add Yacon Root to your daily diet, you have a decision to make. Will you go for the syrup or choose a supplement instead?

A lot depends on what you want to use it for. Since Yacon Syrup is naturally sweet and has fewer calories than sugar, a lot of people opt to use it as a substitute. However you can get the potential benefits of the root by taking a convenient supplement each day instead, rather than handling the actual syrup itself.

So you can see that Yacon Root appears to have plenty going for it. If you are serious about trying to lose weight, maybe the Yacon Root will be the supplement that helps you get there.