What Are Shirataki Noodles?

What are shirataki noodles? Until two years ago I had never even heard of them. Then one day I saw a banner on a site advertising ‘calorie free noodles’ and curiosity drove me to investigate.

Ever since I was a teen I’ve had a healthy appetite. When I was young it didn’t matter, my metabolism simply burned off any excess calories consumed before they could be stored as fat. But like many women, that changed when I had my first child. All of a sudden my body decided that I needed a little extra fat stored in order to protect me from the demands of the next pregnancy. Each child I had resulted in about an extra 11 pounds (5kg) being added to what I call my ‘base weight’. So my healthy appetite became my downfall… those extra calories that used to simply be burned away started being stored as fat. Click here for info on how to lose weight without dieting

Then I found shirataki noodles marketed under the name of miracle noodles. They seemed too good to be true. How could noodles be calorie free?

What are Shirataki noodles?

Shirataki noodles have been made in Asia for over 2000 years and are used by modern Japanese women to control their weight.

Shirataki noodles are made from the root bulb of the konjac plant also known as an ‘elephant yam’. Although this root is called a yam, nutritionally it bears no resemblance to normal yams. Other yams are a source of carbohydrates which are the main source of energy for our bodies as they are the easiest to digest and convert to energy. Elephant yams contain no usable carbohydrates. Instead they consist of 100% dietary fiber. The root is dried and ground down into a flour called glucomannan which is now a common ingredient in dietary fiber supplements. This use is only recent though. Traditionally, glucomannan was used to create noodles and blocks known as konnyaku.

So how can these noodles be calorie free?

Strictly speaking, fiber is classed as a carbohydrate. But the human body can’t convert fiber into energy. This means that fiber contains zero USABLE carbs. Because shirataki noodles are a mixture of 97% water and 3% dietary fiber there are no calories that can be converted to energy making them effectively calorie free. Even based on traditional carbs which contain four usable calories per gram, 100 grams of shirataki noodles would only contain 12 calories since the rest is water and water has no calories. Quite obviously, this makes shirataki noodles an ideal weight loss food.

Regular noodles contain anywhere from 190-220 calories per cup of noodles. So when you substitute shirataki noodles you reduce your calorie intake by however many calories would normally be in your normal size serve of noodles. If you normally eat two cups of noodles then you reduce your calorie intake by approximately 400 calories. What a great idea, reducing calorie intake WITHOUT reducing the amount of food you eat. I love knowing I can eat noodles without overloading on calories. I was so impressed with the noodles that I became an affiliate.

And because they are made from fiber they also help satisfy your hunger for longer. Of course, fiber also has many other health benefits, like helping control cholesterol, stopping spikes in blood sugar levels, slowing digestion and maintaining colon health

So don’t eat less… just eat smart!!!

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