The new product is just as neat as its name, “Gummy Owls.” Basically, it’s glucomannan sweetened with sugar alcohols and stevia. Each of the little owls has just 4 calories.
The company that makes them and sent them to me for review, Green Forest Nutrition in San Diego, recommends that we eat three to five of these little owls 30 minutes before each meal. Both taste and effectiveness are important to me.
Taste is tricky, because you want something that will taste good — but not so good that you would eat it like candy. Manufacturers of glucose tabs have the same problem, and from many reports they haven’t solved it well, since lots of people can’t stand the taste of glucose tabs. Gummy Owls, at least for me, taste good enough that I am delighted to eat a few — but not too many.
And they do seem to be effective for me in losing weight. As I have written here in “When Diabetes Discipline Becomes a Diabetes Obsession,” about how hard it is for me to keep off the weight I have lost, I still have to struggle with my weight.
After a trip last month to Southeast Arizona, I noticed my weight creeping up again. So I was delighted to receive Gummy Owls from Tom U. Gardner at Green Forest Nutrition and to take them before almost every meal for the past week.
My bathroom scales tell me that they really work — at least for me at this time. This type of anecdotal evidence is not, of course, scientific.
And Gummy Owls are not for everyone. One friend of mine turned down my offer to try a sample, because one ingredient, a coloring agent called carmine, is not vegetarian.
But studies show that many people have results similiar to mine. A study in the journal American Family Physician, titled “Common dietary supplements for weight loss,” shows that glucomannan increases satiety.
I asked the company if they would create a coupon code giving a discount to readers of this article. They replied that they created a coupon code GFN0612D for $10 off any order at GummyOwls.com through June 30 of this year.
Besides, all owls are great, right? Here is a photo of a beautiful Great Horned Owl that I took two days ago.
A Great Horned Owl
Just remember that these little Gummy Owls are the only ones that can help us lose weight.
This article is based on an earlier version of my article published by HealthCentral.
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I tried to order but it appears that they only ship to the US. How sad! I could not even register because of that, I’m in Europe.
I believe this is the same fiber used to make shirataki noodles. So you can incorporate your weight loss aid into your meal!