There's a new weight loss craze sweeping the nation, with many dieters reportedly seeing incredible results after a week. Slim-Fizz, an orange-flavoured tablet dissolved in water before meals, has been hailed as a 'gastric band in a glass', claiming to help you shift a few pounds in ten days.
Slim Fizz is said to work best with a calorie-controlled diet
The process is simple: 30 minutes before you have a meal, dissolve one tablet in 200ml of water and drink it immediately. The process is repeated three times a day. The tablet's soluble fibre glucommanan, from the root of the konjac plant, combines with the water to turn into a gel that forms a thick barrier in the stomach lasting up to five hours – reportedly leaving the user feeling full both during mealtimes and the time in between.
The manufacturers also claim that there are other benefits alongside weight loss including reducing cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure. The tablet's popularity has soared in recent weeks, receiving rave reviews and selling out quickly.
However, some medical experts have advised caution as the product is new on the market, and its pros and cons are still relatively unknown.
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Doctors advise caution as it's a relatively new diet
Previous products derived from the konjac plant have proved a choking risk because they swell on contact with water. However James Greenwell, managing director of Proto-col who launched Slim-Fizz, says that the tablets have been designed to protect its user from the risk.
"The choking cases have all been recorded with tablets or gel sweets," he told MailOnline. "That's why we've put our glucomannan in soluble form, so it's delivered straight to your stomach, where it forms the gel. There's no risk if you take it this way."
Despite these assurances, some doctors remain wary as to whether Slim-Fizz really is the miracle cure it's been described as.
"It has only shown effective weight loss when used in conjuction with a calorie-controlled diet," says Dr Helen Webberley. "Which alone would achieve weight loss anyway."