Shirataki Noodles and Fiber Gourmet pasta

Question
I stumbled across these two products:
Shirataki noodles (http://www.konjacfoods.com/noodles/index.htm)
Fiber Gourmet pasta
http://www.fibergourmet.com

The first pasta claims to have 0 calories! The second pasta claims to be only 120-130 calories per 2 oz serving due to the fact of all the fiber. Do you think the calorie content on both of these pastas are REALLY correct? Please let me know your thoughts on this. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Thank you!
Kim

Answer
Dear Kim,

Shirataki Noodles are made of Konnyaku potato or yam. The main component is glucomannan. It works for weight loss mainly because glucomannan can absorb water up to 200 times its weight and food volume is the main signal for our bodies to feel full sooner. However, glucomannan does contain calories: 10 for 2 grams though it becomes negligible when multiplied by 200 - the potential volume increase by cooking in water.

On the other hand, recant research showed that all fibers are being digested and soluble even more than insoluble, depending on intestinal friendly bacteria activity and species.

Fiber Gourmet pasta seems to have an increased amount of insoluble fiber though I failed to find any specifics of its source, so it's hard to compare such different products. In both cases information looks accurate.

BTW, you might find low carb pasta recipes here:
http://dietandbody.com/crockpot_recipes/Pasta.html

= TZ

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