Birthdays, holidays, date nights… World-renowned sugar expert Robert Lustig, MD, knows there are times in life when people are going to eat more carbs than usual. “We know processed food isn’t going away. Why not find a way to counteract it?” the professor emeritus of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, says. Knowing that around 88 percent of people are metabolically unhealthy or have metabolic syndrome, Dr. Lustig and his team painstakingly developed a dietary safety mechanism. Known as Monch Monch, it’s a special type of engineered fiber that works like a calorie-absorbing “micro sponge.” Keep reading to learn how this healthy fiber can allow you to enjoy occasional carb cheats without suffering the blood-sugar spikes and weight gain they usually trigger.
What is Monch Monch fiber?
This newly created type of dietary fiber, called Monch Monch ($56 for a 2-week supply), is 100 percent naturally derived from plants, including the konjac root. One serving of the powder can trap up to 24 grams of sugar in the body, so the sweet stuff isn’t processed. That reduces sugar spikes and weight gain. Dr. Lustig—whose YouTube lecture “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” has been viewed 25 million times—says the goal is “improving health without limiting your choices.”
How does Monch Monch fiber work?
This special new fiber works in two ways…
1. Monch Monch grabs dietary sugar in the body
This granulated powder acts like a nanoscopic sponge. It swells to 70 times its size, soaking up sugar in the stomach and moving it through the digestive system. And since fiber isn’t digested, the trapped sugar isn’t absorbed either. A small clinical trial using ProDigest simulations shows this sponge diverts 33 percent of dietary glucose, 36 percent of fructose, 38 percent of sucrose and 9 percent of simple starches.
2. Monch Monch becomes healthy food for gut bacteria
When this fiber reaches the lower intestine, its second mechanism kicks in. That’s when Monch Monch becomes prebiotic food to feed healthy bugs and crowd out bad bugs in the gut. It’s one way to create the bacterial diversity needed for optimal gut health. Research shows Monch Monch enhances the production of short-chain fatty acids like butyrate in the gut by 60 percent. And butyrate is known to reduce inflammation, cut appetite and promote healthy weight.
How can this fiber help with weight loss?
Processed food has led to countless health challenges in America, including obesity. Dr. Lustig, an alum of both MIT and Cornell, says modern diet problems boil down to two things: “too much sugar; too little fiber.” In fact, 97 percent of adults are deficient in fiber. So supplementing with fiber can help.
A small study conducted in Australia of people who took Monch Monch shows it reduced body fat by 4 percent in just three to four weeks, while preserving lean muscle mass, with no negative side effects. In comparison, traditional dieting sheds about .4 percent to .8 percent of body fat per week. One customer confirmed she steadily lost 10 pounds using Monch Monch. Another noticed improvements with belly-bloat inches. Other users noticed their glucose was 10 to 20 points lower after eating high-carb foods. One diabetic who tested Monch Monch even reported her “blood sugar dropped from 191 to 69 in just over an hour!”
Why this fiber is different from other fibers
You may be thinking: I’ve tried increasing fiber to lose weight. What’s so different about this kind? Well, the fiber products on the market are soluble fiber (like psyllium in Metamucil). “Soluble has its place,” says Dr. Lustig, but he points to new research when he adds, “It turns out that the majority of the metabolic benefit from fiber is actually from insoluble fiber,” which can’t easily be packaged into processed food products.
“Insoluble fiber helps insulin resistance and gut health and makes you feel fuller, which is what GLP-1 drugs do, so it seems Monch Monch has potential,” adds weight-loss expert Fred Pescatore, MD.
How to use Monch Monch fiber
To try the product, mix a teaspoon of Monch Monch powder into a half cup of water. Stir and drink quickly so it doesn’t thicken. (The texture is a bit pulpy, but the benefits are worth it.) Take it immediately before eating. Then you can enjoy a carb-rich meal or snack, without the weight gain–inducing blood-sugar roller coaster that often follows. You can also add the powder to non-water–based foods like ice cream, bean dip or lasagna to hide the flavor and texture. (Water-based foods, over time, will swell up and harden, so they won’t work.) Two servings per day are recommended, but you can also take Monch Monch only when you need it—like before indulging in pizza or a slice of cake.
What people are saying about Monch Monch
Dee McCaffrey, a doctor of clinical nutrition and host of the podcast Diet Science, says Monch Monch “feels like a win-win.” She was drawn to the innovation when she learned Dr. Lustig was involved. “He’s been a pioneer in the fight against sugar in the food supply.” She adds, “He’s sort of like the voice of reason for us.”
As a bonus, Monch Monch customers talk about feeling less “hangry” and experiencing a mood boost. One registered dietitian told us, “I am now recommending this product to my patients. I’m also incorporating Monch Monch into my no-bake protein bars.”
The future of this fiber: Dr. Lustig says, “I can’t tell you at this point whether Monch Monch will be the natural answer to Ozempic. But I do know we’re headed in the same direction!”
