Oat bran and your health

What are the effects of oat bran on health?

Oat bran is a by-product of oat that has experienced sustained interest from the international medical body since the years 2000. Known by cardiologists for its ability to lower cholesterol, it had been overshadowed by the influx of statins - much more potent drugs. Made popular by the Dukan Diet, it is recommended nowadays by nutritionists and diabetologists for its effect on excess weight, obesity and diabetes. Its medicinal property stems from its high content in a type of rare fibers called beta-glucan fibers which hold two physical characteristics: an absorption capacity (allowing it to gorge itself up to 20 times its volume in water and to swell in the stomach causing a feeling of fullness), and a natural viscosity (allowing it to capture intestinal calories and carry them into the stools).

Find out more All sectors of food processing were impacted by the industrial wave of manufacturing. However, manufacturing hardly changed the food sectors of protein (meat, fish, poultry, eggs), or that of fats, having only slightly modified the nutritional status of oil and butter. But manufacturing thoroughly influenced the carbohydrate foods sector, particularly that of grains and especially wheat and all the starches derived from it. For productivity and public appeal reasons, wheat and all consumer grains were processed initially by hybridization of organic species then by refining and purification. These two processes gradually eliminated the plant frame and fibers, enriched the grain in calories and sugars and impoverished it in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Nowadays these two processes are known to foster diseases of modern society such as excess weight, obesity, and even more so diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, Alzheimer disease, constipation...

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Oat bran and cancer?

Oat bran has an important role in the prevention of cancer, and the propagation rate of a cancer that has taken hold. It plays this role in two converging ways. First by taking the place of grains too high in sugars. Glucose, which is the end result of the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, is the primary food for the cancerous cell. You must know that what distinguishes a healthy cell from a cancerous cell is the healthy cell's ability to feed off fat as well as glucose, while the cancerous cell can survive and grow only off glucose. By reducing the intake of sugary and starchy foods, oat bran slows the power of growth of cancerous cells. Furthermore, oat bran plays an important role in fighting excess weight and we know that being overweight or closely obese is clearly linked to an increased risk of cancer. Finally, oat bran serves as a lining to the walls of the digestive tract thereby lessening the contact with some carcinogenic foods from the modern diet, and by easing the transit, reduces their contact time.

Find out more • Esophageal cancer: oat bran, upon ingestion, turns into a gel-like substance that protects the esophagus. • Pancreatic cancer: bran plays a role here by reducing the intake of sugars and invasive carbohydrates. • Colorectal cancer: oat bran plays here its best role in protecting the walls, a hotspot for toxicant concentration. • Breast cancer (after menopause): many studies have shown that the phytoestrogen content in oat had a protective function over breast cancer. • Endometrial cancer: oat bran assumes here the same protective effects as for breast cancer. Same goes for ovarian cancer and prostate cancer.

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Oat bran and diabetes

Oat bran plays an important role in the prevention and the fight against diabetes. How? Diabetes is triggered when a weakened pancreas is attacked by a high carbohydrate diet with high glycemic index foods. Compelled to constantly produce too much insulin, the pancreas finally burns out and accepts a higher than usual blood sugar level. It only takes a slight increase, the shift from 1gr/liter of sugar to only 1.26gr/liter to trigger diabetes. Oat bran plays an important role in this context by introducing a significant amount of soluble beta-glucan fibers into the digestive system. These fibers fill up with water and, by doing so, lower the speed of the consumed carbohydrates. I will take an example from daily life. You eat a store bought cookie. For 100gr of this food, there are between 63 and 68 grams of carbohydrates (of which 20 to 25 grams are white sugar) which makes it a highly diabetogenic food due to the large insulin secretion it triggers. If, at the same time, you take two tablespoons (30g) of oat bran and drink a tall glass of fluids, the gel-like substance it constitutes will reduce by one third the speed of digestion and absorption of the carbohydrates contained in the cookies and the resulting need for insulin.

Find out more But there is something better. Instead of consuming these traditional diabetogenic foods, why not make them yourself by substituting oat bran for white flour and a sweetener like sucralose or stevia for white sugar. Under these circumstances, it is no longer a moderate slowdown but a significant decrease of about 5 or 6 times the absorption speed of these cookies. The benefit is even greater for those who can make their own bread, because in bread there is only white flour, which is more aggressive than sugar on the pancreas, insulin and weight. If you are a diabetic and monitor your blood glucose every morning, try the following: one morning check your fasting blood glucose then eat 100 grams of store-bought white bread. Ten minutes later, check your blood glucose again and compare the results. The following day, do the same thing with homemade bread made from oat bran and compare the results. It should naturally encourage you to reduce the use of white flours.

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Oat bran and constipation

Constipation is very common among western women who have become very sedentary, eat manufactured foods depleted of fiber, undergo more stress than in past times, and drink a lot less fluids. For all these reasons, bowel function slows down, the intestines are strangled by spasms, and the intestinal bowl stalls and dries out.

Find out more There are two kinds of fiber that affect constipation, soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Insoluble fibers are those of wheat which hardly absorb any water. When they reach the large intestine or colon, their roughness irritates the wall which triggers a contraction easing the progression of the bolus. But the effectiveness linked to its roughness and its ability to irritate is often poorly tolerated and these insoluble fibers cannot be used regularly. These fibers are recommended to individuals with sleepy bowels and minimal sensitivity. They should be completely avoided by individuals prone to "irritable bowels" or suffering from constipation with alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea. Oat bran is the most efficient soluble fiber. It is one of the gentlest and its absorption capacity allows it to absorb more than 20 times its volume in water. Bran and water together form a voluminous and highly flexible gel-like substance. Two well-watered tablespoons of bran form a 600g gel.

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Oat bran and the pregnant woman

Pregnancy is one of the instances in which oat bran can play one of its most important roles. It hardly interferes with the protein and fats food registries. On the other hand, it intervenes heavily in the relationship of a pregnant woman and carbohydrates. Since the 1970s, the industrial processing of carbohydrates produces foods that put more strain the pancreas and require it to constantly produce more insulin. Everything the mother eats reaches the baby through the umbilical cord. Even if the mother in the short run tolerates this artificial increase in modified carbohydrates, the same cannot be said of the growing fetus. While his or her pancreas is being formed and developed, it suffers a true carbohydrate storm unforeseen by its genetic programming. This new encounter at a time when the fetus is developing its ability to secrete insulin will make too soon a demand on it and induce a weakness that will continue throughout its adult life.

Find out more Oat bran has a role to play in proper pancreatic development. During the first three months of pregnancy, the embryonic pancreas is not functional. Its cells start to take shape at the end of the third month to end up secreting their first drop of insulin by the end of the fifth month. During those two months, any significant and frequent or prolonged blood sugar elevation will disrupt the development of insulin cells and lead to a subsequent weakness for excess weight and diabetes. During these 60 days, oat bran can be used as a substitute for bread, sandwiches, pizza dough, all starches, cookies, bars, pastries, brioche, foods that make high demands on the pancreas and its secretion of insulin. Nowadays, recipes using oat bran to make bread, fine breads, homemade cookies, muffins, bars, cakes are easy to find on cooking websites. These recipes are delicious, dense and for those who drink enough, they provide fullness and safeguard from constipation that is so common throughout pregnancy. And for those who do not have time, there are in mass distribution, snacks or starchy foods made from oat bran similar to cookies, bars, breakfast cereals. But beware, all brans are not equal and to acquire this digestive slowdown effect, it is necessary to avoid oat brans too finely milled which come in the form of flour. And even more importantly, choose brans sufficiently sieved, meaning sifted to remove the oat groat flour that is just as fast to digest as white wheat flour.

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Oat bran and sleep

It is traditionally known that oat and its components, one of which is oat bran, have calming qualities that ease and induce sleep. In 2008, the EMA, European Medicines Agency recognized the traditional use of oat leaves and stems "to relieve nervousness and minor sleep disorders". To aid in sleep, a cup of herbal tea made with boiling water and a tablespoon of oat bran is recommended at bedtime.

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Oat bran and cholesterol

For a very long time and before the arrival of statins that revolutionized the treatment of high cholesterol, oat bran was traditionally used for this purpose. When oat bran, mixed with the broken down foods, reaches the small intestine, its viscosity allows each of its particles to adhere to everything around it - fats, sugars and cholesterol. It anchors and prevents these elements from entering the bloodstream as it carries them along to the stools.

Find out more The potency of statins (medications with a greater potency) replaced oat bran. But nowadays, treatment for high cholesterol and the role that statins play is being reconsidered especially since the latter presents significant side effects and a high cost. This new environment supports a favorable comeback for oat bran in the fight against high cholesterol. In 2012, all the European health authorities (EFSA, European Food Safety Authority and the European Commission) settled the health claims regarding oat bran. They deemed that it helps maintain normal blood cholesterol levels provided that it be taken so as to contain 3 grams of beta-glucan fibers daily, the equivalent of 3 tablespoons daily. This is in fact the amount of oat bran recommended in the fourth stabilization phase of the Dukan Diet.

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Oat bran and hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids are often painful rectal varicose veins that can be chronic if poorly treated. Like varicose veins, they are a combination of a generally hereditary poor quality anal venous network, recurring constipation, an overly spicy diet, alcohol, lack of fiber, inadequate liquid intake, excessive sitting posture, and poor hygiene. Oat bran is a valuable asset against hemorrhoids. It acts by absorbing water to form a soft and non-irritating gel-like substance that fills up the colon and eases the bowel movement without rushing it. To reap the most benefits, it is therefore necessary to drink 1.5 liters of water per day. In terms of the rectum and anus, this very moist bolus has a soothing function that is not always sufficient in time of crisis and must be combined with a good phlebotonic, an anesthetic and anti-inflammatory cream (corticoids). Except for times of crisis, its preventive function over the long term is highly effective.

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Oat bran and bodybuilding

Most websites on bodybuilding encourage oat bran consumption. Bodybuilding enthusiasts are looking to build strength in their muscles but also want those muscles to show. Meaning that their shape not be covered and obscured by a layer of fat. It is what they call "drying" their muscles. How can oat bran help them? In many ways, but the most vital one is in reducing insulin production. There are only three universal nutrients: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. The carbohydrates that we consume reach the bloodstream in the form of glucose, of which the standard rate is 1 gram per liter of blood. Beyond 1.5 g per liter, glucose becomes toxic to the body and triggers the equivalent insulin secretion. That insulin solves the problem in a simple and basic manner: it turns the blood sugar into fat. Yet this fat differs from other fats because it prefers to settle on the bust and abdomen. And it's in those areas that the most amazing muscles appear (the shoulder deltoids, the pectoral and abdominal six-packs that bodybuilders dream of). Oat bran herein plays a significant role by slowing the transit speed of high carbohydrate foods. That's the reason why bodybuilders henceforth use oat bran on a regular basis. In their situation, the proper dose is 3 tablespoons per day.

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Oat bran and bowel function

Find out more There are two kinds of fiber that affect constipation, soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Insoluble fibers are those of wheat which hardly absorb any water. When they reach the large intestine or colon, their roughness irritates the wall which triggers a contraction easing the progression of the bolus. But the effectiveness linked to its roughness and its ability to irritate is often poorly tolerated and these insoluble fibers cannot be used regularly. These fibers are recommended to individuals with sleepy bowels and minimal sensitivity. They should be completely avoided by individuals prone to "irritable bowels" or suffering from constipation with alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea. Oat bran is the most efficient soluble fiber. It is one of the gentlest and its absorption capacity allows it to absorb more than 20 times its volume in water. Bran and water form a voluminous and highly flexible gel-like substance. Two well-watered tablespoons of bran form a 300g gel.

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Oat bran and beauty

Oat bran acts on beauty in two ways, externally on the body and internally through diet. Its internal action is linked to its phytoestrogen levels (molecules similar to those of the female hormone estrogen). These substances are what allow it to moisturize the skin and improve firmness by strengthening the elastin. Its external action, already used by the Romans and the Egyptians, consisted of baths for both women and children. These baths are still being practiced today with organic oats. Moreover, the moisturizing properties of oat bran are vastly exploited in the beauty industry, in body and face creams. For a facial treatment, put 50 grams of oat bran in a glass of water and apply the smooth mixture to the face for ten minutes, then rinse thoroughly. It is possible to make a cream with two tablespoons of oat bran mixed with three tablespoons of hot water and one teaspoon of sweet almond oil. Apply this mixture to the desired areas of the body. It is finally possible to use the effect of oat on cell renewal as an exfoliator to reduce skin impurities and residual signs of acne. Mix 50g of oat bran, 30g of powdered milk and one teaspoon of cornstarch. Add soy milk or coconut milk until a soft paste is obtained. Apply to the face in circular motions then rinse with warm water.

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Can oat bran be dangerous?

In searching the web, there are many user reviews. Most of them take between 1 and 5 tablespoons daily. The most commonly used standard is the one offered by Doctor Dukan who popularized it in his method with one tablespoon in Attack phase, one and a half in Cruise, two in Consolidation and three in Stabilization phase. But it all depends on need and tolerance. Oat bran fibers gently speed up bowel function, but as gently as it is, there are highly sensitive intestines called irritable bowels for which it is best to start gradually with one tablespoon and increase it steadily. Another argument is also brought up: its ability to capture (linked to its viscosity) or adhere to everything around it throughout the digestive tract. This ability is important in fighting excess weight, diabetes and high cholesterol, and can also be exerted on micronutrients like vitamins or medications. It's possible but never below the three tablespoon per day threshold. Even so, you just have to take medications and oat bran separately at different times of the day. This being the case of lower dose minipills that are recommended to be taken at bedtime or mid-morning.

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Fiber and oat bran

There are two types of fibers: soluble fibers that thrive in and absorb water, and insoluble fibers that reject water. This relationship with water is the basis for the variance in their actions. Oat bran is the prototype for soluble fiber. Upon contact with water, it absorbs it and swells in the stomach causing a rapid satiation. Having reached the small intestine, the viscosity of its soluble fibers allows it to adhere to nutrients making their way to the bloodstream and to divert them into the stools. Wheat bran is the prototype for insoluble fiber. Hence, it does not absorb water and has only a secondary role on appetite and none whatsoever on intestinal calorie reduction. Wheat bran therefore has very little effect on weight loss. On the other hand, its insolubility makes its fibers relatively hard. This harshness irritates the walls of the colon which reacts by contracting and easing the progression of its content. This is what gives it a significant role in easing constipation or regulating bowel function.

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