Starting in the mid 70's a doctor wrote a book claiming that Oat Bran and other types of bran lowered cholesterol. By the 1980's obesity and heart disease grew to become #1 and 3 killers of Americans (though not in that order). I remember having high cholesterol and being forced to eat bran muffins every day. I hated them. Now with advances in cooking and the invention of splenda, many bran recipes taste a little better. Though about 3 years ago a new study was made by the FDA and the health affects of bran were found to be inconclusive to lowering cholesterol, but ruled it couldn't hurt you either.
Now some extra facts from Wikipedia
"Eating foods rich in bran became somewhat of a health craze in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with massive promotion of bran cereals and granola. In the late 1980s, there was the "oat bran craze," with oat products in all shapes and sizes flooding the market (including potato chips with oat bran added), claiming to lower blood cholesterol and fight heart disease. This craze peaked in 1989 and was short-lived, as studies in the early 1990s showed that oat bran only modestly reduced cholesterol. However, in January 1997, the Food and Drug Administration decided (with some controversy) that food with a lot of oat bran or rolled oats can carry a label claiming it may reduce the risk of heart disease, when combined with a low-fat diet. As of 2005, this disposition still appears on many oatmeal packages.
Wheat bran (miller's bran) is very effective in treating constipation. Wheat bran is known to absorb large amounts of water and expand, which has led some to claim that bran helps lead to satiety by filling up the stomach with added volume.
Colorectal cancer might be prevented by dietary wheat bran. Indeed, many epidemiological studies pointed out a protective effect of fiber intake, and more than 15 preclinical studies show that wheat bran can reduce carcinogenesis in rats and mice. Thus, several randomized clinical trials were conducted in hundreds of volunteers to test the hypothesis that wheat bran supplements would reduce adenomatous polyp recurrence. Clinical and preclinical data are available on the Chemoprevention Database. Sadly, the main conclusion of these trials is that wheat bran does not prevent colorectal polyp recurrence: bran may thus not be an effective colon cancer preventing agent. There is strong evidence that rice bran may have a cancer preventive potential [1][2] [3].
Oat bran, alone or as a part of oatmeal, has been shown to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease when part of an overall diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol, and the United States Food and Drug Administration now allows manufacturers to make specific health claims to that effect on food packaging.[1]
Rice bran fraction derived from Driselase treatment prevents high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia.[2] Driselase is a commercial plant cell wall-degrading enzyme mixture containing cellulase, xylanase, and laminarinase; however, it is esterase-free. "
2007-06-10 12:16:18
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answer #2
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answered by bobashep 2
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