Oat Bran

The Anglo-American world has learnt to appreciate it and use it in medicine. It appeared in scientific literature for the first time in American studies which clearly prove its beneficial action on reducing cholesterol. In 1980, when the study was circulated, there was a tidal wave of public recognition for this little known cereal. Stocks of oat bran ran out countrywide in just a few weeks, with the New York Times proclaiming “Oat-Bran-Mania. After that, cholesterol found its true master, statins which block its production, paying the price of various side effects which are sometimes so severe that most doctors hesitate to deal with such powerful weapons - “small cholesterols”.

Australian studies have demonstrated oat bran’s preventative action against diabetes through lowering the glycemic index of alimentary bolus.

There are also English epidemiologists who have shown its role in protecting against cancer of the colon and rectum.
And gastroenterologists attest to its gentle beneficial action on intestinal transit. So many specific, recognised actions, which have so far only been used in isolation for each of the specialisms in question.

How has such a simple food - this cereal hull, reserved for a long time for horse food and stuffing mattresses - become one of the best protecting foodstuffs on the planet and “the only food in the world able to take advantage of a slimming action?”
This is down to its fibres, which are rich in β-glucan molecules conferring upon it two actions which carry out their effects on two levels of the digestive tract.

1. Satiety action in the stomach
As soon as it enters the mouth, oat bran soaks up saliva and arrives in the stomach where it gorges itself with water. A soup spoon of 15 g of oat bran absorbs on average 25 times its volume in liquid, making a 375 gram ball. This fills up the stomach, making you feel physically full and creating the effect of rapid mechanical satiety.

2. Intestinal loss action
This is THE foundation of its action on weight. When the bran is in transit, mixed with the alimentary bolus, it undergoes chemical attack from gastric acid, followed by bile and finally pancreatic juices. It thus turns into a pulp reduced to the state of elementary chains, fatty acids, amino acids and glucose.
It is within this highly calorific pulp that the oat bran deploys its slimming power.
What advantage does this property provide in the fight against excess weight and in health prevention?