Environmental Nutrition: Beyond Oat Bran

Beyond Oat Bran: Other Foods That Lower Cholesterol

Environmental Nutrition, July 1, 1989

ROBYN FLIPSE, MS, RD

A person who takes all of today's advertising about oat bran-containing products to heart (no pun intended) might conclude that oat bran is the complete answer to high blood cholesterol. True, a lot of solid and unarguable research has concluded that adding oats or oat bran to an already low-fat diet will further lower cholesterol. But what the ads never say is that there's nothing unique about oat bran's ability to lower cholesterol. What wonders it works are due to the soluble fiber it contains, and soluble fiber is easy to find in foods. Here's the latest news on other foods that lower cholesterol.

Reaching for Rice Bran. The newest addition to the cholesterol-lowering crew is rice bran. In studies of hamsters, Dr. Robin Saunders, Chief of Rice Bran Research at the USDA's Research Center in Albany, California, found that adding rice bran to their diets, like oat bran, lowered cholesterol levels by as much as 15 percent.

What makes rice bran unique is that it contains only one-half the soluble fiber of oat bran, yet it lowers cholesterol just as much. According to the Rice Council, a trade organization in Houston, Texas, some of the cholesterol-lowering power of rice bran may come from the oil it contains. Recently published human research from India seems to confirm this.(1)

Rice bran is a more versatile food than oat bran, according to Dr. John Hunnell, Assistant Vice President and Director of Research and Development at Riviana Foods, Houston, Texas. "It has a naturally sweet flavor and can be used in many more meal and menu options than oat or wheat bran."

One of the companies making the most of rice bran's new found ability to cut cholesterol is Pacific Rice Products, Inc. of Woodland, California. The company has a line of ready-to-eat and quick cooking rice bran cereals, four flavors of rice cakes and a rice bran snack mix. Riviana Foods has developed more than 85 recipes for rice bran and reports brisk sales of brown rice (which is 10% rice bran).

Bean Cuisine. Adding 100 grams (1-1/2 cups) of cooked dried beans daily to the diets of men with elevated blood cholesterol produced a 19% drop in their cholesterol levels in just three weeks, according to a study done by Dr. James W. Anderson and Nancy Gustafson at the University of Kentucky.(2) Not only did the total cholesterol levels of the men fall, but their LDL-cholesterol levels dropped by an average 24% while their heart protecting HDL-cholesterol stayed the same. The researchers credit soluble fiber for the cholesterol reduction but say that other, yet unidentified mechanisms may also affect the reduction.

Cholesterol-lowering legumes, including dried peas, beans and lentils, have nutritional advantages over oat bran as well. They are good sources of protein and minerals and are cholesterol free and virtually fat-free substitutes for meat. They come in all shapes and sizes and can be featured in many recipes. The Dry Pea and Lentil Commission reports a 33% increase in domestic lentil sales in 1988 and an increase of use of lentils by upscale restaurants.

Barley, No Blarney. Barley is big business in Montana, and the good news for the state's growers is that this food grain has also been found to be as effective as oats in lowering cholesterol.

Barley's hypocholesterolemic effect is believed to be due, in part, to the beta-glucan portion of its dietary fiber. Beta-glucans are a form of soluble fiber found in the cell walls of barley. Hulless, waxy barley has a high beta-glucan content--up to three times the amount in oats--due to its thick cell walls.

Clinical studies by Rosemary K. Newman, Ph.D., R.D. at Montana State University showed that barley lowered LDL-cholesterol in men with high cholesterol. Another study found the cholesterol-lowering effect of barley on people suffering from elevated cholesterol is equal to that of oats.(3)

The cereal industry is aware of these findings and several new products made from barley are expected to be on the store shelves by the end of 1989.

The Carrot Cure. In a study in Scotland, five adults given 200 grams (approximately 7 ounces) of carrots per day experienced a 10 to 20% reduction in their serum cholesterol in three weeks. One cup of chopped cabbage or onions had a similar effect. Dr. Peter Hoagland of the USDA's Eastern Regional Research Center believes calcium pectate is the cholesterol-lowering ingredient in these vegetables. But exactly how it works isn't known.

Non-Food Alternative. Metamucil (psyllium), normally used to relieve constipation, may have the added medicinal benefit of lowering cholesterol levels. Research has shown that people with elevated blood cholesterol who take a single dose of Metamucil three times a day may reduce their cholesterol levels by 5 to 15%.(4) General Mills is currently test marketing Benefit, a psyllium-containing cereal.

Bottom Line. No doubt, there is more to come on the subject of soluble fiber and foods that lower cholesterol. For those who don't want to wait, however, the old dietary advice is still the best: Eat a variety of foods in season every day, including 4 to 6 servings of fruits and vegetables, 6 to 8 servings of whole grain breads and cereals and 2 to 3 servings of lowfat milk products and 2 to 3 servings of lean meats (5 to 7 ounces total) or protein alternatives (dried beans, peas and legumes) and a healthy dose of cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber is guaranteed.

(1)Nutrition Reports International, pp. 890-895, May, 1989. (2)American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, pp. 749-53, Supplement, September,1988. (3)Unpublished manuscript, "Hypocholesterolemic Effect of Barley Foods on Healthy Men," Montana State University, 1988. (4)Archives of Internal Medicine, pp. 292-296, February, 1988.
This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale