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SUPPORT FOR OAT BRAN FOR CHOLESTEROL REDUCTION.

Consumption of oat bran was widely accepted as a way of reducing serum cholesterol until a 1990 paper by Swain and colleagues questioned whether its effects were real (Journal Watch accession number 910126001). This controlled, single-blind study provides support for the oat bran hypothesis.

The authors randomized 156 adults with elevated levels of low- density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol to one of seven regimens. One group received 28 g of farina daily, the equivalent of a placebo. The other six groups received oat bran or oatmeal in one of three daily dosages: 1 oz, 2 oz, or 3 oz. (Compared with oat bran, oatmeal has lower amounts of beta-glucan, the presumed cholesterol-reducing component of oat cereals.)

After six weeks, LDL cholesterol levels had fallen 10 percent in subjects consuming 3 oz of oatmeal, 12 percent in those consuming 3 oz of oat bran, and 16 percent in those consuming 2 oz of oat bran. LDL reductions were smaller in subjects using 2 oz of oatmeal, 1 oz of oat bran, or 1 oz of oat meal, and no change was found with farina.

Dietary fat content did not differ among these groups; thus, a higher intake of beta-glucan most likely explains the significant cholesterol reductions in the three groups that had improvement, although the fact that cholesterol reduction was actually greater with 2 oz than with 3 oz of oat bran suggests a plateau effect. This study, supported by a grant from the Quaker Oats Co., is likely to provide new momentum for oat-bran proponents.

— THL

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine April 12, 1991

Citation(s):

Davidson MH et al. The hypocholesterolemic effects of beta-glucan in oatmeal and oat bran: a dose-controlled study. JAMA 1991 Apr 10 265 1833-1839.

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