Comparative effects of three cereal brans on plasma lipids, blood pressure, and glucose metabolism in mildly hypercholesterolemic men.
Dietary fiber lowers atherogenic serum lipids and blood pressure and improves glucose metabolism. We compared in 24 mildly hypercholesterolemic men the effects of adding 11.8 g dietary fiber/d from each of three cereal brans (wheat, rice, and oat) to a low-fiber diet for 4 wk each. A double-blind, crossover design incorporated brans into bread and muffins. Plasma total- and low-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol concentrations were significantly lowered only by oat bran. Compared with wheat bran, the ratios of plasma high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol to total cholesterol and of apolipoprotein A-I to B were significantly increased with oat bran (both by 4.7%, P less than 0.05), and rice bran (2.3%, P less than 0.05, and 3.9%, P less than 0.05, respectively). Blood pressure, blood glucose, and serum insulin responses to a common test meal were unaltered. Oat and rice bran exert a small but potentially useful effect on plasma lipoprotein risk factors for cardiovascular disease.