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Bran

by Pierre S. Aoukar, MD and Hratch L. Karamanoukian, MD
Posted: March 1

Summary:
Bran is the dark colored, hard, outer shell of grains such as rice, oat, wheat and corn. In conventional times the bran has been eliminated from many foods to make them look whiter, such as white rice and bleached white flour. Since the bran is high in vitamins and nutrients, manufacturers, ironically, add these back in powder form after the bran has been removed. This doesn’t make too much sense. We’ve taken the natural vitamins found in the grain, stripped them away and replaced them with factory-made vitamins (which in the case of rice you almost always wash away), it seems, for vanity’s sake. Besides containing powerful vitamins that protect your arteries, bran is very high in fiber. Fiber as we have briefly mentioned serves several purposes. It binds cholesterol and fat, fills you up faster, keeps you regular (and protects your colon against cancer). Whole grains always contain the bran. You want to eat whole grains whenever you have the opportunity. Excellent sources of bran besides whole grains, are cereals made with bran. Some of the cereals today have so much bran, you can consume two-thirds of your daily intake (recommended 25 grams) in a single bowl.

Reference:
Bran, Excerpt from the book: Everything Good For The Heart: The A to Z Guide, Aoukar PS and Karamanoukian HL. Magalhaes Scientific Press

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