Risks of All-Bran Diet
Although most Americans do not consume the recommended daily amount of fiber, there is such a thing as too much fiber. Because your body needs time to adjust to the increased fiber load, you may experience gas, bloating, or constipation if you follow an all-bran diet.
Once the bacteria in your digestive tract have adjusted, your digestive issues may go away on their own. If you’re still having digestive problems after a few weeks on an all-bran diet, reduce the amount of fiber you eat. Calculate how much you’re consuming, and if it’s more than the recommended daily allowance for your gender and age, gradually reduce the amount until your symptoms subside.
Bran has a shady history. The word conjures up images of mothers forcing their children to eat cardboard-like breakfast cereal, as well as people forcing themselves to eat the same boring cereal in order to lose weight.
However, a high-fiber bran diet has numerous health benefits and does not have to be bland or tasteless.
What Is Bran?
Grains are the edible seed parts of grasses in the Poaceae family, also known as cereals or cereal grains. Wheat, corn, rice, oat, barley, rye, and millet are examples of grains. The bran, germ, and endosperm are the three main parts of a whole grain kernel.
The hard outer shell of each grain kernel is the bran, which is high in fiber and nutrients like B vitamins, copper, zinc, and magnesium. Although bran is only one type of fiber, the terms “bran” and “fiber” have become interchangeable in the food industry.
The germ is the lower part of the kernel, which contains fats and vitamin E and can sprout into a new plant. The endosperm is the grain’s interior, which is high in starch and feeds the kernel in the same way that the yolk feeds a growing baby chick inside an egg shell.
The best bran and germ of grain kernels are frequently removed when grains are processed into flour. The grain is easier to chew and digest because only the soft endosperm is removed. The shelf life of the grain is also extended by removing the bran and germ, which contain more fat and can quickly go rancid.
Processed grains are deficient in nutrients when compared to whole grains. Refined wheat, for example, contains only half of the B vitamins found in whole wheat, 10% of the vitamin E, and almost no fiber. A growing body of evidence suggests that eating whole grains with the bran and germ intact, rather than processed grains, improves health in a variety of ways. This study has contributed to the rise in popularity of all-bran diets.
Kellogg’s All-Bran Diet
Kellogg’s first coined the term “All-Bran” with the introduction of Bran-Flakes in 1915, followed by Kellogg’s All-Bran in 1916. Kellogg’s All-Bran Original Cereal, Kellogg’s All-Bran Bran Buds Cereal, and Kellogg’s All-Bran diet Complete Wheat Flakes Cereal are among the company’s trademarked “All-Bran” cereals. These cereals have between 5 and 13 grams of fiber per serving.
Kellogg’s proposed the “All-Bran diet challenge” to improve digestion, reduce bloating, and speed up stool transit time in the digestive tract. The duration of the challenge varies by country, but it usually lasts five to seven days.
During the challenge, Kellogg’s recommends eating a serving of one of their All-Bran cereals for breakfast as the only dietary change. Kellogg’s also has recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks that use their All-Bran cereals as an ingredient to help you get more fiber.
However, increasing your fiber intake can be done in a variety of ways, not just by eating more all-bran cereals and baked goods. You can also consume fiber supplements such as psyllium husk, polycarbophil, and methylcellulose, or eat fresh fruits, vegetables, and legumes.
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