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Clinical Studies on Dietary Fiber and Oats:

Several dietary fiber sources lower blood cholesterol levels, specifically that fraction transported by low-density lipoproteins (LDL). Fibers that lower blood cholesterol levels include foods such as apples, oatmeal, beans and other legumes, fruits and vegetables; and more purified sources such as oat bran and rice hulls, psyllium seed husk. Two of these fibers, namely beta glucan in oats and psyllium husk, have been sufficiently studied for the FDA to authorize a health claim that foods meeting specific compositional requirements and containing 0.75 g or 1.7 g of soluble fiber per serving, respectively, can reduce the risk of heart disease. Consequently, these two dietary fibers are specifically included in the most recent National Cholesterol Education Program American Heart Association guidelines.

The mechanism by which these fiber sources lower blood cholesterol levels has been the focus of many investigations, and characteristics such as solubility in water, viscosity, fermentability, and the kinds and amounts of protein and tocotrienols have been explored as possible bases for this physiological effect. The one characteristic common to all cholesterol-lowering fibers is viscosity. Indeed, when a soluble fiber that is not viscous is evaluated or the fiber is treated to reduce viscosity sufficiently, the cholesterol- lowering ability is lost. Viscosity interferes with bile acid absorption from the small intestine, and in response, LDL cholesterol is removed from the blood and converted into bile acids by the liver to replace the bile acids lost in the stool.

Some evidence also indicates that changes in the composition of the bile acid pool accompanying ingestion of some viscous fibers dampen cholesterol synthesis. Because endogenous synthesis, or the body's production of cholesterol, accounts for about three-quarters of total body cholesterol pool, slowing synthesis, as do the "statin" drugs, could have a favorable impact on blood cholesterol concentrations. Increasing soluble fiber intake by consuming a wide variety of foods may or may not have a hypocholesterolemic effect; this variable effectiveness may depend on the composition of the rest of the diet.

STUDY 1. A randomized, controlled trial of cholesterol lowering by an oat bran cereal containing beta glucan vs a corn cereal without soluble fiber in Hispanic Americans was conducted for 11 weeks. One-hundred fifty-two men and women, ages 30 to 70 years, with baseline low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels between 120 and 190 mg/dL and triglycerides <400 mg/dL were included. After eating a National Cholesterol Education Program Step 1 diet for 5 weeks, subjects were randomly assigned to the corn or the oat cereal for the next 6 weeks. The daily dose of beta glucan was 3 g. Consumption of oat cereal was associated with a reduction in plasma levels of both total cholesterol (-4.5%) and LDL-C (-5.3%). Consumption of corn meal did not affect either total cholesterol or LDL-C. Differences between the effects of the two cereals on total cholesterol and LDL-C were significant, P =.0003 and P =.0007, respectively. (Karmally W et al. 2005. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2005 Jun; 105(6): 967)

STUDY 2. A comparison of 2 whole grain oat-based cereals with 2 refined grain, wheat-based cereals was conducted to determine their effects on the need for antihypertensive medications in people with high blood pressure (BP). This study with 88 men and women being treated for hypertension with a mean baseline BP below 160/100 showed: 73% of participants in the oats group versus 42% in the control group were able to stop or reduce their medication by half. Treatment group participants whose medication was not reduced had substantial decreases in BP. The oats group experienced a 24.2-mg/dL reduction in total cholesterol levels, a 16.2-mg/dL decrease in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and a 15.03-mg/dL drop in plasma glucose levels vs controls.

Results suggested that a diet containing soluble fiber-rich whole oats can significantly reduce the need for antihypertensive medication and improve BP control. Considering the lipid and glucose improvements as well, increased consumption of whole oats may significantly reduce cardiovascular disease risk. (Pins JJ et al. 2002. The Journal of family practice 51(4): 353)

CHECK WITH YOUR HEALTH CAREPROVIDER BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES TO PRESCRIBED MEDICATION REGIMENS.