Health Benefits of Wheat Bran: Not sure what wheat bran is or all the amazing health benefits of wheat bran? The outer layer of the grain cereal resulting from the refining process is nothing more than the natural wrapper of the wheat plant.
The wheat bran wrapper actually contains multiple health benefits as well as providing you your daily allowance of dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins. This outer shell of the wheat plant can aid in digestion, add some bulk to your stool, and will even prevent constipation.
Here are just some of the incredible health benefits of wheat bran and why you need to be incorporating it into your diet today:
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Lowering Cancer Rates
Wheat bran has antioxidant properties, and according to research conducted at Cornell University, a study revealed a unique link between whole grains and lower rates of breast, colon, and prostate cancers.
Compared to cereals made with oat bran, the wheat bran provided better results in patients who were suffering from a variety of diseases. Cancer of the digestive system was experienced in fewer patients who were eating a healthy diet rich in wheat bran.
Making Up for Lost Nutrients
According to research conducted at Harvard University, the majority of people are eating baked goods, pasta, and bread made from white flour that has been refined and stripped of its nutritional properties. When the bran and germ are removed, so are those essential minerals and vitamins the body needs to stay healthy.
Eating more foods like wheat pancakes, muffins, and cereals will add zinc, iron, and vitamin B back into your diet to make up for the deficiency in your diet. The study went on to show that eating more wheat bran can reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome and heart disease.
Daily Mineral Allowance
In order to maintain optimal health and wellness throughout the body, you have to be watching the foods you eat and your mineral intake. When you begin eating more foods that contain wheat bran, you enjoy a burst of eight essential important minerals like manganese, magnesium, selenium, phosphorus, iron, copper, zinc, and potassium.
Not only will these minerals help to maintain your nerve and muscle functions, but the wheat bran also helps to keep your heartbeat steady. Other benefits of getting the proper mineral intake are that your bones will be stronger, you are promoting a stronger immune system, and maintaining normal blood pressure.
Aiding With Weight Control
If you are struggling to maintain your current weight, now is the time to start eating more wheat bran. If your weight keeps fluctuating above your ideal range or you simply want to lose a considerable amount of weight safely, here is why the wheat bran is so beneficial to your body.
The wheat is packed with fiber, and this is extremely conductive in your efforts to lose weight. Compare the wheat bran to oat bran, wheat bran is 125 calories with 2 grams of fat whereas oat bran is 231 calories and almost 7 grams of fat. If you are eating the wrong bran, you are never going to maintain your ideal body weight.
Packed With Essential Vitamins
One of the biggest benefits of wheat bran in your diet is the enormous amount of vitamins you will be feeding your body each day. Rather than spending all that money on vitamin supplements, that little wheat plant is packed with an abundance of vitamins that will help promote a healthier you. Wheat contains several B vitamins, including niacin, vitamin B6, riboflavin, and thiamin.
The benefits do not stop there, you also enjoy about 7% of your recommended daily allowance of folic acid, pantothenic acid, and even vitamins K and E. When you enjoy some wheat bran cereal for breakfast, a wheat muffin with lunch, or a slice of banana bread with dinner, you are getting a powerful burst of the vitamins your body needs to thrive.
Importance of Fatty Acids
The wheat bran does contain a very small amount of saturated fat, but it makes up for it in the huge amount of valuable fatty acids. The wheat bran is packed full of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. The benefits of these fatty acids are plentiful, starting with the fact that they can help to lower triglyceride levels, aid with rheumatoid arthritis, and can combat the symptoms of depression.
These fatty acids have been effective at combating asthma, ADHD, and dementia. Finding more ways to incorporate wheat bran in your diet will help you to promote a healthy body today and tomorrow.
Improved Bowel Health
The importance of good bowel health can not be understated. The colon or bowel is responsible for removing all those toxins from your body each day. If you are not eliminating them effectively each and every day, those toxins will remain trapped inside the body where they will build up inside your system and lead to countless negative health issues. Good bacteria in your gut produce vitamin K and will help to synthesize many other vitamins in the body.
According to research that was conducted at the Mayo Clinic, the brain chemical serotonin that is responsible for moods is produced mostly in the colon and not in the brain as previously thought. That means it is even more important that you make an effort each day to promote a healthy bowel. Foods rich in fiber are essential for taking better care of your colon and boosting your overall health.
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So there you have it, now you are better informed about all the potential health benefits of wheat bran. It really doesn’t take that much extra effort to get that wheat into your body, you could start making these painless changes to your diet today. Replace those sugary cereals you eat for breakfast with muffins or bread.
Stop eating those energy bars for lunch and opt for snacks made with more wheat bran. Those wheat bran granola bars will be a healthier choice and give you that boost of energy you need in the middle of the day to push you through those afternoon hours when the hunger cravings hit.
