All Things Oat Bran

[Vileplume]

Why it could be worth a try
Up until the most recent Generative Energy podcast, I never considered including oat bran bran my diet, primarily for two reasons: 1) It's a starch, and most starches cause me digestive problems; 2) I previously learned from Peat that soluble fiber feeds gut bacteria, and since oat bran has lots of soluble fiber, I thought my intestines would not approve. However, in the latest Generative Energy podcast with Danny Roddy, Dr. Peat spoke positively of oat bran due the fiber content and resulting bulk formation:

The oat bran, I read that a cup of the cooked stuff--it's fairly filling, so a cup is a big serving--it has only 88 calories, where regular oatmeal has maybe 250 or so for the same thing--so it does provide some carbohydrate, but it's strongly buffered by the presence of the higher fiber content. And studies in animals showed that over a long run, you might have to worry about some of the breakdown products of the soluble fibers that can have an estrogenic effect, but in the short run--up to a year or so--its effect is a matter of the bulk and acceleration of the intestine, so it has an anti-estrogen effect for people who have been re-absorbing the estrogen that their liver tries to excrete. (RP)

He (and Danny) also makes the point that milk is important with the oat bran, due to the bran's high phytic acid and phosphorous content:

Some studies show it just about negates the value of the milk you have with it, so you probably have to eat extra milk--more than you think--but two quarts of milk takes care of just about everything. (RP)

My experience (just two days)
My diet is mostly liquids (goat milk and OJ) with some carrots, but lately I've had suboptimal sleep, mood, cognition, and a coated tongue. Two days ago I started having 1.5 cups of cooked oat bran for breakfast, which I cook with milk first thing in the morning, adding salt and sugar. Here's what I've noticed so far:

The good
-It's delicious. Just like Danny, Ray, and Georgi said, with some milk n salt n sugar, I love eating it. I actually crave it right when I wake up, and it's become perhaps my favorite meal of the day.
-I feel stable, calm, and energized after eating it. Both stomach-wise and brain-wise. My mood, cognition, and anxiety levels have improved in these two days, and I remain stable for hours after eating the oat bran, prepared as above, with some milk sugar n coffee on the side.
-It digests well. As stated above, I have an exceptionally sensitive gut and constantly coated tongue, but both have improved since starting the oat bran. My tongue is still not perfect but has gotten slightly better, and my tummy remains flat and comfortable after eating it.

The neutral
-No difference in poop bulk yet. I would love to have bulkier poops, but so far I haven't noticed any bulk formation from the oat bran.

So far, it feels like the oat bran is especially helpful because it's a solid meal, most of which don't digest well for me. With a diet composed mostly of liquids, my stomach seems to grab onto solid meals and use them as a digestive anchor, like pushing off the wall in a swimming pool for a boost amidst weak paddles. To find a solid meal that digests without problems (such as caused by unripe fruit or other starches) would be cool-aroonie.

Anyway, please share below any experiences you've had with oat bran. I'll update this thread with any bran-d new experiences I have.

 

[Prota]

I am not consistent in preparing breakfast with oat bran. I usually combine them with a few ounces of ricotta cheese, another glass of milk, a glass of OJ, and be sure to balance calcium with 1-1.5g of eggshell powder.

 

[Elie]

Good suggestion. will give it a try.

 

[Lizb]

What about porridge oats, are they okay?

 

[Inaut]

Why it could be worth a try
Up until the most recent Generative Energy podcast, I never considered including oat bran bran my diet, primarily for two reasons: 1) It's a starch, and most starches cause me digestive problems; 2) I previously learned from Peat that soluble fiber feeds gut bacteria, and since oat bran has lots of soluble fiber, I thought my intestines would not approve. However, in the latest Generative Energy podcast with Danny Roddy, Dr. Peat spoke positively of oat bran due the fiber content and resulting bulk formation:

The oat bran, I read that a cup of the cooked stuff--it's fairly filling, so a cup is a big serving--it has only 88 calories, where regular oatmeal has maybe 250 or so for the same thing--so it does provide some carbohydrate, but it's strongly buffered by the presence of the higher fiber content. And studies in animals showed that over a long run, you might have to worry about some of the breakdown products of the soluble fibers that can have an estrogenic effect, but in the short run--up to a year or so--its effect is a matter of the bulk and acceleration of the intestine, so it has an anti-estrogen effect for people who have been re-absorbing the estrogen that their liver tries to excrete. (RP)

He (and Danny) also makes the point that milk is important with the oat bran, due to the bran's high phytic acid and phosphorous content:

Some studies show it just about negates the value of the milk you have with it, so you probably have to eat extra milk--more than you think--but two quarts of milk takes care of just about everything. (RP)

My experience (just two days)
My diet is mostly liquids (goat milk and OJ) with some carrots, but lately I've had suboptimal sleep, mood, cognition, and a coated tongue. Two days ago I started having 1.5 cups of cooked oat bran for breakfast, which I cook with milk first thing in the morning, adding salt and sugar. Here's what I've noticed so far:

The good
-It's delicious. Just like Danny, Ray, and Georgi said, with some milk n salt n sugar, I love eating it. I actually crave it right when I wake up, and it's become perhaps my favorite meal of the day.
-I feel stable, calm, and energized after eating it. Both stomach-wise and brain-wise. My mood, cognition, and anxiety levels have improved in these two days, and I remain stable for hours after eating the oat bran, prepared as above, with some milk sugar n coffee on the side.
-It digests well. As stated above, I have an exceptionally sensitive gut and constantly coated tongue, but both have improved since starting the oat bran. My tongue is still not perfect but has gotten slightly better, and my tummy remains flat and comfortable after eating it.

The neutral
-No difference in poop bulk yet. I would love to have bulkier poops, but so far I haven't noticed any bulk formation from the oat bran.

So far, it feels like the oat bran is especially helpful because it's a solid meal, most of which don't digest well for me. With a diet composed mostly of liquids, my stomach seems to grab onto solid meals and use them as a digestive anchor, like pushing off the wall in a swimming pool for a boost amidst weak paddles. To find a solid meal that digests without problems (such as caused by unripe fruit or other starches) would be cool-aroonie.

Anyway, please share below any experiences you've had with oat bran. I'll update this thread with any bran-d new experiences I have.

Thanks for this post. It sums up my exact thoughts so far from eating oatbran in the morning! I add a bunch of maple syrup to mine :)
In regards to craving it, I feel the exact same way!

 

[Perry Staltic]

@Vileplume, I bet your gut likes the fiber because it acts as the substrate for butyrate production in the colon. Butyrate is the primary energy source for epethelial colonocytes, promotes tight junction proteins (between them) and regulates mucosal layer thickness, which all make for a healthy, non-leaky gut.

 

[Elie]

@Vileplume, I bet your gut likes the fiber because it acts as the substrate for butyrate production in the colon. Butyrate is the primary energy source for epethelial colonocytes, promotes tight junction proteins (between them) and regulates mucosal layer thickness, which all make for a healthy, non-leaky gut.

Indeed
Dietary supplementation with beta-glucan enriched oat bran increases faecal concentration of carboxylic acids in healthy subjects - PubMed

Oat Bran Increased Fecal Butyrate and Prevented Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Patients With Quiescent Ulcerative Colitis—Randomized Controlled Trial

 

[Beastmode]

I highly suggest anyone wanting to try this is to start at very small amounts as if you're system is "slow," this can make symptoms worse. It will definitely stimulate your bowels, but it won't necessarily help you poop always.

Removing the inputs that are creating inflammation in the gut are primary. At the least, it's the safest place to start.

Ask me how I know this?

 

[Perry Staltic]

I highly suggest anyone wanting to try this is to start at very small amounts as if you're system is "slow,"this can make symptoms worse

Very wise IMO

 

[Dean]

I always feel oats impact on my teeth almost immediately.

I wonder if soaking a few tablespoons (for starters) overnight in milk and then consuming raw or warmed up might be worth a try. I used to eat muesli some and would usually let it soak for a while and don't think I usually noticed it in my teeth as much. I do have more issues with oxalates now though too.

Maybe I'll try soaking it in that Fairlife high calcium milk and take some of the bonemeal sups I have with it.

 

[kaybb]

Why it could be worth a try
Up until the most recent Generative Energy podcast, I never considered including oat bran bran my diet, primarily for two reasons: 1) It's a starch, and most starches cause me digestive problems; 2) I previously learned from Peat that soluble fiber feeds gut bacteria, and since oat bran has lots of soluble fiber, I thought my intestines would not approve. However, in the latest Generative Energy podcast with Danny Roddy, Dr. Peat spoke positively of oat bran due the fiber content and resulting bulk formation:

The oat bran, I read that a cup of the cooked stuff--it's fairly filling, so a cup is a big serving--it has only 88 calories, where regular oatmeal has maybe 250 or so for the same thing--so it does provide some carbohydrate, but it's strongly buffered by the presence of the higher fiber content. And studies in animals showed that over a long run, you might have to worry about some of the breakdown products of the soluble fibers that can have an estrogenic effect, but in the short run--up to a year or so--its effect is a matter of the bulk and acceleration of the intestine, so it has an anti-estrogen effect for people who have been re-absorbing the estrogen that their liver tries to excrete. (RP)

He (and Danny) also makes the point that milk is important with the oat bran, due to the bran's high phytic acid and phosphorous content:

Some studies show it just about negates the value of the milk you have with it, so you probably have to eat extra milk--more than you think--but two quarts of milk takes care of just about everything. (RP)

My experience (just two days)
My diet is mostly liquids (goat milk and OJ) with some carrots, but lately I've had suboptimal sleep, mood, cognition, and a coated tongue. Two days ago I started having 1.5 cups of cooked oat bran for breakfast, which I cook with milk first thing in the morning, adding salt and sugar. Here's what I've noticed so far:

The good
-It's delicious. Just like Danny, Ray, and Georgi said, with some milk n salt n sugar, I love eating it. I actually crave it right when I wake up, and it's become perhaps my favorite meal of the day.
-I feel stable, calm, and energized after eating it. Both stomach-wise and brain-wise. My mood, cognition, and anxiety levels have improved in these two days, and I remain stable for hours after eating the oat bran, prepared as above, with some milk sugar n coffee on the side.
-It digests well. As stated above, I have an exceptionally sensitive gut and constantly coated tongue, but both have improved since starting the oat bran. My tongue is still not perfect but has gotten slightly better, and my tummy remains flat and comfortable after eating it.

The neutral
-No difference in poop bulk yet. I would love to have bulkier poops, but so far I haven't noticed any bulk formation from the oat bran.

So far, it feels like the oat bran is especially helpful because it's a solid meal, most of which don't digest well for me. With a diet composed mostly of liquids, my stomach seems to grab onto solid meals and use them as a digestive anchor, like pushing off the wall in a swimming pool for a boost amidst weak paddles. To find a solid meal that digests without problems (such as caused by unripe fruit or other starches) would be cool-aroonie.

Anyway, please share below any experiences you've had with oat bran. I'll update this thread with any bran-d new experiences I have.

I also heard RP talking about this on Danny’s utube channel & was excited to have another food to try. No one else promotes oat bran as part of there Peaty diet (that I’ve seen). My son has long haul COVID and been sick for a year. Oats are one of the few things he can eat without experiencing huge histamine reactions. Thanks for this post.

 

[Mito]

I previously learned from Peat that soluble fiber feeds gut bacteria, and since oat bran has lots of soluble fiber, I thought my intestines would not approve.

“..the craze of using oat bran as the fiber and so people started doing research on oat bran happens to break down into bowl carcinogens, estrogenic fiber breakdown products and so they compared a clean cellulose fiber relatively uh wheat bran didn't break down to the carcinogens uh the way the the oat bran did but the good thing about cellulose is that it's practically resistant to bacterial breakdown so it functions only as fiber, stimulates peristalsis, cleans out, binds a lot of the estrogen and endotoxin so it’s very safe and usually effective but what there selling now it’s a very ornate bunch of assumptions building on the function of how it breaks down, they like to see the short chain fatty acids which they concentrate on some local effects that seem to be protective to the intestine but when you look at the systemic effects of these, lactic acid tends to go with butyric acid and propionic acid as products of the breakdown of these soluble fibers and these contribute to systemic problems as well as local damage to the intestine, so there’s a huge amount of research but it’s very selective and in a limited context, I see it as a giant advertising industry supported by the food products manufacturers.

“well-cooked oat bran or wheat bran is fine for for getting a temporary cleaning out you just don't want to eat a lot of oat bran every day for 30 years because it does release that mild carcinogen”

View: https://youtu.be/BaT9rH8pWUg


”studies in animals showed that over a long run, you might have to worry about some of the breakdown products of the soluble fibers that can have an estrogenic effect, but in the short run up to a year or so its effect is a matter of the bulk and acceleration of the intestines so it has an anti-estrogenic effect for people who have been reabsorbing the estrogen that their liver tries to excrete.”

View: https://youtu.be/l61D8dJzVWk

 

[Centsmom]

Thinking of trying this recipe minus the non peaty ingredients https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Oat-Bran-Muffins-9291835?prm-v1

 

[Perry Staltic]

they like to see the short chain fatty acids which they concentrate on some local effects that seem to be protective to the intestine but when you look at the systemic effects of these, lactic acid tends to go with butyric acid and propionic acid as products of the breakdown of these soluble fibers and these contribute to systemic problems as well as local damage to the intestine,

One of the studies in post 7 found lactic acid decreased.

 

[YourUniverse]

Ive always loved porridge, and oat bran is almost more delicious. Its higher in PUFA, though. Salt, honey, coconut oil, milk for me. Can easily add some gelatin, too... Keeps me full for hours, and makes me much thirstier than usual.

 

[Peatness]

I too started using oat bran this week after hearing Dr Peat talk about it. My liquid diet has been problematic for me of late and I was considering ways to improve this anyway. I soak the oat bran/wheat bran in water with teaspoon of vinegar overnight and rinse in the morning. I do this to lower the phytic acid, however, I’ve just read that this does not remove phytic acid but it will help digestions. This article gives useful info on ways to reduce phytic acid.

Living With Phytic Acid

🖨️ Print post Phytic acid is one of a number of “anti-nutrients” in grains and legumes. For an introduction to this subject, please see this article. Proper preparation […]

www.westonaprice.org

From the article

Oats contain very little phytase, especially after commercial heat treatment, and require a very long preparation period to completely reduce phytic acid levels. Soaking oats at 77 degrees F for 16 hours resulted in no reduction of phytic acid, nor did germination for up to three days at this temperature.63 However, malting (sprouting) oats for five days at 52 degrees F and then soaking for 17 hours at 120 degrees F removes 98 percent of phytates. Adding malted rye further enhances oat phytate reduction.64 Without initial germination, even a five-day soaking at a warm temperature in acidic liquid may result in an insignificant reduction in phytate due to the low phytase content of oats. On the plus side, the process of rolling oats removes a at least part of the bran, where a large portion of the phytic acid resides.

How do we square what we know about oats with the fact that oats were a staple in the diet of the Scots and Gaelic islanders, a people known for their robust good health and freedom from tooth decay? For one thing, high amounts of vitamin D from cod’s liver and other sources, helps prevent calcium losses from the high oat diet. Absorbable calcium from raw dairy products, consumed in abundance on mainland Scotland, provides additional protection.

In addition, it is likely that a good part of the phytase remained in the oats of yore, which partially germinated in stacks left for a period in the field, were not heat treated and were hand rolled immediately prior to preparation. And some Scottish and Gaelic recipes do call for a long fermentation of oats before and even after they are cooked.

Unprocessed Irish or Scottish oats, which have not been heated to high temperatures, are availabile in some health food stores and on the internet. One study found that unheated oats had the same phytase activity as wheat.65 They should be soaked in acidulated water for as long as twenty-four hours on top of a hot plate to keep them at about 100 degrees F. This will reduce a part of the phytic acid as well as the levels of other anti-nutrients, and result in a more digestible product. Overnight fermenting of rolled oats using a rye starter—or even with the addition of a small amount of fresh rye flour—may result in a fairly decent reduction of phytate levels. It is unclear whether heat-treated oats are healthy to eat regularly.

PREPARATION OF OATS AND CORN

When preparing these grains according to traditional methods, such as those provided in Nourishing Traditions, the best idea is to add one or more tablespoons of freshly ground rye flour. Rye flour contains high levels of phytase that will be activated during the soaking process. This method reflects new information obtained since the publication of Nourishing Traditions. Even without the rye flour, overnight soaking of oats and other low-phytase grains greatly improves digestibility but won’t eliminate too much phytic acid. Another grain that benefits from added rye flour during soaking is sorghum, which is lower in phytic acid than wheat but lacking in phytase. (Buckwheat contains high levels of phytase and would not need added rye flour.) You can keep whole rye grains and grind a small amount in a mini grinder for adding to these grains during the soaking process.

 

[YourUniverse]

How do we square what we know about oats with the fact that oats were a staple in the diet of the Scots and Gaelic islanders, a people known for their robust good health and freedom from tooth decay? For one thing, high amounts of vitamin D from cod’s liver and other sources, helps prevent calcium losses from the high oat diet. Absorbable calcium from raw dairy products, consumed in abundance on mainland Scotland, provides additional protection.

The Scottish diet was centred around oats, dairy, and kale, with occasional butchering of the milked animals when necessary or when they wouldn't survive the winter. Some root veggies like carrot & onion; potato was brought over from Ireland. Lots of stews were made, and of course the infamous Haggis (organ meat + oats). Edit: forgot to mention seafood: haddock, cod, and oyster! I wonder if Dr. Peat is a Scot...

Given the above, the (grass-fed) dairy and kale, the Scottish diet was extremely rich in vitamin K, Weston Price's 'activator X', which I think definitely helps explain the Scot's robustness and their good dental health. I also think beta-glucan in oats reduces plaque, further helping the teeth...

 

[Lampshard]

Very good thread, I ordered some too to try it, seems very interesting!

 

[golder]

Does soaking the oat bran in water, pouring away, washing and then finally adding milk help with overall digestion as it would reduce starch slightly?

 

[sunny]

I highly suggest anyone wanting to try this is to start at very small amounts as if you're system is "slow," this can make symptoms worse. It will definitely stimulate your bowels, but it won't necessarily help you poop always.

Removing the inputs that are creating inflammation in the gut are primary. At the least, it's the safest place to start.

Ask me how I know this?

What did you remove to stop gut inflammation?