If you are trying to increase your fiber intake, adding oat bran to your diet can help. Available in health-food stores and many major supermarkets, oat bran is the outer husk of the oat. Most of the fiber in oats is present in this outer husk, which is often removed during milling. Use oat bran as a hot cereal, an ingredient in baked goods or a replacement for bread crumbs in some recipes.
Significance
Fiber is an essential type of indigestible carbohydrate. Fiber comes in both insoluble and soluble types. Insoluble fiber helps scrub your intestines to move food through the digestive tract, promoting regularity. Soluble fiber forms a gel-like compound when added to water, and can help lower cholesterol and stabilize your blood sugar levels. Fiber also contributes to colon health. Eating high-fiber foods, such as oat bran, can help you manage your weight because they are more satisfying than quickly digested carbohydrates, like refined white bread, white rice and sugars.
Recommendations
The Institute of Medicine recommends adult men consume a minimum of 38 grams of fiber daily, while adult women should strive for at least 25 grams daily. Once you reach the age of 51, these numbers reduce to 30 grams for men and 21 grams for women, due to decreased calorie intake.
Amounts in Oat Bran
One cup of raw oat bran contains 14 grams of fiber, much of which is soluble fiber. However, oat bran is most often eaten cooked. One cup of cooked oat bran contains 5.7 grams of fiber. A medium-sized oat bran muffin contains about 5 grams of fiber. A 1-1/4 cup serving of ready-to-eat oat bran cereal also contains 5 grams of fiber. A slice of oat bran bread has just 1.4 grams of fiber. To reach your daily fiber needs with oat bran alone, you might have 2 cups of hot cereal for breakfast, a sandwich with two slices of oat bran bread at lunch, an oat bran muffin for a morning snack and 2-1/2 cups of oat bran ready-to-eat cereal with milk for an afternoon snack.
Considerations
Oat bran spoils more quickly than regular oats, so store it in the refrigerator or freezer. One cup of cooked oat bran offers 7 grams of protein. You also get more than 100 percent of the daily value for the trace mineral manganese in 1 cup of the cooked cereal. Oat bran also provides you with magnesium, phosphorus, iron, thiamine and selenium.
