Bran on a weight loss diet

Many have heard about bran diets, but not everyone knows what bran is. It is a product of grain processing, waste formed during its grinding. The owners never threw away this waste, but fed it to livestock. And when it became known that bran contains many useful things, then people leading a healthy lifestyle became interested in it. It turned out that bran helps to correct weight and treat some diseases. Since then, the dietary product has firmly entered the diet of not only animals, but also people who care about healthy eating.

Is it possible to eat bran on a diet?

The question: "Can you eat bran on a diet?" cannot be answered unequivocally. It depends on what kind of diet. If it is a therapeutic diet, then the actions must be agreed with a doctor. If the bran diet is used exclusively for weight loss, then it is also advisable to take into account the state of health, so as not to aggravate existing problems, for example, with the digestive organs.

• Bran is a supplier of fiber and in this sense is a good alternative to a vegetable and fruit diet. Without fiber, the contents of the intestines stagnate inside, causing unpleasant sensations and consequences: heaviness, constipation, nausea.

Bran, moistened with water and gastric fluid, swells, fills the lumen of the intestinal cavities and pushes everything that is there to the exit. After defecation, the problem of constipation disappears - along with all the accompanying manifestations of discomfort.

• This is not the only benefit of bran used for dietary purposes.

The product also helps you lose weight because it suppresses your appetite. The mechanism is simple and clear: the stomach, filled with bran, resists the addition of food. Therefore, a person eats less than usual, and certainly does not overeat.

The product is also a source of useful components - microelements and vitamins, which is important for any diet. And the normalizing effect on metabolism increases the rate of weight loss.

How to eat bran on a diet?

Processed foods that everyone likes do a disservice to modern man. They are poor in substances that stimulate the intestines, but contain something that increases body weight. The bran diet is used to activate peristalsis, remove excess from the intestines, as well as from fat depots and get rid of excess weight.

• The three most useful types of bran are oat, wheat and rye. They can be mixed or alternated, depending on taste preferences.

How to eat bran on a diet depends on taste and purpose. So, for gradual adaptation to the diet and weight loss, start with a tablespoon and increase the portion to 3. You should not consume more than 30g, so as not to cause flatulence or exacerbation of intestinal diseases.

To suppress your appetite: 15 minutes before lunch, eat a portion of bran with a small amount of water, wash it down with a glass of water.

• To mix flavors, add a spoonful of bran to salads, soups, and meat dishes.

Another way is to mix the product, previously swollen in water or milk, with cottage cheese and dried fruits. Or replace breakfast and dinner with a kefir-bran mixture. During the diet, be sure to drink up to 3 liters of water daily.

A healthy dietary drink is prepared from a glass of bran and a liter of water. Boil everything together for a quarter of an hour on low heat, let it stand and strain the resulting mixture. Drink half a cup before each meal.

Indications

The main thing in the bran diet method is to thoroughly cleanse the body of ballast, improve health and rejuvenate the body. Slags, liquid, toxins - everything unnecessary, polluting and poisoning organs and systems, reducing the vitality and performance of the body goes away.

• Hence the indications for use: they appear along with the need to cleanse, unload and heal the body.

Bran acts as a kind of brush for the intestines, frees it from decay products, fecal stones, accelerates metabolism and the fat-lytic process, relieves after "holidays of gluttony" and periodic food intemperance. Particularly useful for chronic constipation.

As an additional ingredient, the product is used in protein diets, such as Dukan, when an abundance of proteins slows down digestion and peristalsis, and provokes slagging of the gastrointestinal tract.

• Without a cleansed intestine, no diet will help you lose weight.

Bran eliminates congestion, hidden and visible swelling, helps to lose up to 4 kg per week without health risks. They are prescribed not only by gastroenterologists, but also by dermatologists - to eliminate skin problems caused by gastrointestinal disorders.

Bran for weight loss

The effectiveness of the bran diet is assessed by the results. But before deciding on the procedure, it is advisable to predict the likely results, as well as whether such a product is suitable for you personally for weight loss.

• Bran is used for dietary purposes because it absorbs liquid and swells in the stomach better than all other low-calorie products.

Waste from flour milling consists entirely of fiber, which is easily digestible and has a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract. It creates a feeling of satiety and enriches a person on a diet with vitamins.

• Weight loss also occurs due to a decrease in appetite.

Reducing the portions eaten naturally promotes weight loss, and the stimulation of metabolism that occurs as a result of cleansing the intestines acts in the same direction.

• You can lose weight in a simple way, without resorting to strict dietary requirements.

It is enough to eat a spoonful of bran every time before the main meal. Then drink a lot so that the food absorbs the maximum amount of liquid. Otherwise, swelling will not occur and saturation will not be felt. You should not only wash down the product, but also drink as much as you want throughout the day, clean, high-quality water.

Otherwise, the diet is not subject to radical changes or restrictions. It is enough to reduce the amount of flour and sweet dishes, and also exclude alcohol. Instead, include cottage cheese, fresh salads, and fruits in the menu.

General information bran diets

The basis of the bran diet, in addition to bran itself, is natural dietary meat and dairy foods, unsweetened fruits and vegetables. Flour pastries, fatty meat, pasta, and confectionery are excluded. Coffee is limited: for coffee lovers who cannot give it up completely, 2 servings. For those who do not drink more, this is not a limitation, so it does not matter.

• The methodology does not imply any strict prohibitions.

The system is designed for 5-15 days and depends on the result you need. The essence of the diet is in daily three-time use of bran, reduction of caloric content and fractional portions. The average daily norm is up to 1300-1500 kcal, food intake is 5-6 times a day, in small doses. When working with increased loads, the caloric content is increased to 1700 kcal. The quality of bran is important.

• A relevant feature is that on the first day you cannot consume any fermented milk products.

The thing is that bran does not go well with the lactic acid microorganisms that these products are rich in. They cause active fermentation, bloating, discomfort and the need to constantly be near the toilet. Which is not always possible if you are at work or outside the home.

Later, drinking fermented baked milk, kefir, and yogurt once a day is not only possible, but also desirable. (The ban does not apply to a separate version of the diet, with kefir and bran.)

Benefits

Like any special diet, the bran diet is used for a specific purpose. What benefit can a person who has decided to change his or her diet expect from the diet?

A 2013 study by Lawton CL et al. found that short-term (14 days) consumption of insoluble breakfast cereal containing wheat bran fiber improved subjective digestive sensations, overall well-being, and bowel function.[ 1 ]

Consumption of cereal fiber, whole grain and bran mixtures, and whole grains reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.[ 2 ],[ 3 ]

The benefits can be listed in points:

1. Cleansing the digestive tract.
2. Supply of vitamins and minerals.
3. Appetite suppression.
4. Normalization of metabolism.

The diet rules are simple but important. Regardless of the method of consumption, bran requires a sufficient amount of water. Without it, the product will not swell and will not act in the right direction.

• The benefits increase if you adjust your regular menu to be healthier and give up unhealthy foods and alcohol altogether, at least temporarily.

Nutritionists recommend not to choose one, but to mix different types of bran. Let us remind you that this is waste from the processing of various grain crops. Wheat, rye, oat are just the most famous, but there are also millet, buckwheat, and rice.

Rice bran contains amino acids, vitamins and cofactors, as well as phytochemicals with medicinal and nutritional properties.[ 4 ]

Dietary rice bran may have beneficial effects on certain cancers, such as breast, lung, liver, and colorectal cancer. The chemopreventive potential is attributed to the bioactive phytochemicals present in rice bran, such as ferulic acid, tricine, β-sitosterol, γ-oryzanol, tocotrienols/tocopherols, and phytic acid. Studies have shown that the antitumor effects of rice bran-derived bioactive components are mediated by their ability to induce apoptosis, inhibit cell proliferation, and alter cell cycle progression in malignant cells. The bioactive components of rice bran protect against tissue damage by scavenging free radicals and blocking chronic inflammatory responses. Rice bran phytochemicals have also been shown to activate anti-tumor immune responses and influence the colon tumor microenvironment to promote enhanced colorectal cancer chemoprevention. This is achieved by modulating gut microbiota communities and enzyme regulation. Furthermore, the low cost of rice production and the availability of rice bran make it an attractive candidate for global dietary prevention. Thus, the development of dietary rice bran as a practical food-based chemopreventive agent could have a significant impact on cancer prevention for the entire global population. [ 5 ]

Oat bran has a beneficial effect on satiety and postprandial carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. [ 6 ] Oat bran significantly reduces total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B. [ 7 ]

The physiological effects of wheat bran can be divided into nutritional effects (from the nutrients present), mechanical effects (mainly on the gastrointestinal tract, due to the fiber content) and antioxidant effects (arising from the phytonutrients present, such as phenolic acid and alkylresorcinols).[ 8 ]

Studies have shown that wheat bran may have beneficial effects in preventing diseases, including certain cancers (particularly colorectal cancer), cardiovascular disease, [ 9 ] obesity, and certain gastrointestinal diseases, including diverticular disease, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). [ 10 ]

• There are as many different types of bran as there are types of grain.

The benefit also depends on the duration of the diet. One-time, three-day, two-week, strict - options for all occasions. To prevent the benefit from turning into harm, you should approach the procedure wisely: do not use if there are contraindications and do not overdo it if there are none. An overdose of fiber causes flatulence, weakens the absorption of drugs, some metals, including iron.

What can and what can not?

Besides bran, what can you eat? This is not an idle question: often it is the answer to it that determines a person's choice in favor of any diet (or vice versa). During the bran diet, it is recommended to focus on seasonal vegetables, sour fruits, lean meats and fish, low-fat dairy products, including drinks.

• To prevent stress caused by dietary restrictions, treat yourself to fresh fruits and fruit salads, and your favorite dishes made from permitted ingredients.

Vegetable fats are preferable: olive, flaxseed, corn oils. They are used to dress salads. Among drinks, high-quality water, unsweetened fruit drinks and compotes, fruit drinks, and green tea are in first place. Liquid is of the utmost importance, so more of it is drunk than ever: from 2 to 3 liters per day.

This food is recommended for a 2-week diet, when a spoon of bran should be eaten three times a day, washed down with three cups of water. In total, 3 spoons of bran and 9 servings of liquid are obtained per day. After this, you can eat only after 3 hours.

• The second option is designed for three months and promises weight loss of 10 kg.

The diet hardly changes, bran is simply added to the usual food: soups, drinks. The first two weeks the portion is 1 teaspoon, the rest of the days - 1 tablespoon three times a day. Do not forget to drink a lot of water, otherwise the bran will not work in the right direction.

In addition, the proposed diet provides for the use of additional substances: apple cider vinegar with honey. The drink is prepared as follows: take a teaspoon of vinegar and a little honey per glass of water, stir and drink twice a day (that is, two glasses a day).

When using bran, what should you not eat? What can ruin the efforts of a person who is losing weight and who is diligently following the recommendations of a nutritionist?

• A characteristic feature of the bran diet is the absence of strict restrictions and associated food discomfort.

It is recommended to stay away from food that is considered unhealthy: either by quality or by the way it is prepared. Fried, fatty, too salty and sweet foods, alcoholic drinks of varying strengths do not fit into any diet and are not welcomed under any circumstances.

• People consume them solely to indulge their food weaknesses and unhealthy appetite.

It is enough to at least slightly cut portions, reduce calories and review the menu so that some of the weight goes away "without looking back". You don't even need a special diet.

The diet is freed from smoked meat and fish products, canned and pickled products, fluffy flour and pastries with creams, candies and sweet fruits, potatoes. Cooking is gentle: multicooker, steamer, boiling in water. Dressings - natural oils, low-fat kefir or yogurt instead of sour cream and mayonnaise.

The above recommendations are effective for all those who consume bran for dietary or medicinal purposes. It does not matter which ones: wheat, oat or mixtures of different varieties, as most nutritionists advise.

Contraindications

Bran is contraindicated for people with chronic gastrointestinal pathologies, adhesions, ulcers, and high sensitivity to gluten. Other contraindications include taking medications: you cannot combine a bran diet with taking vitamins, dietary supplements, or medications. That is, the dietary product and everything else should be separated in time, otherwise bran will bind not only toxins, but also useful components. Agree that it is difficult to expect an ordinary product to identify useful and harmful.

For the same reason, continuous use is not recommended: after removing dirt, bran begins to adsorb and remove useful substances from the body, such as mineral and vitamin reserves or nutritional components necessary for the body.

Possible risks

Overdose, uncontrolled use is fraught with side effects of the bran diet. Risks associated with the diet arise when the rules are violated, in particular, insufficient fluid intake, as well as combining bran with the intake of vitamin and pharmacological drugs. The rough texture with sharp elements of unprocessed waste can injure the mucous membrane of the digestive organs, starting with the oral cavity.

Complications

In terms of the frequency of possible complications, flatulence and diarrhea are in first place. When on a bran diet, swelling occurs. Useful components, including calcium, are excreted along with slags. Coarse fibers can damage the walls of the esophagus and stomach.

Reviews and results

In the modern world, it is difficult to be surprised by anything, including the abundance of all kinds of diets. It seems as if a dietary system can be created on any product.

• But judging by the number of overweight people, weird diets are not a panacea. Do people not care or are they too lazy to leave their comfort zone? Or are diets ineffective?

In reviews and results, people also discuss this, complaining that often unwanted kilograms return to their "rightful" places. Those who are losing weight and have lost weight willingly share their experience and recipes for a bran diet. Most note an improvement in health and well-being.

If bran did not exist, it would be worth inventing. The product supplies the body with such a necessary substance as natural fiber. Thanks to it, a bran diet normalizes weight and digestive processes, eliminates constipation, and restores the beauty of the skin. Together with a diet correction towards reducing caloric content and reasonable restraint, bran acts effectively and efficiently in all cases where there are no contraindications.