Publications on Oats and OatWell oat bran

Oats and the Scientific Evidence

Two meta-analyses, Brown et al 1999 and Ripsin et al, 1992, and other individual clinical intervention studies are included as evidence to substantiate the generic health claim regarding the cholesterol lowering effect of oat beta-glucan.

In their meta-analysis Ripsin et al, 1992, identified 12 studies, which had investigated the relationship between consumption of oats and blood total cholesterol in free-living subjects and which met their extended inclusion criteria for eligible studies to be included in the meta-analysis.  These studies included 1503 subjects with the age range from 23 to 73 years, with the mean blood cholesterol levels ranging from 4.6 to 7.1 mmol/L and a mean dosage of estimated oat soluble fibre of 3.2 g, ranging from 1.1 to 6.1 g/d.  A statistically significant decrease of -0.13 ± 0.03 mmol/L with the average dose of oat soluble fibre of 3.2 g/d, was calculated for these 12 trials, indicating significant decrease in blood cholesterol due to the oat soluble fibre.

In their meta-analysis of controlled trials to quantify the cholesterol-lowering effect of soluble fibres, Brown et al, 1999, identified 25 trials meeting their inclusion criteria and investigating the effect of oat soluble fibre on blood total, LDL and HDL cholesterol.  The total number of subjects in these trials was 1600, including normal healthy populations, hyperlipidaemics and diabetics.  The mean age of the study population was 48 years, ranging from 26 to 61 years.  The mean initial total, LDL and HDL cholesterol values were 6.31 ± 0.84, 4.40 ± 0.69, 1.28 ± 0.15 mmol/L, respectively.  The amount of oat soluble fibre used in these studies ranged from 1.5 to 13.0 g/d with the mean of 5.0 g/d.  In the analysis of the practical dose range of 2 to 10 g/d of oat soluble fibre per day there was a small but significant decrease in blood total and LDL cholesterol, -0.040 mmol/L per 1g of oat soluble fibre, (95% CI, -0.054, -0.026) and -0.037 mmol/L per 1g of soluble fibre, (95% CI, -0.040, -0.034), respectively.

This conclusion is consistent with the results of Ripsin et al, 1991 who showed that approximately 3 grams per day of oat beta-glucan has a statistically significant cholesterol lowering effect.

OatWell oat bran and  the Scientific Evidence

Over the last 15 years, numerous clinical trials have proven the physiological effect of
OatWell oat bran on cholesterol reduction and blood sugar response.

Regardless of whether OatWell oat bran products were processed into cereals, muffins, breads, biscuits, pasta,  or other foods, or whether they were consumed hot or cold, studies (published and unpublished) have shown significantly lower blood lipids and  glycaemic index when consumed as part of an appropriate diet. A significant lowering of plasma LDL  (up to 10 %)  cholesterol may be achieved with daily consumption of approximately 3 g of b-glucans - 4 servings of 0.75 g β-glucan-,   a day. This results are consistent with the findings of Ripsin et al, 1991 and  Brown et al, 1999, who showed that approximately 3 grams per day of oat beta-glucan has a statistically significant cholesterol lowering effect.

A 30-50% reduction in blood glucose peak can be achieved when OatWell oat bran b-glucans constitute 8-10% of the carbohydrates in a food product.

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