By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, March 22, 2006, abstracted from “Beta-Glucan incorporated into a fruit drink effectively lowers serum LDL-cholesterol concentrations” in the March 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
As a component of every cell in your body, cholesterol is something your body cannot do without. But research has shown that you can get too much of it, specifically LDL cholesterol, and can increase your risk for heart disease1 whereas high levels of HDL cholesterol may protect against heart disease.(2, 3) As a result, the current recommendations by the American Heart Association for cholesterol are lower than 200 mg/dL as “desirable”, 200-239 mg/dL as “borderline high risk”, and higher than 240 mg/dL as “high risk”.4
Because of apparent health risks that high LDL/Total cholesterol levels pose to your health, prescription medications called statins have become almost commonplace among people with high cholesterol. But with reported side effects ranging from mild (nausea, diarrhea, vomiting) to severe (muscle/liver damage),5 patients are continuously seeking alternative methods to help lower cholesterol.
One such supplement is fiber. Research on fiber’s ability to lower cholesterol has been so compelling that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a health claim on food products that "a diet high in soluble fiber from whole oats (oat bran, oatmeal and oat flour)…may reduce the risk of heart disease".6 A component of fiber receiving attention is beta-glucan, with the FDA concluding that “at least 3 grams per day of beta-glucan from oats should be consumed to achieve a clinically relevant reduction in serum total cholesterol concentrations.7
Now a new study8 has added more credibility to the FDA’s claim about beta-glucan’s ability to help lower your Total and LDL cholesterol.
In the study, researchers had patients consume a daily fruit drink that provided either 5 grams of rice starch (22 patients) or beta-glucan from oats (25 patients) for five weeks. At the end of the study, blood samples were taken for analysis of total/LDL cholesterol, levels of two noncholesterol sterols called lathosterol and sitosterol, which are markers of cholesterol synthesis,8 and fat-soluble antioxidants.
Researchers found that compared to the rice bran group, the beta-glucan group’s total and LDL cholesterol decreased by 4.8% and 7.7%, respectively. What’s more, lathosterol and sitosterol levels decreased 13% and 11%, respectively, in the beta-glucan group compared to the rice bran group. Finally, there was no significant effects were found on fat-soluble antioxidants.
For the researchers, “Beta-Glucan lowers serum concentrations of total and LDL cholesterol when incorporated into a fruit drink. A reduced cholesterol absorption contributes to the cholesterol-lowering effect of beta-glucan without affecting plasma concentrations of fat-soluble antioxidants.”
Reference:
1 Law, M. R. (1999) Lowering heart disease risk with cholesterol reduction: evidence from observational studies and clinical trials. Eur. Heart J. Suppl. 1:S3-S8.
2 Shaten, B. J., Kuller, L. H. & Neaton, J. D. (1991) Association between baseline risk factors, cigarette smoking, and CHD mortality after 10.5 years. Prev. Med. 20:655-669
3 Castelli, W. P., Anderson, K., Wilson, P. W. & Levy, D. (1992) Lipids and risk of coronary heart disease: the Framingham study. Ann. Epidemiol. 2:23-28
4 “What are the healthy levels of cholesterol?” posted on the American Heart Association Website www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=183
5 “Statin Medications: What Are The Side Effects?” posted on MayoClinic.com www.mayoclinic.com
6 Food and Drug Administration, Human and Human Services (1996) Food labeling: health claims; oats and coronary heart disease: proposed rule. Fed. Regist. 61:296-313
7 FDA Talk Paper (1997) FDA allows whole oat foods to make health claim on reducing the risk of heart disease 1997 Available at www.cfsan.fda.gov
8 Mensink RP. ß-Glucan incorporated into a fruit drink effectively lowers serum LDL-cholesterol concentrations. Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, Mar 2006; 83: 601 - 605.
9 Farkkila MA. Plasma lathosterol and campesterol in detection of ileal dysfunction. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1988 Jan;23(1):19-25
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