LAXATIVE EFFECTS OF WHEAT BRAN AND "WASHED BRAN" IN HEALTHY MEN
A COMPARATIVE STUDY
- GEORGE R. COWGILL, Ph.D.;
- WILLIAM E. ANDERSON, B.S., M.A.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
The importance of ingestion of a reasonable amount of food "roughage" for the maintenance of satisfactory intestinal motility is widely appreciated. It is quite generally recognized that wheat bran contains a relatively large amount of indigestible material, notably cellulose. Knowledge of these facts has resulted in a considerable use by human beings of bran as a source of food roughage. Extreme views regarding such use have been expressed in the literature. Kellogg1 is one of those who attribute numerous ills to constipation and therefore advocate the ingestion of large amounts of various sources of "indigestible residue," including bran, as a corrective and preventive measure. Alvarez2 has challenged this view, and, as evidence for his position, has cited the results of a questionnaire circulated among physicians concerning the therapeutic use of bran. It may be questioned whether such a method of approach to the problem as Alvarez has employed
Footnotes
-
The expenses of this research were in part defrayed by a grant from the General Foods Corporation, New York.
-
Wheat bran, extracted twenty hours at room temperature with 0.2 per cent hydrochloric acid to remove phytin and other substances, is called washed bran in this paper.
