Oat-bran cereal lowers serum total and LDL cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic men1-3 James W Anderson, Donna B Spencer, Carlene C Hamilton, Sharon F Smith, Janet Tietyen, Carol A Bryant, and Peter Oeligen ABSTRACT Oat bran lowers serum lipid concentrations cruited for this study. Initial serum cholesterol values ranged in healthy and hyperlipidemia subjects. To determine the from 5.43 to 8.43 mmol/L and fasting serum triglycerides effects of a ready-to-eat oat-bran cereal on lipid concentrations, ranged from 1.23 to 3.89 mmol/L (Table 1). We excluded sub- we fed control (corn flakes) and oat-bran cereal diets for 2 wk jects with secondary causes of hyperlipoproteinemia, such as to 12 men with undesirably high serum total-cholesterol con- hypothyroidism and glucocorticoid therapy. No subjects re- centrations. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the two ceived hypocholesterolemic medication for 3 mo before the diets upon admission to the metabolic ward. After completing study. the first diet, subjects completed 2 wk on the alternate diet. Subjects ranged in age from 46 to 70 y (x 58 y). All subjects Intakes of carbohydrate, protein, fat, and cholesterol were vir- had body mass indices (BMIs; weight in kilograms divided by tually identical on the two diets. The oat-bran cereal provided height in meters squared) (13) of 30. We have included 66 24.8 6.21 2.01 the data on these two subjects in the tables but these data were 13+ 68 31.9 5.92 5.26 14+ 61 24.4 not included in analyses. Results are therefore presented on 12 5.92 1.89 * + SEM 58 + 3 25.1 + 0.65 6.95 + 0.29 2.51 + 0.21 subjects. Eight subjects were hospitalized in the metabolic ward for a continuous 4-wk period. The remaining subjects were al- * Body mass index (13). lowed a short leave of absence (3-14 d) between diet regimens + Subject excluded from analysis. for family emergencies or holidays. Subjects readily accepted the oat-bran cereal and corn flakes. As shown in Table 2, actual nutrient intake on oat-bran and concentrate, sugar, soy flour, corn flour, salt, vitamins, miner- corn flakes diet agreed closely with prescribed amounts. TDF als, and preservatives. Corn flakes provided 0.9 g TDF, 0.3 g and soluble fiber were significantly higher on the oat-bran diet soluble fiber, and 217 kcal per 56-g serving. than on the corn flakes diet (p 20 y ago documented that the addition of oatmeal to sub- 5.15 mmol/L for the corn flakes diet. jects' usual diets lowered serum total cholesterol significantly HDL cholesterol decreased by 3.3% on the oat-bran diet. by 5-8%. This early work from The Netherlands was confirmed Confidence intervals for HDL-cholesterol concentrations were by Van Horn et al (5), who found that the inclusion of oatmeal 0.78-1.14 mmol/L for the oat-bran diet and 0.84-1.14 mmol/ in conjunction with an American Heart Association fat-modi- L for the corn flakes diet. fied diet caused an additional 2% reduction (p