A nutritious guide to understanding and cooking with bran

Bran is a multi-purpose grain that is incredibly nutritious. Here's a guide to help you understand some of the health benefits associated with bran and some simple ways to incorporate bran into your diet.

• Oat bran can bring down high cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. In one study, men who consumed the most wheat bran (about nine grams per day) were 30 percent less likely to develop heart disease than those who consumed the least (not quite two grams per day).
• Rice bran can also lower cholesterol, and early research in animals suggests it may help tame high blood pressure as well.
• Rice bran is also gluten-free, a real plus for people who have a sensitivity to gluten.
• Wheat bran may help reduce the risk of colon and breast cancer. And of course, bran helps keep you regular.

When you eat grains, you can't do better than bran.

• In fact, a bowl of bran cereal has just one-third the glycemic load (GL) of a bowl of a corn cereal. That means your blood sugar will go up only a third as much, so it doesn't have far to fall. (Remember, it's those precipitous drops that cause trouble and make you hungry again.)
• Think of bran as the heavy "overcoat" worn by kernels of whole grain oats, wheat or rice. It contains the highest concentration of fibre of any part of the grain.
• As you know, fibre helps you feel fuller on fewer calories, smoothing the way for weight loss.
• Bran also helps tame wild blood sugar surges after meals. When researchers gave obese children either a sugar solution or a sugar solution plus 15 grams (about four tablespoons) of wheat bran, the kids' blood sugar levels were much lower when they ate the bran.
• If you add bran to your diet regularly, you could really lower your blood sugar over the long term — by as much as 22 percent. At least that's the drop experienced by people in a study who ate rice bran for two months as part of a heart-healthy diet.
• Oat bran is high in soluble fibre, which gives it extra power over blood sugar. Adding oat bran to the mix — meaning pancake, muffin or cookie mix — can significantly change the food's effect on your blood sugar.

Because bran contains oils that can become rancid, be sure to store it in the refrigerator or freezer once it's been opened. Many bran cereals, on the other hand, contain preservatives that will keep them fresh for several months in the pantry.

• Bran muffins may appear to be health food, but they're usually anything but. Most store-bought muffins are loaded with sugar, fat, and calories. Make your own for a much healthier treat.
• Make meat loaf using oat bran or another bran as a binder in place of bread. It will help blunt the effect of the mashed potatoes you eat with it by lowering your blood sugar response to the entire meal.
• Sprinkle bran flakes on casseroles.
• Use bran in muffin recipes in place of half the flour for muffins that are high in fibre and loaded with nutrients. If you don't have bran flour on hand, try using bran cereal. Some brands have muffin recipes right on the box. Add fruit and nuts.
• Start your day with plain bran cereal, hot or cold (look for Quaker and other brands). It's one of the lowest glycemic-load cereals you can choose.
• Make pancakes or waffles with rice flour and rice bran or try adding different types of bran and experimenting with the taste and texture. Top with fresh blueberries to squeeze in a serving of fruit.

You really can't go wrong with bran. Keep this guide in mind and add bran to your diet for healthy results that can't be beat!