THE WEIGHT MANAGEMENT BENEFITS OF OAT BETA GLUCAN

Heart disease has been the number 1 killer of Malaysians every year for the last 30 years. One of the major risk factors for heart disease is obesity or excessive body weight .

The world is facing an obesity epidemic and this fact becomes more glaring in the Malaysian context. Food and eating is an integral part of our culture - it is what makes our country’s succulent cuisine so celebrated globally. Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks to this. The 2011 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) of Malaysians over 18 years old showed that 15.1% of Malaysians are obese and 29.4% are overweight. These numbers has given Malaysia the dubious honor of being the “ fattest country in South-East Asia ”.

The effect of this has led doctors to observe that Malaysians are more likely to be diagnosed with heart disease 10 years earlier than their Western counterparts.

Oat Beta-Glucan, Satiety and Obesity – The Connection

Fortunately, everybody knows that lifestyle changes including diet modification is the first step towards losing weight and reducing the likeliness of obesity. One potential countermeasure to curb the current obesity epidemic is to identify and recommend foods that reduce energy intake by inducing satiation and increasing feelings of fullness. The inclusion of fiber-rich food ingredients such as oat beta-glucan into our daily diet is the easiest and simplest way to healthy eating. Various clinical trials have concluded that an increase in fiber intake as much as 14g a day is associated with a 10% reduction in calorie intake and close to 2kg weight loss during an average duration of approximately 4 months ¹ .

The most fiber-rich component of oats is from its outermost layer – the bran. The key health ingredient from oats is its unique soluble dietary fiber known as beta-glucan which is highly concentrated in oat bran. Oat bran contains about 50% more dietary fibers compared to other parts of the grain such as the endosperm and germ.

Beta-glucans have been extensively studied for the past few decades due to the wide variety of biological activity it confers to enhance health. The most well-known benefit of oat beta-glucan is its ability to lower cholesterol. 3 grams of oat beta-glucan per day is clinically proven as sufficient to help reduce cholesterol effectively.

Lose Weight with Oat Beta-Glucan

Besides the cholesterol-lowering benefit, beta-glucans in oats have also been shown to be as effective in promoting weight loss due to two direct effects it exerts on the digestive system:

Causes Feeling of Fullness – The ability of beta-glucan in producing viscosity effect in the gut delays stomach emptying and slows the digestion of ingested food. This results in prolonged sensations of fullness which suppresses food cravings. A study demonstrates a beverage containing 2 to 3 grams of oat beta-glucan can increase feeling of fullness more significantly than beverage which contains no fiber in healthy adults ² .
Intestinal Caloric Loss – Too much calories resulted from overeating and high intake of fatty foods can contribute to weight gain. Ingested oat beta-glucans have the ability to bind with dietary fats (1 gram fat contributes 9 Calories) in the intestines by forming a viscous bolus. Calories released from food get trapped in the viscous bolus and are thus prevented from being absorbed into the body system. It is also this mechanism that helps in lowering blood cholesterol level and reducing the rise of blood sugar level.

In conclusion, successful weight loss is a result of a healthy lifestyle which includes plenty of exercise and healthy eating without overindulgence in food.

Start your weight loss programme today by adopting an active lifestyle and incorporating oat beta-glucan into your daily diet.

Biogrow Oat BG22™ is made of oat bran powder imported from Sweden. Take 2 scoops (approx. 18 g) a day will provide more than 3 g of oat beta-glucan.

Now, Biogrow Oat BG22™ is available in 30’s convenient travel pack -- makes it much easier for people who are always on-the-go to achieve the 3 g recommended daily intake of oat beta-glucan for optimal cholesterol-lowering benefit! Taking 2 sachets (18 g) a day with cold or warm water will provide more than 3 g oat beta-glucan. Take 3g of oat beta-glucan daily will help reduce cholesterol naturally.

This article is brought to you by Legosan (M) Sdn. Bhd. For more information, please call our info-line at 03-7956 2220 or email your inquiry to [email protected] .