Nearly 40 years ago I began to study fibre and bile acids turnover. I showed the binding of bile acids to fibre and in particular the lignin element. Dave Kritchevsky and Jon Story later and independently showed the same phenomenon. Experiments with feeding wheat bran failed to show any effect of wheat bran
Now at regular intervals repeat experiments appear, fresh as a daisy showing the association between fibre and bile acids
It is nice to see the work reconfirmed
Elleglad L and Andersson H 2007, Oat bran rapidly increases bile acid excretion and bile acid synthesis: an ileostomy study. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 61, 938-945
The real puzzle in working out what is the mechanism of the hypo- cholesterolaemic effect of fibre and in particular rolled oats is what is happening in the colon. There is undoubtedly an increased flow of bile acids through the ileum into the colon. There is bacterial fermentation of bile acids and the oats in the colon. This is the big variable influencing how much bile acid is lost in the faeces. Is there a quantitative as well as a qualitative element. Does the chemistry of the bile acids returning to the live from the colon have a different effect of HMG reductase to the conjugated bile acids returning form the ileum
This question has not been resolved yet.

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Martin Eastwood

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