A new study from India has highlighted the benefits of wheat bran in helping people suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus better control their condition.
The research, published in Population Health Metrics, involved 30 diabetes patients aged between 45 and 50, with half being given 20 grams of wheat bran consisting of 42.8 percent dietary fibre each day for a six-month period, and the other half not given any bran supplements.
Blood samples were taken at baseline and at the end of the testing to assess biochemical factors, such as serum fasting postprandial glucose levels, glucose levels and glycosylated hemoglobin levels or HbA1C in all the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus . For those who received wheat bran supplements, the fasting glucose levels at the end of the tests were lowered by an average of 22.8 mg/ml, while the control group did not exhibit any significant change. Those on the bran supplement also experienced a decrease in serum postprandial glucose levels.
HbA1C is seen as the most reliable index concerning the long-term control of diabetes, as it reflects a true average index of glucose control. Both of the groups at baseline had 8.39 to 8.45 per cent, considered to be under unsatisfactory control by the American Diabetic Association . However, after taking the wheat bran supplement, diabetes mellitus patients brought the index down to 6.41 percent, considered to be under good control.
The expected rise in the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus is largely due to an ageing population, increasing numbers of higher risk minority groups in the population and

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