Cereal Chem 66:94-97   |  VIEW ARTICLE

Short-Term Lipidemic Responses in Otherwise Healthy Hypercholesterolemic Men Consuming Foods High in Soluble Fiber.

G. S. Ranhotra, J. A. Gelroth, R. D. Reeves, M. K. Rudd, W. R. Durkee, and J. D. Gardner. Copyright 1989 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

This study examined the effect of foods high in water-soluble fiber on serum total cholesterol (CH), high- density lipoprotein CH, triglycerides, and glucose in otherwise healthy hypercholesterolemic (CH, 224 +/- 24 mg/dl) men. Seventeen adults participated in this study and each served as his own control. Each consumed his usual diet for six weeks, and then for the next six weeks nearly doubled his daily soluble fiber intake from 5.0 to 9.4 g and total fiber intake from 15.0 to 28.3 g. Fiber in the diet originated from several refined cereal-based products, fruits, vegetables, and a supplement consisting of rice and oat bran. Results showed that serum total CH dropped between 1 and 17%, high-density lipoprotein-CH increased between 3 and 17%, triglycerides dropped between 3 and 46%, and glucose dropped between 1 and 9% in participants who responded favorably. Several participants did not respond favorably to one or more of the measurements, and where the response was favorable, it was consistent throughout the six-week test period only in a few participants.