Beta-Glucan Do It!

The Quaker Oats company teeters on the edge of a monopoly on a certain, greatly prized, long-digesting polysaccharide, Beta Glucan.  And I want you to know about it!  Beta-Glucan often pops up in research on the immune system, as it may be used as a 'biological response modifier' (BRM) - aka, it can be switched on to activate the immune system via various chemical signals and things that immunology scientists explain in their own esoteric dialogue.  For our - well, my purposes, we're not talking about Beta-Glucan as strictly a 'BRM.'  This is for the following reasons:  One, because I don't fully understand it on the chemically-immunology-type-way and thus why should I be so bold as to attempt to explain it; and Two, I want to talk about its use in weight loss and smart nutrition.  Yes, I am blissfully narrow of purpose, on occasion.

First of all, quick info on polysaccharides - they are molecules of basic sugar units (saccharides) linked together.  'Poly-' means that there are many of these individual chains - sometimes even thousands.  Our body uses them to create everything in our body - cells need glucose (a basic building block of poly-saccharides, to explain it very briefly) to make energy to make proteins, or regulate chemical systems, or properly divide cells, or change a lightbulb, or type a blog, etc etc. 

Beta-Glucan is a special polysaccharide that officially can stake a claim authorized by the FDA that it can help lower blood cholesterol levels and contribute to heart health.  It's found in oat bran and in barley.  (In barley, the grain doesn't even have to be whole grain - Beta-Glucan is found in every part of the kernel, making barley flour a great source of this stuff too.)  Like I mentioned, Quaker is towering over the Beta-Glucan products market, which is great, because it's easy to find.  If you head to the grocery store, I'll bet you'll see the Quaker name and label more or less dominating the oats and barley products.  Also, in the near future, keep an eye out for something called 'oatrim,' which is an oat bran or oat flour-based fat replacer being developed by the USDA.  P.S. I'm talking about Beta-Glucan from food sources only.  You can get it as asupplement - please note that I'm not endorsing random usage of any non-food-based supplement here.

When I was organizing some info on this topic to articulately put this post together, I came across a peer-reviewed research study about carbohydrate digestion in obese people.  The first line of the abstract (which is a quick summary of the article) states: "Obese and diabetic patients may benefit from foodstuffs that are poorly absorbed and/or digested at a slower rate."  That struck me as - they benefit from food that isn't digested well?  Wait a second.. what does that sound like?.. My favorite friend, fiber!

Bingo.  Beta-Glucan is an awesomely-slow-digesting kind of soluble fiber.  Tests show that even after Beta-Glucan molecules have been battered by the acids and enzymes of our digestive system, they re-clump together before they hit your intestine, like it aint no thang, and then they are indigestible.  (Reminds me of the Terminator 2 guy.)  When Beta-Glucan is in your system, it absorbs water and puffs up, making you feel full.  Not to mention, the heart health stuff?  Awesome.  Simplified, Beta-Glucan 'sticks' to bad cholesterol particles floating around your system and helps you pass it out.  Furthermore, Beta-Glucan ingestion helps regulate glucose absorption in those with Type 2 Diabetes. 

This is a reiteration of the whole grains phenomenon, but for weight loss, this is a very handy tip to drive home.  Starting your day with oats (perhaps as in protein oatmeal, per se) or eating cooked barley in a salad with lunch can fill you up for the mere calorie count of carbohydrate calories, which are low to begin with!  When your meals actually pack nutrition like this (as opposed to low-calorie but low-nutritive value unbalanced meals capped with 100 calorie-packs, or 'light' versions of your old favorite high-cal foods), you will be less tempted to snack later in the day.

If you're not used to barley and need a recipe to work it in to your day, try this great Wild Mushroom Barley Pilaf recipe from Eating Well magazine.  Dried barley is also a great addition to almost any slow-cooker recipe.

Bottom line of this food recommendation and any I have/would/will make, is that if you give your body nutrient-rich food sources to work with, in sane portions, you will get to your goals that much faster.  Give this handy glucose polymer a try asap, and be amazed at how it fills you up.