Wheat bran

What is that

Wheat bran is a waste product resulting from the refining of triticum eastivum.

Wheat bran was born as a processing residue destined for animal feed; therefore, the costs related to its purchase WERE practically nil; however, to date, wheat bran is marketed as a food supplement for the "regularization of" intestine ", and often constitutes an essential ingredient of dietetic and / or supplemented foods.

Economic value

Analyzing the REAL economic value of wheat bran and comparing it to the marketing price, it is easy to guess that the difference in profit exceeds 10,000%. This basically happens for two reasons:

• The food supplement industry is a sector in which BY DEFINITION the maximum profit is sought with the minimum expense, paying relatively little attention to the concrete usefulness of the product sold. In this specific case, wheat bran is proposed as an essential ingredient
  • for the prevention and treatment of certain intestinal discomforts (constipation and irritable bowel syndrome)
  • as a filler (increased sense of satiety)
  • as a food rich in minerals, vitamins and polyunsaturated fats.
  In reality, wheat bran represents refining waste; therefore, selling it and emphasizing its characteristics represents a simple "economic maneuver".
• The costs of packaging and marketing itself far exceed the value of wheat bran; therefore, the mark-up attributed to it affects MORE "than the costs of the raw material. Furthermore, if we consider that in the automated production of flour" there is NO MORE "grinding for" wholemeal flour ", it is easy to understand that the process to obtain it could be the following:

• Separation of bran from wheat
• Production of refined flour
• Re-addition of wheat bran to refined flour.

In this way, the food industries obtain lower GENERAL costs of production (for the maintenance of only one plant), but spend more on the re-addition of bran in the whole wheat flour than on the refined product.

Nutritional properties

From a nutritional point of view, wheat bran is a component that enriches the diet with INSOLUBLE dietary fiber. While it may be useful in the prevention of constipation, irritable bowel syndrome and colon cancer, its usefulness in the treatment of diverticulosis is questionable. Wheat bran (for man) is not totally digestible, it follows that during digestion its residues could infiltrate inside the diverticula, inflaming them and causing diverticulitis. On the contrary, in the treatment of diverticulitis it would be much more useful to consume fruit and vegetables (without peel and without seeds) as they are richer in SOLUBLE fiber (not digestible but gelling).