Foods Rich in Beta Glucan
According to an study conducted in the year 2012, beta glucan attaches itself to bile acids and excretes these biles out of the body in the form of feces. When bile acids are flushed out, the liver will have to use more cholesterol to make up for the lost bile acids. This process is believed to help decrease one’s cholesterol levels.
In this article, let’s list some foods that contain abundant amounts of beta glucan.
Oats
Among the richest sources of beta glucan are oats. They have a high concentration of soluble fiber that comes from beta glucan. According to the Nutrition Reviews in June 2011, eating 3 grams of soluble oat fiber every day may help lower your total cholesterol by 5 to 10%.
Barley
Barley also contains dietary fiber that is known to be rich in beta glucan. It also contains propionic acid that may help suppress the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme as it generates cholesterol in the liver. According to a 2001 study, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, barley’s dietary fiber can significantly reduce low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and plasma cholesterol.
Mushrooms
Aside from phytonutrients and polysaccharides, mushrooms are also known to have abundant amounts of beta glucan. Mushrooms’ beta glucan helps boost the immune system.
Other Foods with Beta Glucan
Aside from the three foods listed above, there are other foods that contain beta glucan. These include wheat, rye, and seaweeds. Although they do not have as much beta glucan contents as those mentioned above, they can also provide you with beta glucan’s health benefits.
How to Get More Beta Glucan
The easiest way to get more beta glucan is to make oatmeal your everyday breakfast. Eating oatmeal daily may sound like a difficult job, but you can always make new recipes and add new ingredients to give your oatmeal breakfast different tastes. You can even add fruits like berries and kiwis to make your meal even healthier.
In addition to having oatmeal breakfasts, you can also make a bowl of barley soup and add some slices of shiitake mushrooms to it. This will make for a delicious and nutritious lunch. It’s also a good idea to replace your usual side dish with cooked barley. And when baking, you can replace your regular flour with oat flour.
Conclusion
If you want to experience the health benefits of beta glucan, you might want to try some beta glucan supplements in the market such as the Beta Glucan Maximum Strength from Nature's Choice Supplements. Health is wealth, and taking in the right supplements is one way to take care of it.