Lee Swanson Research Update

Rice Bran Oil Lowers Total and LDL Cholesterol

July 2005

Rice bran oil lowers cholesterol but the fiber does not, according to the results of two studies by the same research team. The scientists assessed the effects of defatted rice bran oil on blood lipids in subjects who were moderately hypercholesteremic and who ate a typical American diet.

For the first study, 26 healthy subjects ate a diet that included 13 to 22 grams of dietary fiber for three weeks and then 13 of the subjects switched to a diet with defatted rice bran. For the second study, 14 subjects ate a diet with rice bran oil as one-third of their dietary fat for 10 weeks. The oil was substituted for a product that had a similar fatty acid composition.

Researchers found that defatted rice bran did not produce cholesterol lowering in the first study but the rice bran oil diet consumed in the second study reduced total cholesterol significantly, decreased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and did not alter high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 81(1):64-68, 2005

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