What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word bran? Rancid smell, drenched rice waste, cattle food, or filthy might be the words that will pop out in your head. When in fact, there are two types of bran. There is bran who come from the milling waste/first rice pulverization. While there is another bran that come from the second milling/rice pulverization or can also be called as rice hulls.
When the rice is being milled, the rice skin that people would usually call grain will be separated from its fascicle. The rice grains that we usually eat can also be called as rice endosperm. Bran is the layer that coated the endosperm. The bran can be turned into flour that will be colored light brown and will have a rather sweet taste.
Contains of Bran Flour
Here are the vitamins contain in the bran on ppm (dry weight). Ppm (part per million) is equal to the mg/kg. This list is based from Barber and Benedito de Barber, 1980.
- Vitamin A = 4,2
- Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) = 10,1 – 27,9
- Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) = 1,7 – 3,4
- Vitamin B3 (Niacin) = 236 – 590
- Vitamin B12 = 0,005
- Vitamin E (Tocopherol) = 149
- Biotin = 0,16 – 0,60
- Inositol = 4.627 – 9.270
- Pyridoxy = 10,3 – 32,1
- Kolin = 1.279 – 1.700
- Pantothenic Acid = 27,7 – 71,3
- Pholic Acid = 0,50 – 1,46
- Aminobenzoic Acid = 0,75
Bran is also used a lot as medicines for many kinds of disease. Here are the health benefits of Bran Flour:
- Decrease Cholesterol Level
The one who is in charge of decreasing the cholesterol in bran is the contain of tocotrienols. Tocotrienols functions as the resistor of the zinc works that can cause the clogging of cholesterol inside the body. Bran is also one of the fiber sources that are good to make the digestion smoother. The capability of fibers in it can tie up the bile acids that will later excrete along with the feces.
Consuming food fiber routinely will make more bile acids to excrete along with the feces. This will then change the cholesterol into bile acids that will eventually impacting in the decrease of cholesterol level.
Here are the other types of herb that contain anti-cholesterol in it:
- Health Benefits of Soursop Leaves
- Health Benefits Potatoes
- Health Benefits Eating Ants
- Health Benefits Eating Fresh Garlic
- Fat Metabolism
There are many health benefits of Bran Flour. Bran fat fractions has been proven to be capable to decrease the fat level in blood, whether it is on a humanbeing or animals.
- Good Digestion
Bran, that is rich of dietary fiber, is capable to make the digestion process smooth. Here are also the herbs that are good for a healthy digestion:
- Good to be Consumed by Diabetes Patients
As we all know, the food fibers in bran are very good for those who suffers from diabetes. It is suggested for the patients to consume this daily. When you first consume bran, you might experience some diarrhea. But do not worry, as this process will not take a long time.
- Overcome Calcifying Blood Vessels
Vitamin B15 in bran have this Glucono-dimethy-lamino-acetic-acid chemical structure. The vitamin content is able to overcome blood vessels that are calcifying.  Â
- Good for Autism Patients
Pagamic acid, or as we usually call vitamin B15, contained inside bran, whether it is rice bran, wheat bran, oatmeal, or even corn. A study found that if we give an autism patient about 50 to 100 mg of pagamic acid three times a day, they will have a chance to be cured.
- Anti-Free Radicals and Anti-Cancer
Free radicals can cause a premature aging. The antioxidants content in the bran will be useful to fight off free radicals inside our body. Beside that, bran is also rich of vitamin E (tocopherol and tocotrienols) that can decrease the free radicals that can cause cancer. Tocotrienols are very hard to be found, yet we can find a lot of it in the bran.
- Overcome Muscle Aches
Back to the content of vitamin B15, consuming enough dose of this vitamin will givr your body enough oxygen for the muscle needs. The clogging of lactic acid inside your body can cause muscle aches. Vitamin B15 then can neutralize the lactic acid.
- Heart’s Health
The content of vitamin B, which is the vitamin B15 in bran is useful to form some types of amino acid that can overcome the lacking of oxygen in the muscles, including heart muscles.
Other herbs that can help to maintain heart’s health including:
- Fix Liver Function
Vitamin B15 in bran can also cure liver disease. One of the nantions who consume lots of bran to overcome many kinds of disease is Russia.
- Overcome Beriberi
Vitamin B1 that is also highly concentrated in bran is very good to cure beriberi. It has been proven on chicken who consume lots of rice grinded rice that still has bran in it, they rarely develop the beriberi disease.
- Nerve Interference
Vitamin B1 and B2 in bran is useful to prevent the nerves pain. Consuming these food listed below will also help you to make the nerves stays healthy:
- Health Benefits of Vitamin E
- Benefits of Salmon
- Benefits of Sunflower Seeds
- Benefits of Cucumber for Eyes
- Health Benefits of Red Banana
- Asthma
Consuming bran routinely every day is good for those who suffers from asthma. Because it will make the asthma rarely relapse. But, the asthma will relapse again once you stop consuming it. Vitamin B15 contain in bran can trigger the forming of anti-asthma substance.
- Body Friendly
Bran does not contain any dangerous content in it such as dye, sweetener, or even preservative. Therefore, it is very safe to consume for the body.
- Increase Immune System
Like what have been explained before, immunity of the body is linked with antioxidants. Bran have a great antioxidant content in it (super antioxidant) that will support our immune system if consumed routinely.
Meanwhile, there are many health benefits of Bran Flour that you can try for natural herbal treatments.
How to Process Brain Flour
There are many contents inside bran, right? However, bran unfortunately have a rather unpleasant smell. This condition happens when the ingredient of it is damaged. It should be noted that bran is very easy to be damaged. Rancid smell will evaporate when the bran is damaged. Then, are there anyways to make this ingredient last longer? Of course there are!
Here are some of the ways to preserve the bran:
- Roasting
Roasting the bran means to fry it without using any oil while keeps on stirring it for about ten minutes. However, we need to be careful since a little bit of slack will burn the bran or turn its color into dark brown. Before roasting, don’t forget to make sure that the bran flour is refined (strained). Some of the benefits of roasted brain are for mixing on snacks or pastries (cakes who don’t need yeast).
- Using High Temperature Short Time System
This is an effective technology to preserve the bran. However, this method is rarely used since it costs a fortune.
- Steamed
The way to do this method is to steam the bran for thirty minutes and then dry it out. After the bran flour is completely dried, then let it to be cooled.Â
Tips to Consume Bran
Rural people from a long time ago used to use mortar to pound wheat, therefore making the bran still attached to the rice grains. They consume the rice that contains bran in it every single day. Therefore, it is no wonder if the people from a long time ago are highly resistant to many kind of diseases and have outstanding stamina. Bran is also used a lot as variety of food such as pepes or added to the porridge.
Here are the ways to consume healthy bran:
- Obesity: Three times a day, two full table spoons and use low-calories sugar.
- Food companion for doctor’s medicine prescription. For those who are under medical treatments, can consume bran while consuming the doctor’s medicine. Consume bran twice a day for only one table spoon (30 grams). Consume it both in the morning and late afternoon.
- Body stamina: one table spoon per day (30 grams), brew it with one glass of hot water.
Mix the bran in foods:
- Bran can be added to flour to increase the fiber level of the food. This mix is very good to use on sweet bread, dry bread, steamed sponge cake, rolled omelet, and other food that needs flour in it.
- Bran can also be mixed into rice flour that will be used to make delicious food such as pie cake.
- Bran can also be mixed into soup, green beans porridge, chocolate milk, and coconut milk.
Side Effects of Consuming Bran
- Can cause diarrhea when you consume it for the first time.
- Sometimes, (on rare occasions), consume too much bran can cause constipation. Therefore, balance it with consuming fruits and vegetables too.
- Be careful to those who suffers ulcer as consuming bran can cause nausea. Consume liquid bran instead or add it to other foods (for example: jelly, soup, porridge). If you consume it the right way, the ulcer will disappear.
But as the time goes by, rural people nowadays no longer use mortar to ground the wheat. There is already a more practice ground machine to ground the wheat in quicker and cheaper way. The ground process will not leave any bran on the rice grains.
As the result, the waste from wheat groundings that is the bran is sold a lot just to be cattle foods. Therefore, rural people nowadays are no longer different than those who lives in the city that is fragile to chronic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, liver, and cholesterol. Bran is a food ingredient that is rich of nutrition, therefore, consume it routinely to get the maximum results.