Letter: Incidence of alcoholic liver disease.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A R Leeds.
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36 G of wheat fibre, pectin, or guar gum was given over 2-week periods to healthy volunteers taking normal diet. Mean serum-cholesterol levels fell significantly while the volunteers were taking guar and pectin by 36-3 and 29-2 mg, per 100. respectively, but rose slightly after wheat fibre by 6-7, mg per 100., Attention should be focused on fruit and vegetable gels rather than wheat fibre in the search of natural hypocholesterolaemic agents.
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Sixteen non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients, mean age 60 years (range 47-69 years) and duration of diabetes 9 years (2-20 years), completed a randomized cross-over study of three 6-week periods separated by 2-week intervals to minimize carry-over effects, in which their usual bread was replaced by either control bread, guar bread (100 g guar/kg wheat flour), or control bread plus a guar granulate. The mean (+/- SEM) intake of guar taken in bread was 7.6 +/- 0.7 g/day (range 3.1-14.3 g/day). The granulate was taken in a dose of 5 g twice daily which provided 8.3 g guar/day. Significant reductions were found in glycosylated haemoglobin after guar bread (11.5 +/- 0.8% to 10.7 +/- 0.8%; p less than 0.02) and after guar granulate (11.2 +/- 0.8% to 10.6 +/- 0.7%; p less than 0.05) compared with control bread. Total cholesterol was also reduced significantly after both guar bread and guar granulate (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.02), the changes being due to LDL-cholesterol. Dietary intakes and body weight did not change. No significant side-effects were reported; 14 subjects found guar bread more palatable than guar granulate but 8 preferred the granulate for its convenience. We conclude that a lower than convential dose of guar can be effective and palatable. The incorporation of guar into food increases its metabolic benefits and palatability.