Bran Health Dictionary

A concentrated form of food fibre (bulk). Bran can absorb nine times its own weight in water, and therefore forms easily-passed soft moist stools. In this way it regulates bowel function and may be appropriate for both constipation and diarrhoea. In the absence of Ispaghula seeds is good for irritable bowel with diverticula. High in zinc and fibre; helps reduce level of cholesterol in the blood and thus lessens risk of heart disease. Bran wash. Fill a muslin bag with bran and immerse in boiling water for 15- 30 minutes. Use as a sponge for cleansing ulcers, skin rashes, etc. Use no soap. Two or three times weekly.

Bran bath. Fill muslin bag with 1 or 2lbs (1-2 kilos) of bran. Run bath-tap. Immerse bag in bath. No soaps used. Twice weekly. Renew bran weekly. Patient remains in water 20-30 minutes. 

The fibrous outer covering of grain that cannot be digested.

The fibre is used as a bulk-forming laxative to prevent constipation (see fibre, dietary).

The meal derived from the outer covering of a cereal grain. It contains little or no carbohydrate, and is mainly used to provide ROUGHAGE in the control of bowel function and the prevention of constipation.