A new study shows high-fibre cereal can have a positive effect on gut and overall health and wellbeing during Ramadan.
Like many things at the moment, Ramadan is being celebrated by millions of people under pretty unusual circumstances.
With fasting during Ramadan involving big changes in daily eating patterns, which can have a big impact on digestion, a randomized controlled trial (aka high-quality study) has looked at the effects of eating a high-fibre cereal (11g of fibre per 90g cereal) in the early morning on hunger levels, bowel habits and blood sugars compared to the control group (who just stuck to their normal diet intake).
After just 20 days of eating the high-fibre cereal, the participants reported significant changes, including:
- Higher satiety levels
- Increased bowel habits
- Less bloating
- Lower total and LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol levels
Those eating the cereal had a significantly higher intake of total carbs and fibre with no significant differences in body weight or body fat compared to the control group – so don’t let anyone tell you carbs are ‘bad’ for you! Fibre is a type of carb and it’s essential not only for feeding your gut bacteria and ‘keeping you regular’, but is linked to better heart health, brain health and many other conditions.
It’s research like this combined with the fact that very few cereals on the market met the ‘high-fibre and ‘no-added sugar’ criteria, that inspired me to create Bio&Me granola range. Loaded with 15 different plant-based ingredients and delivering a third of your fibre intake in every bowl of the super seedy and nutty (10g per 60g serve). But hey why settle at 10g, we’ve boosted it even further here with banana and PB.
