For decades, I’ve used Kellogg’s All-Bran Bran Buds® cereal to achieve an ultra-high fiber diet. However, I have no ties to the Kellogg’s company. Furthermore, I am quite sure that the Kellogg’s company does not endorse the use of All-Bran cereal for management of inflammatory bowel disease symptoms.
It is important to know, though, that Kellogg’s All-Bran cereal is made from the wheat bran that has been removed from wheat kernels during the process of making refined grain foods (see “About Wheat Bran”).
An all-bran cereal packs more fiber into a small space than does unprocessed wheat bran. It is easier for me to consume a therapeutic amount of fiber each day using the boxed cereal. I eat ½ cup each day, which provides 19.5 grams of fiber. I also add ½ cup Trader Joe Bran Flakes cereal to my bowl for a more “normal” appearance and consistency. For you to understand how much fiber I am actually getting in this bowl of cereal, consider this: people think they eat a high fiber diet if they eat a salad every day – but I would have to eat 19.5 cups of lettuce to get the same amount of fiber contained in my little ½ cup serving of All-Bran cereal!
W.K. Kellogg started producing ready-to-eat cereals in the late 1800s, and by 1916 he had introduced the first All-Bran® cereal.1 He must have been influenced by his brother, Dr. John Kellogg, who used wheat bran in his medical practice to help his patients suffering from bowel issues. In his 1916 book entitled “Colon Hygiene,” Dr. Kellogg even explained the beneficial effect of wheat bran on the intestinal microbiota.2 He was truly a man ahead of his time, and people must like what his All-Bran® cereal does for their bowels, because consumer demand has kept it on grocery store shelves for 100 years!
- Kellogg’s. Our Best Days are Yours. Our History. Accessed February 17, 2016, from http://www.kelloggs.com/en_US/our-history.html
- Kellogg JH. Alimentary Toxemia. Colon Hygiene. Battle Creek, MI: Good Health Publishing, 1916:159-194.