A natural soluble fiber, beta-glucan, helped overweight people safely lose weight and body fat. In this study, 100 mostly overweight adults took a daily dose of 4.4 grams of high-beta-glucan barley with rice, or rice and barley without beta-glucan. After 12 weeks, both groups had lower body-mass index scores, and smaller waist size, but the high-beta-glucan group had lost 1.5 square inches more abdominal—belly— fat area than placebo. Excess belly fat has a link to type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Beta-glucan fiber forms a gel in the small intestine that delays the absorption of nutrients and slows the release of glucose into the bloodstream, reducing the need for insulin.
Reference: Nutrition Journal; October, 2017, Published Online
Natural Insights for Well Being November 2017
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