Hormonal
Oat beta-glucan lowers cholesterol by modulating gut microbiota to increase bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity, which deconjugates bile acids, reduces their reabsorption, and forces the liver to synthesize new bile acids from cholesterol.
Your gut bacteria play a key role in how oat beta-glucan lowers cholesterol. By feeding specific bacteria that produce bile salt hydrolase, oat beta-glucan helps your body excrete more cholesterol. This happens naturally when you eat oats regularly.
Evidence from in vitro fecal fermentation studies and rodent and human intervention studies suggest that oat beta-glucan consumption increases levels of bacteria in the gut with known BSH activity... Elevated bacterial BSH activity can reduce engagement of FXR in the intestine, increase bile acid excretion and increase de novo synthesis of bile acids in the liver.
Why this rating
Supported by animal models, in vitro studies, and some human probiotic studies, though human direct evidence for beta-glucan specifically modulating BSH is noted as needing further work.
Source
The Cholesterol-Lowering Effect of Oats and Oat Beta Glucan: Modes of Action and Potential Role of Bile Acids and the Microbiome
Susan A. Joyce et al. · Frontiers in Nutrition · 2019
DOI 10.3389/fnut.2019.00171
More from this paper
Related findings · Hormonal
- Initial treatment for type 2 diabetes should be a combination of metformin and either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or a GLP-1 receptor agonist to achieve cardiorenal protection, rather than monotherapy or older agents like sulfonylureas.Strong
- For patients with specific monogenic obesity syndromes (leptin deficiency, POMC/PCSK1/LEPR mutations), targeted pharmacotherapy (recombinant leptin or setmelanotide) is highly effective and should be prioritized, unlike in polygenic obesity.Strong
- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →