I’m new to this forum but not new to the keto diet. The reason I decided to join this forum is because I was trying to find out (actually confirm, since I already knew the answer) if any type of bran, but especially wheat and oat bran, are keto-friendly.
I was very surprised that this question generated such misinformation and misunderstanding. Basically many people who answered this question confused the difference between whole wheat and wheat bran as well as between oatmeal (or oats) and oat bran. OF COURSE, whole wheat and oatmeal aren’t keto-friendly, since they have a fair number of usable carbs. But wheat BRAN as well as oatBRAN have a lot of fiber, and so, far fewer usable carbs–since they lack the endosperm and germ component. For example, wheat bran has about 6 grams of usable carbs in 1/2 cup (= 1 ounce, dry), 3 carbs in a 1/4 cup (=4 TBS), and 1.5 grams in 1/8 cup (=2 TBS), and .75g in 1/16 cup (=1 TBS), and .25g carb in a teaspoon. So you see why I might change the common saying about apples to “Adding a TBS/tsp of wheat bran a day helps to keep constipation at bay”–while only supplying .75/.25 g carb. Now isn’t that something that could help with constipation without wrecking your carb count?(Now granted, oat bran has about four times as many usable carbs as wheat bran, because it weighs a lot more. Still, a teaspoon of oat bran only has about 1 g carb, not too shabby, either.)
Perhaps some of the people answering this question aren’t aware of the fact that, in just about any health food store, you can buy pure wheat bran and pure oat bran. Prior to going on the ketogenic diet (I was on a whole grain, legume, veggie, reduced meat diet), I used to buy wheat and oat bran at a health food store regularly for the fiber to reduce the problem of constipation. (Actually, I found this to be overkill, since most whole grains and legumes have enough fiber.)
However, since the ketogenic diet make us prone to insufficient fiber intake, I wanted to suggest that perhaps, in addition to the psyllium husks or powder and nuts & seeds, we could ALSO use pure bran, especially wheat bran, oat bran, and even corn bran as a way to increase our fiber intake.
So far, I haven’t come across one online answer that clearly understands these facts about bran–and therefore adequately answers the question. Surely, someone besides me knows this. But don’t trust my word for it–go online and google the information about wheat and oat bran.
I hope this helps those of you who aren’t getting enough fiber and want to expand your repertoire of available sources of keto-friendly fiber.
Confusion between whole wheat and wheat bran
Hi Al, and welcome to the forum! I think there are so many folks on here who find that almost all forms of grains are problematic for their guts, plus there’s a fair amount of controversy around the whole fiber question (whether our need for it is vastly overstated), so it doesn’t surprise me that keto folks aren’t very receptive when it comes to wheat or oat bran. But it’s great that you’ve found something that you’re happy with 
Perhaps insufficient in regards to the RDA for people eating a SAD. But if you are eating single item, whole foods, the need for fiber is greatly diminished and perhaps unnecessary.
In his book The Obesity Code , Jason Fung likens the relationship between processed foods and fiber as poison is to antidote and says that without the poison, the antidote in unnecesary .
Futhermore, he says, It is no coincidence that virtually all plant foods, in their natural, unrefined state, contain fiber. Mother Nature has pre-packaged the “antidote” with the "poison . Processed foods remove fiber for palatability and profit.
Dr. Zoe Harcombe says that fiber is a subset of carbohydrate and she describes carbohydrate as a non-essential nutrient.
The lower limit of dietary carbohydrate compatible with life apprently is zero, provided that adequate protein and fat are consumed.
If you want the longer version:
Personally I used to use Colace and Senna twice a day and I was still plugged up a lot of the time before keto. Now I consume just keto foods, no softeners and I was constipated a little one day in the last nine months. I attribute that to inadequate salt and hydration the previous day. Fiber is needed and recommended for people who eat highly processed foods. You’re keto vegetables have all the necessary fiber and without consuming them (carnivore) fiber is contradicted and completely unnecessary. I don’t hear any of the carnivores here complaining about constipation.
Those grains you mention are much much worse than eating even processed sugar itself. [1][2][3]
Try Chia seeds for constipation better than anything on planet earth but never use too much, just a pinch in whatever and be consistent? Ancestors ate seeds, roots (tubers and its raw juices) and fruit not grains for fiber/cellulose…
A little bite of a veggie or fruit (treat it more like medicine than real food/meat and fat) here and their is nice but when your shoveling them in constantly like they are your last meal, three times a day or more that’s not good either and why we get so fat and bloated with acid reflux and constipated.
People simply eat too much food, a slice of bacon, one egg, a quarter of an avocado and I’m good to go for hours or days until I’’m hungry again which could be two days later…that’s how the magic really works for me! Why fast when you can do it perpetually and eat too? An austere and hormetic discipline that becomes effortless eventually!
Related:
[1] Amylopectin: 3 Reasons to Avoid Foods with This Type of Starch
[2] What Is Amylose? Top 9 Benefits + Side Effects of This Resistant Starch
[3] Never confuse processed foods or grains with sprouted seeds like wheat with Whole Foods! “…BACKGROUND DATA: Pre-Neolithic man did not eat grain and archeologists found less than 1% of teeth or bones in those skeletons had degenerative disease. Neolithic man started grain agriculture practices and archeologists found up to 47% of teeth were decayed, abscessed or lost and bone disease (osteoporosis) appeared. …” …More
When I was backpacking in years past before I ever heard of low carb or keto I was always constipated. Now I’m backpacking on a keto diet and I’m never constipated. I only get a little fiber every few days when I get a lettuce wrap burger and salad in town. You have to order extra vegi’s to replace the potatoes and bun or else get burned on the price of a burger.
There are essential fatty acids and essential amino acids, there is no essential carbohydrate acid. Fiber is not required for health and in fact may cause more detriment than it relieves.
I would like to meet someone who went to the doctor to complain of “not enough bulk in my stool”.
Finally: http://www.ketotic.org/2017/11/does-ketogenic-diet-confer-benefits-of.html
Thanks, Madeleine. And yes, I’m beginning to see that many “ketogenics” are just as dogmatic about their view of bran as non-ketogenics about their view of fats. Not surprising, I guess, but I think there is hope for a more well-rounded point of view. The question of whether or not I’ll become keto-adapted, using some bran, will reveal itself in time.
I used to have a favorite breakfast - 1/3 cup oat bran cereal with 1/8 cup wheat bran added in, cooked on the stove like normal, with some cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and a light drizzle of maple syrup.
Great fiber profile - plenty of both soluble and insoluble, and not a huge net carb count, but certainly up there around 30g or so net.
After about 2 months on the keto diet I decided I would try it again (minus the maple syrup). For some reason, about 2 hours after that bowl of carbs for breakfast, I was just utterly exhausted and needed to lie down and take a nap. Like at noon. Just had to sleep.
I plan at some time to try it again, to see if I get the same reaction.
I don’t have constipation. I get plenty of fiber from leafy greens, salads, vegetables, and nuts.
Hi Carl, I watched both videos: my comments focus primarily on the second, longer one. Perhaps this may surprise you, I wasn’t that impressed. From a critical thinking point of view, I can tell you that, although she was quite funny, it was easy for her to win the argument against Graham, White, and Kellogg, and others–essentially strawmen whose views are no longer considered relevant and/or scientific. It’s easy to knock down weak (outdated, unscientific), i.e., strawman arguments. It would have been more impressive, had she taken on opposing opinions of other highly qualified dietitians and MDs whose arguments aren’t so easy to knock down as the strawman opinions she beat up on.
On the other hand, I agreed with much that Dr. Harcombe had to say. And, to be clear, I myself am following a strict ketogenic diet and continue to read and research the topic, including criticisms of it. But, I think that, like so many other gung-ho ketogenics, she goes to extremes–and without providing any more evidence than the people she castigates. At this time, I myself doubt whether most of us on a ketogenic diet can get by without taking in extra fiber. True, our remote ancestors didn’t need to, but then again we live in a different time and world, that requires some adjustments they didn’t have to make.
I doubt human physiology has evolved to necessitate fiber in the past 2000 years. Evolution doesn’t work that quickly. If we and our ancestors have been around for 2 million years, 2000 years is .001% of our timeline.
It’s probably not so much dogma as experience: I think most folks find they have better digestion on keto and what I see from posts of veterans is that any need for fiber supplementation disappears, especially if they’re staying on top of their electrolytes. Also once you’ve started to see conventional wisdom for what it is- not very wise and not based on science- you start to question lots of other standard beliefs: low salt, the need for fiber, cardio to burn calories, etc.
But we’re all different, and n=1 is what it comes down to in the end. If you feel the need for extra fiber and you tolerate grains, that’s great.
Here’s a study that concluded:
Idiopathic constipation and its associated symptoms can be effectively reduced by stopping or even lowering the intake of dietary fiber.
The role of dietary fiber in constipation is analogous to cars in traffic congestion. The only way to alleviate slow traffic would be to decrease the number of cars and to evacuate the remaining cars quickly. Should we add more cars, the congestion would only be worsened.
I am genuinely curious what issue it is you think we need fiber to address?
I have been on a low carb diet for about 9 months now and my digestive processes seem to be working normally.
First, I follow a strict ketogenic diet, with an intake of between 15 and 20 grams of carbs.a day. I’ve been on a ketogenic diet for a couple of months now and have, on and off, problems with constipation. If you don’t, well good for you. The fact is, taking extra fiber (mainly chia and flax seeds and, recently added, wheat bran) has helped me to have less constipation. I’m not the only one who has had this problem. Your claim that fiber is non-essential is just that, a claim, indeed an unsupported one. You simply seem to be parroting Dr. Holcombe’s claims in her videos. Claiming it doesn’t make it true. My claim about fiber is based on my own experience and, incidentally, backed up by some prominent ketogenic MDs. I’d rather go with my own experience any day than with dogmatic claims by some supposed authority, not widely accepted as true–and certainly not in accord with my own experience.
Good thing we can reply on the educated to come along and condescendingly explain things in little words for our little brains.
Carl, please refer to my comments about my own need for fiber on Dread’s post.
As to your other comments (one about the evolution of human physiology, the other about comparing the role of fiber to cars in a traffic jam)–I’m flabbergasted. The need for dietary fiber has, in my opinion, nothing to do with changes in human physiology, but rather with the hunting and gathering nature of obtaining food versus our contemporary lifestyles. My guess (and it’s only a guess) is that they were able to obtain more fiber naturally. How? I don’t know.
As to comparing the role of fiber in constipation to the role of cars in a traffic jams: is this supposed to be a good argument? Obviously, it’s not, it’s just an analogy. Analogies can be good or bad. This is a bad one: what on earth do fiber and cars have in common that you would make such a comparison?
Hi John, I’m glad you asked that question. The reason I brought up this topic is because I’ve been having problems with constipation despite sufficient hydration, electrolytes, etc. Based on my own experience, taking additional fiber (besides chia, flax, and other seeds), bran for me served to increase my repertoire of fiber and has, in fact, considerably reduced both the frequency and severity of my constipation. In fact, occurrences of constipation are just about gone. If you or anyone else can get by without adding extra fiber, that’s great.
Since you’ve been on a low carb diet for about 9 months, I’m curious, are you keto-adapted? I’m also curious, did you have any problems with constipation (or other problems) in the first month or so? It may be that once I become keto-adapted, I may no longer need any extra fiber. So, I don’t see why some of the posters are so adamant that fiber is not necessary. Maybe for them it is no longer is an issue.