Yesterday, I ate a whear/oat bran mixture that I bought from the store
about 2 weeks ago and ended up having problems sleeping the same
night. Was it because the bran went bad? Does anyone know the shelf
life of wheat/oat bran?
I am aware that the germ is removed from the wheat kernel to prevent
rancidity, but I thought the wheat bran outer hull was removed for
taste reasons. would it be correct to assume that the bran, like the
wheat germ, is removed for rancidity reasons also?

On Fri, 31 Oct 2003 15:57:54 -0800, john wrote:

> Yesterday, I ate a whear/oat bran mixture that I bought from the store
> about 2 weeks ago and ended up having problems sleeping the same night.
> Was it because the bran went bad? Does anyone know the shelf life of
> wheat/oat bran?
> I am aware that the germ is removed from the wheat kernel to prevent
> rancidity, but I thought the wheat bran outer hull was removed for taste
> reasons. would it be correct to assume that the bran, like the wheat germ,
> is removed for rancidity reasons also?

Wheat bran is primarlily composed of undigestable (by humans) complex
carbohydrates. Carbs that cannot be digested by humans are generally
referred to as "fiber" in the diet. It shouldn't go bad. Given reasonably
proper storage (kept sealed air tight in a cool, dry environment) I would
think the shelf life would be quite long.

Wheat germ, OTOH, is easily subject to going rancid because of the oils
present.

That said, you may have a food allergy problem that makes you sensitive to
wheat bran fiber even if there is nothing wrong with the food.

(john) wrote in message . com>...
> Yesterday, I ate a whear/oat bran mixture that I bought from the store
> about 2 weeks ago and ended up having problems sleeping the same
> night. Was it because the bran went bad? Does anyone know the shelf
> life of wheat/oat bran?
> I am aware that the germ is removed from the wheat kernel to prevent
> rancidity, but I thought the wheat bran outer hull was removed for
> taste reasons. would it be correct to assume that the bran, like the
> wheat germ, is removed for rancidity reasons also?
If you are not used to eating fibrous material before going to bed
then you will indeed have difficulty in sleeping.
I used to have that peculiarity when I tried a fibrous vegetarian diet
and I also have some sleeping problems;but you will get used to it
anyway.

Your question that bran went bad is a conjecture..
as bran is nothing but fibrous matter and have minimal or no fat
content that can be reason for spoilage.
In comparison wheat germ is more prone to spoilage because of the high
level of unsaturated fatty acids in it that is why its removed or
toasted to deactivate the enzymes that catalyzes the spoilage.
But wheat germ is added for nutritional purpose as well.
But bran is not removed, because if that is so then why did these
cereal manufacturers declare it contains bran if it was absent?
On the other hand....
I think your self consciousness is the main reason that you cannot get
to sleep easily.Nutritional freaks occasionally fall in this category
by being fastidious on foodstuff they eat that they worry if what they
eat will make them healthy.
I hope you are not in this category as you will need psychiatric help
then <g>.

Roy