ASK THE EXPERTS

Q. I really suffer with bloating – I feel bloated most of the time. Will eating All-Bran help me to feel less bloated?

A. The word ‘bloating’ is often used to cover anything from feeling slightly full after eating, to being uncomfortably bloated with a measurably distended stomach. We know that this feeling of ‘bloatedness’ can be caused by a sluggish digestion and not going to the toilet regularly. Eating a healthy overall diet, with a variety of fruit and vegetables, and introducing higher fibre foods, like All-Bran into your regular diet should help to keep your digestive tract working well and reduce any bloating that you may experience. And of course, make sure you’re drinking enough fluid and participating in regular exercise. If your bloating is severe or accompanied by any pain, I would suggest that you contact your GP who can diagnose your symptoms and advise you according to your specific circumstances.

Q. Is Wheat Bran good for you?

A. Wheat bran is the coarse outer coating of the wheat grain, and is proven to increase transit time and increase faecal bulk. Put simply, wheat bran helps to move waste through your digestive system in an effective and timely manner, meaning that you can go to the toilet regularly and prevent uncomfortable symptoms like bloating and constipation. Wheat bran is found in wholewheat breakfast cereals, wholemeal pasta, wholemeal bread and foods with added bran like bran muffins and bran breakfast cereals. Of course, All-Bran is a great source of wheat bran. Wheat bran containing foods are often recommended as an effective and natural laxative.

Q. Which foods are good sources of vitamin D and iron?

A. We know that vitamin D is an essential nutrient and that we need it to help our can absorb calcium from the foods we eat. Vitamin D is unusual because it can be made in our bodies, through the action of sunlight on our skin. The best way to top levels up is to get 10 minutes of sun exposure to your bare skin, once or twice a day (depending on skin type), between the months of May to September, without sunscreen and taking care not to burn. Unfortunately, the British summer doesn’t always help us with this! Luckily there are some food sources of vitamin D. Oily fish (like salmon, mackerel and sardines), eggs, butter, fortified margarines and fortified breakfast cereals. Some Kellogg’s All-Bran cereals are fortified with vitamin D: Choco Wheats, All-Bran Original and Bran Flakes are all fortified with enough vitamin D per portion to meet 25% of your nutrient reference value (NRV) or daily recommended intake. For more information on vitamin D, see http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Vitamin-D.aspx

Q. How much salt is in All-Bran Chocolate Wheats?

A. Eating too much salt can be harmful to your health and result in high blood pressure. The salt content of breakfast cereals varies but generally, breakfast cereals account for only 2.7% of the total salt in the UK’s supermarket trolley. Our delicious Chocolate Wheats cereal has 0.02g salt per serving, or 0.05g salt per 100g, meaning it is classified as a ‘low salt’ food. A bowl of Chocolate Wheat provides <1% of your daily recommended intake (RI) for salt and 4.5g fibre.

Q. I’ve started eating All-Bran Original and have been eating it every day for nearly four days now. I have also been taking snacks to work like All-Bran Chocolate Wheats (they’re so delicious) and dried fruit for on-the-run. So far, I’ve been feeling quite bloated and ‘windy’. Is this normal?

A. Switching from a diet that is relatively low in fibre, to one that’s rich in fibre can be uncomfortable at first and cause bloating – it’s a big change for your body – but don’t give up. It sounds like you’re doing a great job and really trying to increase your fibre intake. Your body will start to adjust to the increased amount of fibre and for most people, the increase in fibre helps to ease bloating and move waste along the digestive tract. Just remember to keep drinking lots of fluid - for fibre to work effectively, it needs to absorb water. Fluids help to form the soft, bulky mass that is passed through the body and turned into waste. Water, tea, coffee, fruit juice, vegetables juices and even soups count towards your fluid intake. If you’re still feeling uncomfortable, try a more gradual approach to increasing fibre in your diet. All-Bran cereals have a range of fibre contents, from 3.5g per serving in Chocolate Wheats, to 11g per serving in All-Bran Original so try mixing it up a bit to introduce the higher fibre foods more slowly, and check out some of our recipe suggestions for more novel ways to get more fibre into your main meals.

Q. Does All-Bran Original and Bran Flakes contain insoluble or soluble fibre?

A. All of the cereals in the All-Bran range mainly contain insoluble fibre. You can read more about insoluble fibre on our . or the British Nutrition Foundation website: http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/basics/fibre.html.

Q. I'm looking for a portable source of insoluble fibre. Are there any foods that you can recommend that I can take with me when I need a snack?

A. All-Bran Breakfast Biscuits come in packs of 4 biscuits and two delicious flavours. They contain 6.4g fibre (Original) and 7.6g (Chocolate) fibre per portion. You could also try taking a portion of your favourite cereal to snack on, like All-Bran Golden Crunch – it keeps well in your bag! If you’re feeling creative, check out our recipe pages for tasty snack inspiration.

Q. Does All-Bran contain yeast?

A. No, our All-Bran cereals do not contain yeast.

Q. All-Bran Original in 87% wheat bran, but is it whole grain?

A. Kellogg’s All-Bran is the classic high-fibre cereal and does contains 87% wheat bran. Wholegrain is often used to help people choose high fibre foods, but as you can see with All-Bran, it is very high fibre (27g per 100g), but is not wholegrain. Therefore it is useful to look at the fibre content of a product as well as the wholegrain content. Anything with a fibre content above 6g per 100g is considered ‘high fibre’. Kellogg’s Bran Flakes, another high fibre choice, is made to a different recipe and has a whole grain content of 65g per 100g.

Q. Jean - Would All-Bran be better for the avoidance of constipation rather than Bran Flakes. I suffer from extraordinary passing of wind when on bran - any suggestions?

A. All-Bran original would indeed be our best product for helping with constipation as it contains the most amount of wheat bran fibre (which has been proven to increase stool transit time), however, our bran flakes still contain a sufficient amount of fibre to help with any digestive issues you’re having. Switching from a diet that is relatively low in fibre, to one that’s rich in fibre can be uncomfortable at first and cause bloating – it’s a big change for your body – but don’t give up. Your body will start to adjust to the increased amount of fibre and for most people, the increase in fibre helps to ease bloating and move waste along the digestive tract. Just remember to keep drinking lots of fluid - for fibre to work effectively, it needs to absorb water. Fluids help to form the soft, bulky mass that is passed through the body and turned into waste. Water, tea, coffee, fruit juice, vegetables juices and even soups count towards your fluid intake. If you’re still feeling uncomfortable, try a more gradual approach to increasing fibre in your diet. All-Bran cereals have a range of fibre contents, from 3.5g per serving in Chocolate Wheats, to 11g per serving in All-Bran Original so try mixing it up a bit to introduce the higher fibre foods more slowly, and check out some of our recipe suggestions for more novel ways to get more fibre into your main meals.

Q. Samantha - Wheat is supposed to be bad for you?

A. Wheat is not usually bad for you unless you are a coeliac. Sufferers of coeliac disease are unable to digest the gluten protein that is found within wheat; there’s varying degrees of the severity of symptoms and some people may be sensitive to gluten whereby they can’t eat it in large quantities, and others completely intolerant who just can’t eat it at all. If you don’t have a sensitivity to gluten then wholegrain wheat can be described as a very healthy food – particularly as it contains wheat bran. This is the coarse outer coating of the wheat grain, and is proven to increase transit time and increase faecal bulk. Put simply, wheat bran helps to move waste through your digestive system in an effective and timely manner, meaning that you can go to the toilet regularly and prevent uncomfortable symptoms like bloating and constipation.

Q. How much All-Bran is a serving? Does this assist in lowering cholesterol?

A. A 40g bowl of All-Bran Original contains 0.28g of saturated fat (without milk), which is just less than 1% of your daily RI. In fact, most of our All-Bran cereals are low in saturated fat, so you’ll be pleased to know that you can carry on enjoying your daily bowl without the worry of increasing your cholesterol levels. Reducing the amount of saturated fat in your diet helps to maintain normal blood cholesterol levels. Take a look at food labels to tell whether a food is low in saturated fat and to help you make better choices - foods low in saturated fat will have less than 1.5g saturated fat per 100g. Saturated fat is often labelled as ‘fat – of which saturates’ on the nutrition labelling.

Q. What can help with constipation?

A. Constipation actually affects one in seven adults in the UK at any one time. Constipation severity can vary from person to person – sometimes it’s short-lived but for some people it can be longer term. Either way, it can really disrupt quality of life and leave you feeling sluggish and not yourself. There are several lifestyle factors that can contribute to an increased risk of experiencing constipation; things like changing your dietary routine, emotions, pregnancy, ignoring the urge to ‘go’ and some medications and supplements. The good news is – there are ways to deal with it. One of the simplest ways is to make sure you’re eating enough fibre. Fibre provides bulk to the waste material that passes through our bodies and speed up the process, helping to keep us regular. Make sure you’re getting enough fibre in your diet by eating high fibre cereals, like All-Bran, and choosing higher fibre or wholegrain varieties of other common foods like bread, pasta and rice. Fruit and vegetables are good sources too, especially when eaten with the skins. Always make sure you’re drinking enough – 8 to 10 glasses of fluid a day is advisable and a little gentle exercise can work wonders! Hopefully that helps you a little with your symptoms, but if you’re concerned or are suffering for longer periods of time, we’d advise you to see your GP.