Extra time is needed for food to leave the stomach. That means more satisfaction with fewer calories. Fiber pills are advertised as promoting weight loss. For lifetime weight control include more fiber in everyday food choices. Legitimate scientific studies of oat bran, oatmeal and beans have shown significant reductions in blood cholesterol.
Preliminary research indicates that corn bran, carrots and apples can reduce cholesterol.
Although brown rice contains soluble fiber, no research to date has documented cholesterol lowering. There are no hard and fast rules or guarantees when it comes to lowering blood cholesterol by eating foods high in soluble fiber. People with higher cholesterol levels appear to have greater cholesterol lowering than people with normal levels. Though one research group has found no difference between oatmeal and oat bran, most researchers agree that you have to eat twice as much oatmeal to get the same cholesterol-lowering benefits as oat bran. This won't appeal to everyone.