Why Are Bran Muffins Good for You?

You probably have a favorite recipe for bran muffins, perhaps handed down from your mother or grandmother. These days, you don’t have to make your mother’s bran muffins. There are all sorts of new bran muffin recipes and some of the new ingredients make the bran muffins even healthier snacks and a better complement to any breakfast or brunch.

Consider adding blueberries, cranberries or figs, all healthy fruits with their own positive health effects. Or perhaps you might like to add pecans, almond slivers or walnuts or seeds – equally healthy choices.   

But what is the fuss about bran muffins after all? Are they really that good for you? The answer is a resounding yes. The new bran muffin recipes are tasty, and still just as healthy as those we made in the 1970s at the height of the craze. As a snack or side to a meal, bran adds crucial fiber to your diet. Fiber is good for your heart, your digestive system and your blood sugar and decreases your chances of diabetes and heart disease. It is also a good way to boost your weight loss program.

All of this good health in a bran muffin! The fact is that most Americans do not get enough fiber in their daily diet and that affects the way their bodies work and increases the likelihood of certain diseases. While your family and friends may think of bran muffins as a steady diet of saw dust, you now know better.  

Sure, you can get your fiber with flakes mixed in a daily drink, but why not get creative and get healthy with an orange-cranberry bran muffin or a walnut-raisin bran muffin, a blueberry-banana bran muffin, or a cinnamon-date bran muffin? These are just a few ideas. There are so many more available. Use your favorite search engine and visit a recipe or cooking TV show web site and find the bran muffin recipes suggested by celebrity chefs. Bran muffins and fiber should not be seen as punishment when they can be tasty treats to make your healthy. Yes, Virginia, bran muffins are good for you. So, go forth and bake!