Some aspects of bile acid and urobilinogen excretion and fecal elimination in men given a rural Guatemalan diet and egg formulas with and without added oat bran.

Six healthy men were fed a formula diet with and without oat bran and a natural food diet typical of rural Guatemala. No significant difference in dye transit time was found between diets but the Guatemalan diet significantly decreased dye retention time and increased stool frequency. Serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels showed no significant differences among dietary treatments. Excretion of fecal bile acids significantly increased on the Guatemalan and oat bran diets, but fecal bile acid concentration was significantly lower only on the Guatemalan diet. Urinary urobilinogen excretion and fecal urobilinogen concentration were significantly lower with the Guatemalan diet.