Method and means for improving bowel health

A method for decreasing pH of bowel contents, increasing total short chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentration in the bowel contents, increasing total SCFA amount in the bowel contents, increasing concentration of one SCFA in the bowel contents or increasing the amount of one SCFA in the bowel contents, increasing fecal bulk in the bowel, increasing total water volume of the bowel contents, increasing total water volume of feces or reducing fecal levels of putrefactive products in the bowel contents in a mammalian animal, comprising the step of feeding the animal an effective amount of an altered wheat starch in the form of whole, milled, ground, pearled, rolled, kibbled, par-boiled or cracked grain of a wheat plant, wherein the proportion of amylose in the starch of the whole, milled, ground, pearled, rolled, kibbled, par-boiled or cracked grain of the wheat plant is 30% to 37% and wherein said grain comprises

• i) a reduced level of starch synthase IIa (SSIIa) enzyme relative to wild-type whole, milled, ground, pearled, rolled, kibbled, par-boiled or cracked grain;
• and
• ii) starch with a decreased gelatinisation temperature relative to the starch of wild-type whole, milled, ground, pearled, rolled, kibbled, par-boiled or cracked grain, as measured by differential scanning calorimetry.