A food is modified by adding bran that has been treated with super-heated steam (SHS) to the food, or replacing the bran that already was present in the food by a cereal bran that has been treated with SHS. The SHS-treated cereal bran may or may not have undergone a pre-treatment with acid, base or water. The SHS-treated cereal bran and food products including such SHS-treated cereal bran have enhanced nutritional value.