Oatmeal Benefits

Besides being delicious, oats are also considered one of the most nutritious breakfast foods that you can eat as they are low in saturated fat and sodium and have no cholesterol.

Oats are a good source of protein and dietary fiber and a very good source of manganese.

Among their health benefits, oats seem to:

Satisfy your hunger and make you feel full. Researchers in Australia found that oats ranked #3 overall for satiety and #1 in the breakfast category.

Lower bad cholesterol. Overweight men who ate oats for 12 weeks had lower LDL cholesterol levels than those eating wheat cereal (while their “good” HDL cholesterol remained unchanged.)

Help control blood pressure. Hypertensive and hyperinsulinemic men and women eating oats reduced systolic blood pressure by an average of 7.5mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by an average of 5.5mm Hg.

Improve insulin sensitivity. In a clinical trial, 97 men and women who ate oats showed improvements in insulin sensitivity compared to the control group (whose insulin sensitivity remained unchanged.)

Help cut laxative use. Fifty-nine percent of nursing home residents getting 7-8 grams of oat bran each day were able to discontinue laxative use compared to an 8 percent increase in its use in the control group after just 6 weeks.

Eating Oats: Endless Possibilities

But it gets better. Oatmeal is great for your body and your taste buds, and it is also extremely versatile.

There are several different types of oats that you can choose from:

Instant Oats is a “convenience oat” because it has been diced to cook quickly in the microwave. Not a fan of microwaves but if its your only choice…

Old-Fashioned Oats are your typical oats that have been rolled and flattened and are the variety used in traditional oatmeal.

Steel-Cut Oats are non-rolled oats that are finely chopped and are a bit chewier in texture than old-fashioned oats.

Whole Oat Groats are the least processed oats, which have simply been harvested and cleaned. They also take the longest time to cook.

Plus, there are multiple ways to prepare oatmeal! The choices for toppings are endless, including everything from nuts and dried fruit to almond butter and maple syrup. Bon appetite!