It turns out that your grandmother’s advice was right – we should all start our day off with a hot bowl of nutritious oatmeal. Working this superfood into your diet will help you drop pounds, lower your cholesterol, and reduce your risk of heart disease.
Oatmeal Is Good for Your Heart
Oatmeal is chock-full of soluble fibre, which is known to lower LDL cholesterol. Just a cup and a half of oatmeal contains three grams of soluble fibre. As oatmeal passes through the body, it becomes a sticky substance. Cholesterol then sticks to the oatmeal, and passes out of the body, rather than being left behind in the arteries. Because oatmeal is a whole grain, it also helps reduce the risk of diabetes, a common risk-factor in heart disease.
Oatmeal Helps You Lose Weight
Not only does the soluble fibre in oatmeal help to lower cholesterol, it also helps manage weight. Eating fibre-rich oatmeal for breakfast will keep you feeling full, and make you less likely to grab an unhealthy snack before lunch.
This filling, stick-to-your-ribs meal is only 150 calories per half cup serving, and contains over six grams of protein and over four grams of fibre. Oatmeal also contains important vitamins and minerals, such as iron, thiamine, folic acid, vitamin E, magnesium, selenium, and zinc.
Boost the Nutritional Value of Your Oatmeal Breakfast
The easiest way to incorporate this healthy grain into your diet is start your day off with a hot bowl of oatmeal. But why stop there? Add nutritional value to an already healthy breakfast with a couple of ingredients.
First, make your hot oatmeal with skim milk instead of hot water. This simple substitution will add six grams of protein, 255 mg of potassium, 205 mg of calcium, vitamin B12, and vitamin D to your breakfast (based on adding 2/3 cup of skim milk to your oatmeal).
For added flavour variety try adding sliced bananas or fresh blueberries to your oatmeal, or sprinkle a half teaspoon of cinnamon on top.
Make the Most of Your Oats
And there is no need to limit healthy whole grain oats to just breakfast. When ground into a powder, oats can be used as a substitution of all purpose flour in baking. You can also use it in recipes for homemade smoothies, or as a thickening agent in soups and strews.
You can also try sprinkling toasted oats on top of low-fat yogurt or fresh fruit, or substituting your tried and true dessert recipes for a healthy and low-fat fruit crisp.
Sources:
Griffin, R. Morgan. “The New Low-Cholesterol Diet: Oatmeal & Oat Bran,” WebMD. February 2, 2009.
Magee, Elaine. “11 Simple Steps to a Healthier Diet,” WebMD. April 27, 2009.
Sorgen, Carol. “Five Super Foods for Your Heart,” WebMD. August 28, 2008.
Heather Loney - Heather is a journalist and photographer living in Canada. She graduated from the University of Guelph with a degree in philosophy, and ...
