Ask any dietitian to recommend a healthy breakfast and you can bet they’ll recommend oats. It may be an underdog meal to most, but in my books it holds top dog status – especially when it comes to the nutrition it serves up.
Oatmeal is one my favourite meals to eat for breakfast (and if I’m being completely honest it doesn’t fall short of being my favourite meal overall). I know what you’re thinking – just plain oats for breakfast? Borrring. Don’t jump to conclusions friends – I jazz it up with fruit, peanut butter/nuts and seeds, etc. to make it nutritionally balanced and even more delicious (keep reading and I might just share one of my favourite recipes). Oats satiate me and give me the energy I need to rock my day (that and coffee of course). This tasty little grain is jam packed with nutrition, incredibly easy to prepare and very versatile.
So, lets get into it.
Oats: What Are They?
Oats are a whole grain. This means that all three parts of the grain – the bran, the endosperm and the germ – are still intact. These three parts contain nutrients that play an important role in your diet. For example, the bran layer is rich in fibre, vitamins and mineral. The endosperm contains the carbohydrates and proteins. And the germ contains antioxidants, healthy fats and vitamins.
The Dictionary of Oats
Lets brush up on that oatcabulary of yours…
Oat groats: These are oat kernels with the outer hard husks removed and then toasted. They are the least-processed form of oats and have the longest cooking time.
Preparation time: ~ 60 minutes
Steel-cut oats: These are essentially oat groats chopped into small pieces. These oats typically take longer to cook because they are less processed, Like oat groats they also take longer to digest which reduces their glycemic load (aka they do not cause a big spike in blood sugar when eaten) and keeps us feeling fuller for longer.
Preparation time: ~ 30-60 minutes
Rolled oats (old fashioned oats): These oats have been steamed and flattened during manufacturing. They have a shorter preparation time than the oat groats and steel-cut but still have a good nutritional value. Rolled oats are a great option when baking or making granola bars.
Preparation time: ~ 20-25 minutes
Quick-cooking oats: These are rolled oats that have been cut into smaller pieces and rolled thinner. This processing means they cook quickly.
Preparation time: ~10-15 minutes
Instant oatmeal: These oats are the most processed and contain the least amount of fibre per serving. You typically find them pre-packaged. Many varieties are high in sugar and salt – so if this is the variety you choose – read the ingredients!
Preparation time:~ 5 minutes
What should I choose?
When choosing oats I typically suggest steel-cut or rolled oats. Yes – these take a bit more preparation and time but they are also much more nutritious than the “instant” oats. Think of it this way – the less processed the oat is, the longer cooking time it will have, the more nutritious it will be.
Benefits of adding oats in your diet:
They are a good source of fibre
Fibre is found in plant foods and is something our bodies cannot digest or absorb. There are two basic forms of dietary fibre: soluble and insoluble fibre. To keep it simple think of it this way – if you submerge the fibre in water and it dissolves, it’s soluble. If it doesn’t, it’s insoluble.
Oats are soluble fibre superstars. A half-cup serving of steel-cut oats provides you with 8 grams of fibre! This can help us meet our daily target of 25 to 38 grams.
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They can lower your cholesterol levels
It’s believed that soluble fibre interferes with the reabsorption of bile in our digestive tract. Why would this help lower cholesterol? Well, let me explain. Our liver uses cholesterol to make bile, which helps us digest and absorb the fats we eat. So, when bile is released into the digestive tract soluble fibre binds to bile and sweeps it out into the toilet before it can be reabsorbed. Your body then has to replace the lost bile by removing cholesterol from the blood to make more bile in the liver . This results in lower blood cholesterol levels. How cool is that?!
The main soluble fibre in oats, β-glucan, is seen as the main active component responsible for their cholesterol-lowering effect. A meta-analysis looking at β-glucan’s cholesterol-lowering effect found that adding >3 grams/day to one’s diet might reduce LDL and total cholesterol (1).
They help feed our healthy gut bacteria
Oats contain resistant starch, which is technically not a fibre but behaves in a very similar way. Resistant starch passes through our small intestine (undigested) and makes it way to the large intestine where it acts as a prebiotic and feeds the bacteria needed for a healthy gut (2).
They keep you feeling full
The soluble fibre in oats forms a gel in the stomach, delaying/slowing digestion and absorption of nutrients in the gut, making one feeling fuller for a longer period (3).
They help stabilize blood sugar
Foods that contain soluble fibre, such as oats, may help stabilize blood sugar levels by slowing glucose absorption into our bloodstream.
Overnight Oats Recipe
Now that your an expert in all things oats give my favourite quick and easy go-to oatmeal recipe a try. Enjoy!
Serves: 1
Ingredients
- ½ cup old fashioned / steel cut oats
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 cup plant-based milk (oat, almond, soy, etc.)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a jar or a small tupperware.
- Shake to combine well. Make sure the mixture is perfectly combined!
- Place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Top with berries or try hemp hearts/ nuts/ seeds or natural peanut butter for extra protein
References:
1) Othman, R. A., Moghadasian, M. H., & Jones, P. J. (2011). Cholesterol-lowering effects of oat β-glucan. Nutrition reviews, 69(6), 299–309. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2011.00401.x
2) Young, G. P., & Le Leu, R. K. (2004). Resistant starch and colorectal neoplasia. Journal of AOAC International, 87(3), 775–786.
3) Giacco, R., Della Pepa, G., Luongo, D., & Riccardi, G. (2011). Whole grain intake in relation to body weight: from epidemiological evidence to clinical trials. Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases : NMCD, 21(12), 901–908. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2011.07.003
