This entry was posted 13 years, 7 months ago.
November 4, 2009
For the last decades, the popularity of oatmeal, or crushed oats, has been increasing on global level. More and more people around the world learn about numerous nutritional and health benefits of oatmeal, and start eating a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast on a daily basis. Before, oatmeal was commonly consumed in the form of porridge prepared after soaking the grains overnight in water and cooking on a low fire. In old Scottish and Irish cuisines oatmeal was also used as an ingredient for cookies and bakery, puddings and special oatcakes, as well as other traditional meals.
In our times, it is difficult to find a better and more useful breakfast idea than a bowl of oatmeal with low fat milk or with dried fruit and nuts. It is a very nutritious type of meal which will not make us feel hungry for quite long time. Oatmeal is a wonderful natural source of Vitamins B and E, a group of important minerals and very valuable dietary fiber, both soluble and insoluble. Specialists underline that it is exactly fiber that can provide us with, probably, the most important health benefits of oatmeal. Those include lowering the risks of having heat disease and suffering from other cardio-vascular diseases, improving our digestion and assisting in effective bowel cleaning, as well as protecting us against some types of cancer.
Another principal benefit of oatmeal is its property to lower blood cholesterol level and help in weight loss. It can be achieved due to a high content of betaglucan, a type of soluble dietary fiber. Consuming oatmeal on a regular basis can help us to provide our body with such important elements as iron, calcium, magnesium, thiamine and phosphorus, which are vital for normal development and function of our bones, muscles and teeth. Besides, oatmeal contains great amounts of one more important element zinc, which is essential for normal metabolism, normal reproduction and development of new tissues, as well as for glucose tolerance and nucleic acid stabilization.
Oatmeal is a universal and very useful meal for children and adult people, for babies and pregnant women. It is a perfect source of proteins. In addition, it is a sugar-free, low calories and low sodium meal which can be a great option for those who suffer from high blood pressure and for those who have some weight management problems. In order to enjoy the full variety of health benefits of oatmeal, be sure that you are buying not refined but whole grains. Certainly, processed grains lose the majority of useful elements and nutrients during the production.
Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.
January 20th, 2010 at 2:01 am
What are the benefits of just adding uncooked organic steel cut oats to foods? Must the oats be cooked to reap the benefits? What if you added these uncooked oats to blenderized vita-mix fruit/veggie drinks? Healthy idea or dumb idea? Thanks for any help you can give me!
Tanya
February 16th, 2010 at 7:37 am
I need to know the benefits of white oats and oat bran. Can you please give the reply of it.
March 6th, 2010 at 7:52 am
Great share, thank you! Believe me, oatmeal is also good for the hair. Mix up some oatmeal, then apply it to your hair while in the shower. Rub it in and let it sit for about 1-2 minutes before washing it out completely,. Your hair will be soft and strong.