The benefits of oatmeal

A lot of people eat oatmeal for breakfast (or for lunch, dessert or in between their meals). I am pretty sure if I'd ask you: "what is oatmeal?" You would have an answer like "just some cereal I buy when I go grocery shopping..." Okay, allright, that is correct. Although, the scientific answer is a little bit different. Oatmeal is prepared from oat grains, after washing, dehusking and heathing they won't be called oat grains any longer. There new name will be oat groats - it's the seed inside the husk. The oat groats may be milled into different sizes (fine, medium, coarse). Afterwards they will be steamed and flattened to produce smaller oats. Rolled oats are better than instant oats. Instant oats have added sugar and salt, which makes it less healthy.

You can mix the oats with water or milk to make some delicious, mouth-watering oatmeal. Yummy. 

In spite of their pleasant taste, oatmeal has many other pleasant benefits, which I'd like to share with you.  

The main reason of the benefits of oatmeal are dietary fibers. There are two types of dietary fibers, insoluble and soluble fibers. 

• As their name explains - insoluble fibers can not be digested by the small intestine. Their role is absorbing water when they move through the GI tract (gastrointestinal tract), because of this function it makes stools heavier. This will ease the bowel movements. Insoluble fibers also bind with certain bile acids, which reduces their toxicity. As a result there will be a lower risk of cancer. 

The good and the bad cholesterol

• Soluble fibers can be digested by the small intestine, during this breakdown they attract water and form a gel that will trap carbohydrates and slow down the absorption of glucose. This may lead to a lower variance in blood sugar level, which benefits people with diabetes.
  People who suffer from hypercholesterolemia (in normal language: high levels of cholesterol) have benefits of eating oatmeal also. Soluble fibers will trap some substances related to high cholesterol as well. There are different types of cholesterol low density lipoproteins (LDL) and high density lipoproteins (HDL). Lipoproteins contain both lipids and proteins and are soluble in water. Because of this characteristic lipoproteins are very important in the transport of lipids. There are many different lipoproteins: chylomicrons, VLDL, IDL, LDL and HDL. Those last two are the ones I'd like to discuss. LDL carries cholesterol from the liver to cells of the body. HDL collects cholesterol from the body's tissues and brings it back to the liver. Everyone knows a high cholesterol level is bad, so a particle who carries cholesterol towards the body cells is also bad. LDL = bad. On the other hand HDL collects cholesterol, so HDL is good.
  Ok, to the point what do LDL and HDL have to do with oatmeal? Well, the soluble fibers in oatmeal may reduce LDL cholesterol, without lowering the HDL cholesterol. Amazing, isn't it?

Oatmeal has a lot of carbohydrates, you need the carbohydrates for energy supply to your body. Just like a car needs fuel to drive, our body need fuel to do ordinary activities. This fuel is not only carbohydrates, also fats and protein are fuel to your body.  Carbohydrates are the most important, considering their ability to store energy in the form of starch and glycogen.

Some people might even lose weight by eathing oatmeal. See, carbs aren't that bad! The fibers (yes, there they are again) in the oatmeal will make your stomach feel full, as a result you're less hungry the rest of the day!

You see, oatmeal is a healthy way to start your day! :) 

© Marlou