Oats

             

Starting your day with a steaming bowl of oats not only start your kick start your day with a tasty breakfast but it also has many health benefits too. Eating oats in your diet provides a wide range of important health benefits especially if you are dealing with diabetes or heart disease. It has been ranked one among the best foods for fighting cholesterol. Generally oats are consumed as oatmeal porridge with milk or vegetables, or can be added to baked goods, another good way is to grind them to flour and add to whole wheat flour to make chapattis or baked goods. Oats are one of the gluten-free grains, so can be safely consumed by those who must avoid gluten in their diet (just be sure that they are not contaminated with some other grains).

1 cup of oats (whole grain, cooked with water) contains:

• Calories: 147 k cal
• Fat: 2.3 g
• Carbohydrates: 25.3 g
• Protein: 6 g
• Fiber: 3.98 g

    Benefits of Eating Oats 

1. Lowering of Cholesterol: Oatmeal and oat bran contain significant amount of dietary fiber. Out of which half is soluble and the other half is insoluble fibers. Soluble fiber found in oats contains beta-glucans, which has been proven very effective in lowering blood cholesterol.
2. Controlling Diabetes:  Eating oats is known to stop rapid rise in blood sugar after the consumption as they are slow digesting carbs sugar is release over longer period of time so that there are no spikes. This is very important to control blood glucose and insulin levels, and helps to prevent many complications which are associated with Type 2 diabetes.
3. Helps in Controlling Hypertension: A daily serving of whole oats rich in soluble fiber can reduce hypertension, or high blood pressure.
4. Reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease: Oats also contain phytochemicals, such as avenanthramides (a type of antioxidant), in a study conducted by Tufts University researchers, oats have been known to help prevent free radicals from damaging LDL cholesterol thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
5. Improve digestion: Oats are rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber. Fiber is essential in keeping bowel movements regular. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water and is able to absorb lots of liquids. It makes stools heavier and smooth which speeds up their passage through the gut, and helps in reliving constipation.
6. Weight Control: If you are watching your weight, oats can help you in just that, oats contain soluble fiber and upon digestion, it forms a gel, which causes the viscosity of the contents of the stomach and small intestine to be increased. This delay in emptying your stomach makes you full for longer period and helps to combat frequent hunger.
7. Good source of Protein: Oats are rich in protein (One cup cooked oats have about 6g of protein) that is almost twice the amount in similar quantity of wheat flakes or other grains, and if you consume it with 1 cup hot milk it adds to protein that’s why a bowl of hot oatmeal with milk keeps you full for longer times. Also, the quality of the protein is superior to the quality of protein found in wheat or other grains.  Protein is used to build, repair, and maintain all body tissues and provide the body energy.
8. Antioxidant Properties: Oats are very good source of selenium which is a co-factor of the important oxidant glutathione peroxides. Selenium works with vitamin E as an oxidant and help in decreasing asthma symptoms and prevention of heart disease. In addition to this selenium also has been associated with reducing risk for cancer.