Fall has arrived, the cold weather is on its way and once again I think about oatmeal. Oatmeal is always on my list of the top ten healthy foods to be enjoyed all year long, but I think it's a great food to write about as we head into Fall. I call it a magical food because of the health benefits we get from eating it. While many of us have come to love this grain, many more of us don't. In fact, it has been estimated by the USDA that only about 5% of the world's oat crop is consumed by us humans. So, let's take a look at how nutritious and versatile oats and in particular oatmeal can be!Oatmeal's Magical Benefits include:
It Lowers cholesterol: Oatmeal contains soluble fiber which binds to bile (bile helps us to absorb fat and cholesterol from our diet). Less bile, less fat and cholesterol absorbed! Then the liver makes bile from our stored cholesterol to compensate for the lowered absorbed amount, lowering our cholesterol levels further. Lower levels of total cholesterol are associated with lower rates of heart disease. Of course if we eat too much fat, let's say on one of those high protein diets, eating our magical food won't make magic.
Cancer Fighting Properties: Grains contain a phytochemical called "phytic acid". This phyto binds to certain minerals thought to cause free radical production especially in our colon and it eliminates them instead.
Weight Control: Low in fat, and a "stick to your ribs food", oatmeal, a complex carbohydrate has a low glycemic index.This means it is turned into a simple sugar very slowly. What does this do? It raises our blood sugar slowly by staying in the stomach longer, which decreases our hunger and cravings created by those other simple carbohydrate foods (we all know which foods I'm referring to). End result: more sustained energy, and less junk food cravings. Don't forget that our brain gets fed from this complex carb food too! Oatmeal is also a great carbohydrate for diabetics.
Nutrient Density: The nutrients in fortified oatmeal include all the B vitamins including the heart healthy Folate which lowers homocysteine levels (another heart disease risk factor), and it also includes iron, calcium, Vitamin A, protein and more. All this plus fiber, virtually no fat, low sodium and no cholesterol. At about 140 calories per cup, I consider this an all around good deal. Eat oat bran oatmeal and we've got even more fiber.
Oatmeal the magical healthy food can also be a versatile food (yes, I said versatile). We can add lots of different toppings such as fruit, dried fruit, applesauce, yogurt, maple syrup and we can even top it with other cereals such as low fat granola. How about we make our own low fat granola using oats! Toast uncooked oats in an oven, add some bran cereal, chopped nuts, dried fruits and voila, we've made our own. We can even make our own muesli cereal, oatmeal pancakes (look for this recipe on my site soon), and then there are muffin and cookie recipes available everywhere. Want to try a favorite oatmeal breakfast of mine? Check out again my recipe tip page on Monday by clicking on my link below.
So, if we want to eat a food that can help us to start our day with long lasting energy; warm us as the weather gets cold; help us to control our weight; help us to lower our heart disease risk, and give us lots of other nutrients, try Oatmeal. It really is a "Magical Food" for man and animal alike.
Here's to our Health, Fall, and Oatmeal!
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