Oats has been touted as the best breakfast for a healthy living. Doctors and nutritionists are totally sold over the various health benefits of oats. If you belong to the small section of people who still haven’t tried oats and are wondering what exactly are the health benefits of oats, then let me break it down for you. I’m sure after reading this article you’ll be able to better appreciate oats—the wonder food.
Health Benefits Of Oats
1. Reduces Risk Of Cancer
Oats helps prevent hormone-related cancers such as prostate, ovarian, and breast cancer. Daily intake of oats helps reduce the risk of these cancers. Thus, oats is highly beneficial for both men and women.
2. Helps Control Diabetes
Oatmeal helps maintain blood sugar levels, thereby helping to control diabetes. It slows down the fall in blood sugar levels before a meal and helps maintain blood sugar levels after the meal. This ensures that there are no sudden fluctuations in the blood sugar level in the body. It also regulates insulin secretion and greatly helps those with diabetes.
3. Improves Bowel Movements
If you suffer from constipation, then oats is the ideal breakfast for you. Since it’s a rich source of fibre, oats helps regulate one’s bowel movements, ensuring that your body is free of accumulated waste solids.
4. Prevents Heart Disease
Oats helps lower the bad cholesterol while maintaining the good cholesterol. It prevents the blood cells from sticking to the insides of the artery walls, thus reducing cholesterol and keeping the heart healthy.
5. Boosts Immunity
Oats contains Beta Glucan which helps speed up the immune system’s response to bacterial infection. Faster response leads to quicker results, with the infection being handled much faster by the immune system.
6. Prevents Asthma
The International Study on Allergy and Asthma in Childhood concluded that daily intake of oats reduced the risk of childhood asthma by about fifty percent.
7. Overall Health
When taken daily, oats improves a person’s overall health and wellbeing. They contain essential fatty acids and essential vitamins that help a person maintain his or her health.
Oats and Weight Loss
People who eat a bowl of oats for breakfast are less inclined to feel hungry in the next few hours. When the fibre in the oats gets digested, it transforms into a gel-like consistency. This gel then delays stomach emptying, making you feel full for a longer period of time than other foods. When you don’t feel hungry, you will not binge eat on junk food or snacks to quell your immediate hunger. This is how oats helps with weight loss.
Quick Overview
- Good source of anti-oxidants
- Contains high levels of both soluble and insoluble dietary fibre
- Contains essential fatty acids
- Made up of complex carbohydrates
- Contains Beta Glucan and Phytonutrients
- A rich source of protein
Oats is truly a wonder food and should be made a part of your daily diet. Have a bowl of oats for breakfast. Add in nuts, bananas, or apples for added flavour. If you are not very keen on its taste, try making some oatmeal cookies with raisins. You can have these instead of other unhealthy snacks. Not only will it curb your mini hunger pangs, it will also keep you full for longer.
You can also find many Indian recipes online that incorporate oats to make a dish healthier. Try these recipes; just remember to use minimal oil. After all, we don’t want to counteract the healthy benefits of oats by using too much oil or butter.
A bowl of oats will not only help you maintain your health but will also help reduce or eliminate the adverse effects of existing health conditions. I hope this has been a useful read. The next time you go grocery shopping, be sure to pick up a pack of oats.