w8lifter
Elite Member
Winter is on its way and for those icy mornings there is nothing more comforting than a plate of hot steaming oats porridge. What most people don't know is that oats is also one of our premier health foods. Full of dietary fibre of the soluble kind, oats is able to control blood cholesterol, triglyceride and glucose levels.
So what makes the soluble fibre in oats so special?
What is dietary fibre?
Nutritionists classify all those parts of plants that humans cannot digest as dietary fibre. But dietary fibre is not a single substance. It is a complex mixture of different compounds found in different foods of plant origin. It is divided into two main groups, called soluble and insoluble. Wheat bran is a good example of insoluble fibre, while oat bran is one of our best sources of soluble fibre.
Soluble fibre has the following advantages:
It has excellent water-holding capacity - soluble fibre can absorb a relatively large quantity of water. This makes it swell up, so it keeps us regular and makes us feel less hungry.
Soluble fibre forms gels that also help delay the passage of food from the stomach. This is highly beneficial to diabetics and people with hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar).
Soluble fibre also traps bile acids produced by the gallbladder and helps to lower the absorption of fats from the digestive tract, reducing the amount of cholesterol absorbed from the diet.
So soluble fibre in oats can help control diabetes, heart disease and promote weight loss.
Oats and Diabetes
Studies have shown that when patients with diabetes eat diets rich in soluble fibre, control of their blood glucose levels improves significantly. In some cases diabetics who ate plenty of foods rich in dietary fibre, especially of the soluble kind as found in oats, have been able to either decrease or stop taking insulin or oral glycaemic medicines.
According to scientists, soluble fibre slows down gastric emptying which slows down glucose absorption into the blood. When glucose enters the bloodstream slowly, it does not cause a peak in blood insulin levels and also makes the body produce less insulin - factors that improve diabetic health.
High fibre meals used by diabetics also reduce kilojoule intake and help to control body weight.
Oats and Heart Disease
The results of research studies conducted with patients suffering from high blood cholesterol levels show that they benefit from eating diets rich in soluble fibre. Soluble fibre decreases total blood cholesterol. It also lowers the so-called ???bad??? blood cholesterol without reducing "good" blood cholesterol levels.
Soluble fibre found in oats is capable of binding bile acids in the intestines in similar fashion to that achieved by cholesterol-lowering drugs, but without the negative side-effects.
Oats and Constipation
By increasing the bulk of digested food which moves through the digestive tract and trapping water in its fibres, soluble fibre can ensure regularity, thus preventing piles, diverticulitis, spastic colon and even colon cancer.
How much should we eat?
All the abovementioned positive results were achieved by feeding patients and volunteers in scientific studies at least 60g of oats a day. In other words, by eating four heaped tablespoons of oats daily you can ensure that you are protecting your body against heart disease and all the listed digestive illnesses. If you are diabetic, then you also need to eat at least 60 g of oats a day.
Versatile food
Oats is versatile and can be eaten raw as delicious muesli with chopped nuts, dried fruit and/or fresh fruit, milk and/or yoghurt. Cooked as a porridge, oats is the most sustaining and healthy breakfast food in the world. Oats can also be added to soups, stews, bread, cakes and muffins.
Do your health a favour and start eating oats every day - Oats could save your life.
From here
So what makes the soluble fibre in oats so special?
What is dietary fibre?
Nutritionists classify all those parts of plants that humans cannot digest as dietary fibre. But dietary fibre is not a single substance. It is a complex mixture of different compounds found in different foods of plant origin. It is divided into two main groups, called soluble and insoluble. Wheat bran is a good example of insoluble fibre, while oat bran is one of our best sources of soluble fibre.
Soluble fibre has the following advantages:
It has excellent water-holding capacity - soluble fibre can absorb a relatively large quantity of water. This makes it swell up, so it keeps us regular and makes us feel less hungry.
Soluble fibre forms gels that also help delay the passage of food from the stomach. This is highly beneficial to diabetics and people with hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar).
Soluble fibre also traps bile acids produced by the gallbladder and helps to lower the absorption of fats from the digestive tract, reducing the amount of cholesterol absorbed from the diet.
So soluble fibre in oats can help control diabetes, heart disease and promote weight loss.
Oats and Diabetes
Studies have shown that when patients with diabetes eat diets rich in soluble fibre, control of their blood glucose levels improves significantly. In some cases diabetics who ate plenty of foods rich in dietary fibre, especially of the soluble kind as found in oats, have been able to either decrease or stop taking insulin or oral glycaemic medicines.
According to scientists, soluble fibre slows down gastric emptying which slows down glucose absorption into the blood. When glucose enters the bloodstream slowly, it does not cause a peak in blood insulin levels and also makes the body produce less insulin - factors that improve diabetic health.
High fibre meals used by diabetics also reduce kilojoule intake and help to control body weight.
Oats and Heart Disease
The results of research studies conducted with patients suffering from high blood cholesterol levels show that they benefit from eating diets rich in soluble fibre. Soluble fibre decreases total blood cholesterol. It also lowers the so-called ???bad??? blood cholesterol without reducing "good" blood cholesterol levels.
Soluble fibre found in oats is capable of binding bile acids in the intestines in similar fashion to that achieved by cholesterol-lowering drugs, but without the negative side-effects.
Oats and Constipation
By increasing the bulk of digested food which moves through the digestive tract and trapping water in its fibres, soluble fibre can ensure regularity, thus preventing piles, diverticulitis, spastic colon and even colon cancer.
How much should we eat?
All the abovementioned positive results were achieved by feeding patients and volunteers in scientific studies at least 60g of oats a day. In other words, by eating four heaped tablespoons of oats daily you can ensure that you are protecting your body against heart disease and all the listed digestive illnesses. If you are diabetic, then you also need to eat at least 60 g of oats a day.
Versatile food
Oats is versatile and can be eaten raw as delicious muesli with chopped nuts, dried fruit and/or fresh fruit, milk and/or yoghurt. Cooked as a porridge, oats is the most sustaining and healthy breakfast food in the world. Oats can also be added to soups, stews, bread, cakes and muffins.
Do your health a favour and start eating oats every day - Oats could save your life.
From here
Thanks, I make sure to sow my oats several times a day
