Oatmeal is an easy morning go-to and for many reasons including weight loss, lowered cholesterol, and maintaining a healthy gut.
Oats can get a bad rap. My husband used to hate oatmeal because he thought of them as boring, flavorless, and had soggy raisins as a topping. Who can blame him as that’s what many people grow up with. Now that I’ve shown him the wonders of this grain, he loves them!
Oatmeal is also a meal I know my kids will ask for seconds of. They love all the toppings that they get to put on! Husbands happy, and kids are happy? Win-win!
1. Oatmeal is full of healthy fiber
Fiber is greatly lacking in this country (America) and it’s left many with bathroom struggles as well as disease ridden. Yep, chronic lack of fiber can lead to a host of ailments. Including type 2 diabetes, stroke, and colon cancer. “Clinical trials show significantly lower bodyweight, systolic blood pressure, and total cholesterol when comparing higher with lower intakes of dietary fibre. Risk reduction associated with a range of critical outcomes was greatest when daily intake of dietary fibre was between 25 g and 29 g.”
One cup of oatmeal is a quick and easy way to get roughly 14% of your daily recommended intake! Now that’s a great way to start your morning.
2. Oatmeal may help aid in the reduction of belly fat
It’s the type of fiber found in oats that’s helpful in this area: soluble fiber. It has been linked in a 1 year study done in 2016 to lower blood lipids (cholesterol) and reduced weight! Now, this is only one factor in weight loss and I don’t promote “superfoods” on here. Instead I promote an overall well balanced diet.
3. The toppings!
Have you seen #oatmeal on instagram recently? The toppings are endless for this bowl of grains. You could keep it simple and only add brown sugar and butter. Delicious! Orrrrrr you could go crazy with the toppings. Yogurt, peanut butter, strawberries and chocolate drizzle? Sounds good to me. Apples, candied walnuts, and cinnamon? Bring it on! Bananas, blueberries, yogurt and chocolate chips? Get in my belly! As you can see, the toppings are endless and oatmeal doesn’t have to be boring. Just like life, oatmeal is what you make it so make it fun!
4. Soluble fiber in oats reduces cholesterol
As stated previously, oats contain a property called soluble fiber. This type of fiber can reduce the amount of cholesterol that enters the bloodstream causing your blood lipids to stay at a lower level. My uncle struggles with high cholesterol and eats his daily bowl of oats to keep his levels down.
5. Great for gluten free peeps
Oats are naturally gluten free. Yayy! So they are an excellent source of fiber and carbs for any gf folks out there. Some ways I use oats in my cooking and baking are subbing regular flour for oat flour, making energy bites, added to smoothies, and baked oatmeal! Do make sure that the oats you buy are certified gluten free as some brands can be cross contaminated if other products are made in the facilities.
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