Why oats are the ultimate superfood

The fibre that thick rolled jumbo oats is

- gut-friendly, beta glucan boosts the health of the gut microbiome

- heart-healthy lowering cholesterol

-good for the waistline as they oat beta glucan, is unique and forms a gel-like solution when it is broken down by our intestinal bacteria that can help to control blood sugar providing slow-release energy

-reduces the inflammatory response to exercise

-improves exercise endurance

- helps to improve your mood - the gut-brain axis

BEWARE of the instant microwaveable oats which will give you a pronounced blood sugar spike after eating them. The processing removes the fibre and many nutrients. To further control blood sugars don’t add extra sweetness in the form of honey or too much dried fruit

Have you had your oats today? There are few health foods that, while others have gone in and out of fashion, have stood the test of time as well as oats. There aren’t many that are also gut-friendly, heart-healthy and good for the waistline. And as science repeatedly confirms that oats are among the best foods we can eat for all-round health, so our appetite for them continues to grow.

In its most recent report on the breakfast cereal sector (to October 2021), the market research company Kantar revealed that while sales of most breakfast cereals have stalled post-pandemic (after peaking during lockdowns), it is the “natural and wholesome” variety, consisting mainly of oat-based porridge, granola and muesli products, that are bucking the trend. But we are not just eating oats for breakfast. From oatcakes to energy bars, oats are everywhere — and with good reason.

Already known to help to lower cholesterol and control blood sugar, the latest research into oats suggests that they can also banish the kind of muscle soreness many people experience after a hard workout. Sport scientists from the University of Freiburg in Germany reporting in the journal Antioxidants described how a group of antioxidants called avenanthramides (AVA), which are unique to oats and which are known to have beneficial anti-inflammatory effects on the whole body, can also reduce the oxidative stress to muscles created when we exercise vigorously, helping to reduce any achiness afterwards.

For their trial, the researchers recruited a group of healthy women and asked half of them to consume a bowl of porridge made with semi-skimmed milk two hours before completing an HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout. The others ate as they normally would pre-workout. The results showed that the oats had a protective effect, reducing inflammation and muscle damage and potentially accelerating recovery after a single workout.

What’s more, if you eat oats every day, it might provide longer-term muscle protection. In an earlier study at the universities of Minnesota and Texas, published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, a group of men and women in their early twenties were asked to take part in two strenuous downhill running trials on a treadmill. Results showed that daily oat consumption “reduced the inflammatory response to exercise” and also that “pain sensation reported by the subjects was reduced after oat supplementation”.

Anita Bean, a sports dietitian and author of The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition (Bloomsbury), says the recent findings reinforce the reputation of oats as a fitness food. “We already know that oats provide slow-release energy for a sustaining boost,” she says. “But now we can add the fact that oats reduce the oxidative stress of exercise and protect our muscles, which makes them the perfect pre- or post-gym snack.”

And that’s not all. Research at the University of Aberdeen’s Rowlett Institute of Nutrition and Health has shown that adding oatcakes and porridge to the diet can alter gut hormones so that inflammation and blood pressure are better regulated. Bahee Van de Bor, a dietitian and spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association (BDA), says that while oats contain copper, selenium, iron, zinc and vitamin B1, all of which are welcome additions to the diet, it is the presence of other unique nutrients that sets them apart.

“As well as being helpful to athletes, AVA may have a role in reducing general inflammation and regulating blood pressure,” Van de Bor says. “The fibre that oats contain, called oat beta glucan, is unique and forms a gel-like solution when it is broken down by our intestinal bacteria that can help to control blood sugar after a meal as well as benefiting gut health.”

If you are not a fan of porridge, don’t worry. “Soaking oats in cow’s milk or plant milks, as you might Bircher muesli or overnight oats, helps to break down the starch in the same way as cooking oats does,” Bean says. “This makes them more digestible than eating them in their natural state and provides the same nutritional benefits.” Oatcakes — provided they are not sweetened and contain about 90 per cent wholegrain oats — also provide similar benefits. Here are some more reasons why oats are good for your health.

Oats can lower your cholesterol

There is little doubt that adding oats to your diet will boost heart health. “The oat beta glucan they contain has specifically been shown to reduce cholesterol and the fact that they are generally high in fibre means they are a food associated with a reduced risk of heart disease,” says Kirsten Jackson, consultant gastroenterology dietitian and spokeswoman for the BDA. A Harvard University review showed that people who ate the most wholegrains were better able to avoid heart disease and that a bowl of porridge daily was sufficient to cut heart deaths by about one fifth.

A review of 58 studies in the British Journal of Nutrition found that consuming about 3.5g of oat beta glucan per day — the equivalent of a small bowl of plain porridge or three unsweetened oatcakes — reduced “bad” LDL cholesterol levels. Meanwhile, researchers at the APC Microbiome Institute at University College Cork showed that oat beta glucan also aids weight loss and boosts the health of the gut microbiome, both of which have a healthy effect on the heart.

Oats trigger hormones that help weight loss

If you want to lose weight, add oats in any form to your diet. “Oat beta glucan fibre forms a gel in your stomach, which means that the gastric emptying is slightly delayed, which keeps people fuller for longer,” Jackson says. But that’s not all. Eating oats also triggers the release of satiety hormones that help to regulate your appetite, according to Louisiana State University nutritionists. And Bean says that because foods with a low glycaemic index, like oats, cause less of a rise in blood sugar and insulin production, it means less sugar is available to be absorbed and converted to fat. “There are a lot of reasons oats help with weight loss,” Bean says. “Just make sure you don’t add extra sweetness in the form of honey or too much dried fruit.”

Jumbo rolled oats help to control blood sugar levels

Last year researchers reviewed ten published papers on oats for a study in the Journal of Nutrition that looked at the effects on blood sugar control. They found that thick-rolled or jumbo oats, eaten regularly, led to significant reductions in blood sugar and insulin responses, but that instant oats had no such effect. “This is because it takes longer for your body to digest and absorb less-processed oats,” Bean says. “Any rolled oats are better for blood sugar control than instant oats and you should steer clear of so-called luxury porridges with chocolate and syrup added.”

Eating oats can boost your mood

In a groundbreaking paper from Australia, researchers recruited people with clinical depression, all of whom had a highly processed and sugar-heavy diet at the start. Half were asked to switch to eating more wholegrains, vegetables, muesli and porridge while under the direction of a dietitian, and the other half was to receive social support from a researcher as a control. All continued to take their regular medication. After three months, results showed that depression scores improved significantly in the healthy oat-eating diet group, with about one third of them no longer classified as depressed, compared with 8 per cent of people in the control group. “It is now well established that gut health promotes brain health through what is known as the gut-brain axis,” Bean says. “Eating a wholesome wholegrain diet is good for the gut and your mood.”

Eating oats two hours before a workout can improve your endurance

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a top athlete who doesn’t rely on oats for an energy boost,” Bean says. Paula Radcliffe was a fan and Eilish McColgan, who recently set a British and European record of 30min 19sec for 10km, claims it is porridge that fires her to faster running times. “It is such a simple and easy breakfast to make,” McColgan says. “It keeps those energy levels high and prevents crashing.”

Bean says that overnight oats and Bircher muesli are just as effective, the reason being that oats offer a slow-release energy source that is exactly what is needed to see you through a long run — or just through to lunchtime at your desk. “Oats are a complex-carb food with a low glycaemic index that means they offer this sustained energy,” she says. “The soluble fibre, oat beta glucan, they contain also helps to slow their absorption over two to three hours, so that they just keep you going.” Bean says it’s best to consume them two hours before a workout, but to eat for breakfast if you are not exercising.

Choose your oats carefully

When it comes to selecting oats for their health properties, some varieties are definitely more beneficial than others. “Where possible choose coarse, steel cut oats, also called Irish or ‘pinhead’ oats, which have been cut in half by large steel blades and are the most minimally processed,” says Van de Bor. However, she says they do take 15-20 minutes to cook, longer than regular rolled porridge oats, the most popular variety, which are steamed and ironed flat by a giant roller to retain many of the nutrients. “Instant microwaveable oats are the most processed variety so will be lower in fibre and contain slightly fewer nutrients,” Van de Bor says.

Being finely rolled so that they cook more quickly means that instant oats have a higher GI, which causes a more pronounced blood sugar spike after eating them. Watch out for added sugar or syrup, which sends blood sugar soaring. Adding a handful of oatbran to your instant oats can lower the glycaemic response by as much as 20 per cent, but it’s best to stick with the least processed oat options.

Homemade oatcakes
Preheat the oven to 190C/gas 5. In a bowl, mix together 200g oatmeal, 40g oats, 40g wholemeal flour, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt and a teaspoon or two of caster sugar. Melt 75g unsalted butter then stir into the dry ingredients along with 100ml boiling water. Mix together to make a soft dough. Grease and line a baking tray. Dust the work surface with oatmeal, then roll out the dough to ½ cm thick. Cut out triangles or rounds, then place on the baking tray and bake for 18-20 min until lightly golden. Turn over and bake for another 5 min until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

The easiest homemade muesli
Mix 500g porridge oats with 150g dried fruit (chopped dried apricots, sultanas, chopped dried prunes, dried goji berries), about 60g mixed unsalted nuts (flaked almonds, chopped hazelnuts, walnut pieces, brazil nut pieces), 60g seeds (ground flaxseeds, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, poppy) and some toasted coconut flakes. To make into bircher muesli, take about 50-60g muesli per person, add some grated apple (about ¼ of an apple per person), a spoonful of yoghurt and just enough milk to cover. Stir well, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Reference
Peta Bee - Saturday June 11 2022, 12.01am, The Times