The ultimate guide about oatmeal nutrition

Oatmeal is a kind of food made of rolled oats. Oatmeal is flat in shape and about the same in diameter as soybean. Oats are highly viscous, and the healthy ingredients of β – glucan can reduce blood fat, blood sugar, and satiety.

Oats can be shelled and ground into different thicknesses. They can be softened and ground to make oatmeal rolls. The processed instant oatmeal is a little fragmentary, but still, its original shape can see. Generally, the thicker oats cook. That’s for the better the health care effect.

Oatmeal is made from Oats by fine processing. That makes it more comfortable to eat and improves the taste of oats. Because of the many health gains, oatmeal becomes a popular healthy food.

Why Oats so popular

• Oats are rich in dietary fiber. It has many beneficial biological effects. That can reduce the low-density fatty protein of triglyceride.
• The oats can promote the excretion of cholesterol.
• It can prevent and treat diabetes.
• Oats help reduce the occurrence of vascular complications of diabetes.
• It can relieve constipation, which is very helpful for patients with chronic constipation.
• Oats is a low-temperature food, which is easy to cause satiety after eating.
• It has the function of reducing weight for a long time Effect.
• Oats are rich in vitamin B1, B2, e, folate, etc. It can improve blood circulation and relieve the pressure brought by life and work.
• It contains minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, manganese, etc.
• Oats have the effect of preventing osteoporosis.
• It promotes wound healing and prevents anemia.

Nutrition analysis of oatmeal

Oats and wheat are two different grains. Wheat is usually ground into “white flour,” and it will lose many nutrients in the outer layer. Oatmeal is the whole grain, without the treatment of removing the outer part. So it does not need to say “whole wheat” or not. Furthermore, the nutritional value of pure oatmeal is much higher than that of whole wheat flour. You should note that the higher proportion of oatmeal in the product, the higher the nutritional value of the product. The nutrition of oatmeal will reduce if it contains more rice flour, corn, and other ingredients.

Nutritional contents

376 calories per 100 grams of oatmeal.
See the table below for specific nutrient contents.

Dietary effect of oatmeal

1. Oats can effectively reduce cholesterol in the human body and can use frequently. That can play a positive role in preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, the main threat to the elderly.
2. Regular consumption of oats also has an excellent effect on reducing blood sugar and weight of diabetic patients.
3. Oatmeal porridge has an impact on bowel movements. Many older adults have dry stool, which is easy to cause cerebrovascular accidents.
4. It can also improve blood circulation and relieve the pressure brought by life and work. The minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc can prevent osteoporosis, promote wound healing, and prevent anemia. It is an excellent calcium supplement.
5. Oats are rich in linoleic acid, which also has auxiliary effects on fatty liver, diabetes, edema, constipation, etc. It is also helpful for the elderly to enhance physical strength and prolong life.

Health care function

01 Hypolipidemic effect

Research in 1663

In 1963 reported that oat significantly reduced serum cholesterol in newly weaned albino mice and 21 healthy young men. Cholesterol decreased in 21 young men significantly after three weeks of treatment but returned to its original level after two weeks of discontinuation.

An experiment of American cereal Research Institute and Welsh plant breeding station

From 1983 to 1984, the experiment of American cereal Research Institute and Welsh plant breeding station in England showed that the total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the serum of the chicks decreased significantly three weeks after the incorporation of oat and oat gum (a β-glucan, soluble fiber) into the feed. In 1989, the British American and Canadian Diabetes Research Association reported that after three weeks of taking oat lemma (whole oat food), TC decreased from 2.80 mg/ml to 2.26 mg/ml, and LDL-C decreased from 1.90 mg/ml to 1.49 mg/ml. The effect was very significant.

An experiment of hospitals in Beijing

In 1985, 20 hospitals in Beijing organized a related clinical observation on oats effect on the patients. The results showed that oats could significantly reduce total serum cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and β-lipoprotein (β-LP). And it can increase serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) to a certain extent. The effect of lowering blood lipids is pronounced. It is having a significant impact on secondary high triglyceride. Also, it has a better curative effect on the hematoma.

The action mechanism generally believes that about half of the lipid-lowering effect is due to the impact of relatively high unsaturated fatty acids in oats. The other half is due to the impact of the nonfat part (mainly nonstarch polysaccharide). Therefore, oats are ideal medicines to reduce blood lipid, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, stroke, and other major cardiovascular diseases.

Organic and synthetic lipid-lowering

A large number of convincing data show that oats have a substantial effect on controlling the rise of blood lipids. Also, it has especially the effect of lowering cholesterol. Although some popular chemical synthetic lipid-lowering drugs have visible lipid-lowering results, they have noticeable side effects of liver enlargement and weight gain. Taking them for a long time will even cause serious consequences of cancer. The death rate of patients treated with these drugs has increased by 2.7%. Oats not only has similar good lipid-lowering effects, but also has the effect of preventing the rise of blood lipid, and taking them for a long time, it is safe and non-toxic. Therefore medical and nutritionists are more in favor of oats to reduce blood lipids and prevent arteriosclerosis.

02 Cancer prevention

There is the possibility of preventing carcinogens in wheat resources according to the records of Chinese traditional medical literature and international research reports on cancer inhibition. The research of using oats to inhibit cancerous growth has begun to take a model. Using the pure oats to study found that the animals’ cancerous growth is smaller, and the survival period is longer. But it has not reached the standard of 30% cancer inhibition rate and 50% survival period extension rate, which considers having activity. However, this result and discovery are enough to prove that there are cancer suppressants in oats. There is no report for the functional components and the sense of mechanism, and further research is needed.

03 Anti high blood viscosity and platelet aggregation

Oats also have the effects of anti-high blood viscosity and antiplatelet aggregation. The results showed that 6g oat flour could significantly reduce the plasma viscosity and the whole blood viscosity under high shear rate and low shear rate in rats fed with a high-fat diet. It also inhibits the platelet aggregation induced by ADP and collagen. Therefore, oat flour may have the function and effect of preventing thrombosis formation. But, there is no relevant report released.

04 Controlling obesity

In 1993, 39-year-old pastry king Lideman in Washington state, USA, weighed 150kg, and TC was 3.24 mg/ml. Unfortunately, he can only stay in bed and then follows the doctor’s advice. The doctors’ advice was to take 2-3 oatmeal pancakes (whole oatmeal, each weighing 25g) every day. After three months, his weight fall to 125kg, and TC decreased to 1.75 mg/ml. This result shows that oats can prevent obesity.

05 Skin whitening

From the health perspective, oat bran is the essence of oats because much soluble fiber and fat are in the bran layer. So the purpose of the rind is to whiten and dust. You can peel oats only by rubbing lightly to remove the coat and epidermis. You cant peel it as much as a rice mill.

Making methods of oatmeal

Oatmeal can eat in different ways according to personal preferences to meet different tastes and needs. Here are some ways to make oatmeal porridge for you to try.

Simple oatmeal porridge

Milk oatmeal porridge, fruit oatmeal porridge, milk egg oatmeal porridge, these several are made of milk to mix oatmeal. You can choose instant and quick-cooking methods.

• Boil the milk
• Add oats and other extra materials after the boil
• Cook for another 1-2 minutes before drinking

Mung bean oatmeal porridge, Babao oatmeal porridge, seafood oatmeal porridge, eel shredded oatmeal porridge, chicken slice oatmeal porridge, and beef oatmeal porridge is also relatively simple.

• Boil the water
• After boiling, add some oatmeal
• Cook for about 2 minutes
• Then add some ingredients, such as chicken slices, beef, seafood, etc.
• Cook for 1-2 minutes before eating

Office workers can buy a bag of oatmeal, mix it with boiled water or milk, add dried fruit or meat floss, etc., and then eat it. That is simple, delicious, and healthy. Oats can not only make into porridge but also other delicacies, such as oatmeal cakes, oatmeal zongzi, etc. As long as you give full play to your imagination, more delicious and healthy oatmeal will prepare.

The batch production process of oats

Technological process

• → Naked oats
• → cleaning
• → milling
• → cleaning
• → drying
• → heat treatment of enzyme killing
• → pelletizing
• → steaming
• → tablet pressing
• → drying
• → cooling
• → packaging
• → finished product

Operation method

1. Cleaning

The cleaning process of oats is similar to that of wheat. Generally, clean oats can be obtained only after multiple cleaning according to the difference in particle size and specific gravity. The commonly used equipment includes a primary cleaning machine, vibrating screen, peeling machine, iron remover, rotary screen, specific gravity screen, etc.

2. Cleaning and drying

Cleaning after peeling then centrifugal drying.

3. Enzyme killing heat treatment

There are many enzymes in oats, especially lipoxygenase. Without enzyme killing treatment, it will oxidize the fat in oats during processing. That will affect the yield quality and shelf life. Heat treatment can kill enzymes, make oatmeal starch gelatinize, and increase baking flavor. Generally available infrared or far infrared heating equipment. The heated oats must be processed in the next process or forced cooled in time to prevent the oil in oats from overheating and oxidation.

4. Grain cutting

Oatmeal makes using whole grain pressing and grain cutting pressing. Grain cutting is to cut oats into 1/2 ~ 1/3 of the particles’ size by the rotary granulator. The shape of oats cut and pressed is uniform, and it is easy to be pressed into thin slices without powder.

5. Steaming

It has three purposes:

• One is to inactivate enzymes further and sterilize oats.
• The other is to fully gelatinize starch to meet the requirements of instant or quick-cooking.
• The third is to make oats soft and easy to be pressed. The best cooking equipment is the one that can be turned over.

6. Tablet pressing

The oats are pressed into thin sheets by a double roll tablet pressing machine after cooking and moistening. The thickness of the sheets is control at about 0.5mm. The thick oats take a long time to cook, and the thin oats are fragile. The diameter of the roller of the tablet press should be 200 mm regularly.

7. Drying and cooling

To reduce the water content to less than 10% after being pressed to facilitate the preservation, the oats need to dry. Oatmeal is thin and has a large contact area. It can dry with a little hot air or even cold air. The best drying equipment is the fluidized bed dryer. After drying, cool to room temperature.

8. Packaging

Usually, materials with proper airtightness are used, such as aluminized film, polypropylene bag, and polyester bag. Also, oatmeal is a kind of fast food with high hygiene requirements, and later cooking begins to achieve aseptic production in the system as much as possible.

Other uses

Oats are not only edible but also can make into ladies’ skincare products mask. You can take care of your skin according to your skin and DIY oatmeal mask at home. Here’s an oat mask. Actually oat milk mask.

Oat Milk Mask

Effectiveness

It can slow down skin spots caused by acne, freckles, blackheads, and pimples. As long as the problem is not particularly serious, only 10 minutes of oat facial mask can use every day.

How to do

Mix 2 tablespoons of oats with half a cup of milk, cook on a small fire, then apply it on your face when it’s still warm, and wash it off in 10 minutes.

You can also add other accessories, such as honey, lemon, egg white, essential oil, various vegetable and fruit juices, etc. But note that you can only do it according to your skin’s practices and skin texture. So the internal and external applications will make your skin more beautiful.

Read about the special functions of lemon for elegance

Related people

• Oats can eat common people. It is suitable for women, children, the elderly, ground crew, and sea service personnel.
• It is suitable for chronic patients, fatty liver, diabetes mellitus, edema, habitual constipation.
• Oats are suitable for those with deficiency of body, hyperhidrosis, hyperhidrosis, and night sweat.
• It is suitable for those with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hardening of arteries.

Related matters about oatmeal

Is oatmeal one thing?

They are not one thing. Oatmeal is a mixture of various grains, such as wheat, rice, corn, barley, etc. The oatmeal only accounts for a small part, even does not contain oatmeal. Foreign products like to add dried fruit, nuts, beans, and other pieces, and domestic products love to add maltodextrin, granulated sugar, creamer, essence, and so on.

In contrast, it is healthier to add fruits, nuts, and beans, which can enrich the source of dietary fiber. Adding sugar and dextrin will reduce the nutritional value and increase the speed of blood sugar rise. Adding milk essence is not conducive to cardiovascular health because it contains part of hydrogenated vegetable oil, and the “trans fatty acid” component in it can promote the occurrence of heart disease.

Do you choose sweet cereal or no sweet cereal?

Oatmeal or cereal without sweetness is better. No doubt, natural grains. They do not contain sugar. If you make a small 40g cereal bag in a small bowl, it will have a pleasing sweetness. That means it contains 20g of sugar. That is to say, half of the cereal is actually white sugar!

Sugar-free products are still not optimistic. If it has a sweet taste, it must be added with some efficient sweetener, such as cyclamate, acesulfame, aspartame, etc. Most of these things are chemical compounds. That not suitable for children under two years old. Although aspartame is a peptide, its safety is still controversial in the world.

The most important thing is that high-efficiency sweeteners only need to add a little bit. Usually, starch hydrolysates, such as maltodextrin, etc., maltodextrins, like white sugar, can rapidly raise blood sugar and contain almost no other nutrients. People who need to control their blood sugar should not be confused by the word “sugar-free.” It’s better to buy pure oatmeal!

It’s said that the whole wheat food is excellent. Why can’t we see the whole wheat oatmeal?

Oats and wheat are two different grains. Wheat is usually ground into “white flour”, and a lot of nutrients in the outer layer will be lost.

Some oatmeal claims to add other nutrients, such as high calcium, high iron, high protein, and so on. Is such a product better than pure oatmeal?

Oatmeal itself has a high nutritional value. As a staple food, it is perfect even if no other nutrients are added. Businesses add some nutrients, on the one hand, sincerely hope to improve product quality. On the other hand, it is a way of publicity to attract consumers to buy it first. Some “oatmeal” products contain a small proportion of oats themselves. Even if other nutrients, such as calcium and protein, are added. In fact, they have no higher nutritional value than pure oatmeal. Do not think that after adding some nutrients, the processed products will surpass the natural products.

Many cereal products contain the ingredient “milk creamer.” What effect does it play?

The vegetable fat powder can improve the taste, but it contains part of hydrogenated vegetable oil. That includes more trans fatty acids and saturated fatty acids, which are harmful to health.

It can cause adverse effects such as:

• Trans fatty acids include increasing LDL cholesterol and reducing HDL cholesterol.
• Increasing the risk of diabetes.
• Impairing the development of the nervous system in children.
• Increasing the risk of infertility.

Many oatmeal products claim to be uncooked, so are they cooked or washed?

From a health point of view, cooked oatmeal is better. Because of that, cooked oatmeal can provide the highest sense of fullness and the slowest rise in blood sugar. Simultaneously, any added ingredients such as granulated sugar, creamer, maltodextrin, and essence are not added to the oatmeal that needs to boil. Some instant oatmeal can only be heated for a minute or two, and they are also the right choice. It’s no trouble to add milk by yourself. It’s much healthier than the product with milk essence.

Those ready to eat products provide to consumers’ needs for convenience and delicacy. Those are not necessarily consistent with the health value. For example, most of these products are added with sugar and dextrin. That will reduce the nutritional value and lose the advantages of oatmeal, such as low blood sugar, rising speed, and high satiety. There are also a lot of these products that have been added to the creamer. That can reduce the benefits of oatmeal for cardiovascular disease prevention.

How to eat oatmeal is more nutritious?

Oatmeal can eat together with rice and porridge. It’s better to take 50g per day. It can eat by the general population, especially for the elderly, children, and patients with hyperlipidemia, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. It is not suitable to eat oatmeal more than one or two per day.

Every 100g of oatmeal can produce 367kcal of calories, including 15g of protein, 6.7g of fat, 61.6g of carbohydrate, 5.3g of dietary fiber, and 186mg of calcium. That is several times more than ordinary rice and noodles.

According to traditional medicine, oatmeal is sweet in taste and smooth in nature. It can benefit the liver and stomach, moisten intestines, and relieve constipation. According to modern nutriology, the content of 8 kinds of amino acids necessary for the human body is very high in oatmeal protein.

Especially, the content of lysine, which has the function of increasing intelligence and strengthening bone, is more than twice that of rice and wheat. Also, oatmeal is rich in fat, especially linoleic acid in essential fatty acids. That is beneficial to the growth and development of children and the enhancement of the physical fitness of the elderly. Oatmeal is rich in dietary fiber, which can help excrete unobstructed. Its abundant calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and other minerals can prevent osteoporosis, promote wound healing, and prevent anemia.

Who should not eat oatmeal?

People who have a disease in the digestive system should not eat more. Because of oatmeal’s high dietary fiber content, patients with gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, cirrhosis, varicose fundus, and other digestive diseases should not eat more.

How to select good oatmeal?

Simple tips for choosing oatmeal products

1. Try not to choose sweet products. It means that more than 50% of them are powdered sugar.
2. Try not to select products with low delicate viscosity, which means that the oatmeal content is not high, and the dextrin and other content is high.
3. Try not to choose products with creamers, as this ingredient is not suitable for your health.
4. If the aroma is high, rather than pure oatmeal, so the product is certainly not of good quality.
5. Try to choose products that can see the unique shape of oatmeal. Even for fast food products, you should also see oatmeal that has been broken.
6. If the package is not transparent, take a look at the protein content of the product. If it is less than 8%, then the oatmeal proportion is too low to be the only food for breakfast. It must eat together with protein-rich foods such as milk, eggs, bean products, etc.