Oats for your Health

Oats for your Health

Oats (Avena sativa) are a hardy, cereal grain able to grow in poor soil conditions.

The harvested grain are hulled to give raw oat groats, this does not strip away the bran and germ allowing them to retain a concentrated source of fibre and nutrients.

Whole oats are an excellent source of thiamine, iron, protein and dietary fibre.

The bran layer is rich in fibre, making the grain chewy but it also contains an enzyme that can turn the fat in the raw oat groats rancid.

The raw oat groats undergo a roasting process to deactivate the enzyme after being hulled.

This imparts a distinctive flavour to the oat groats and increases the shelf life.

High fibre for Life

Research confirms that eating high fibre foods, such as oats, helps prevent heart disease.

The people who ate the most fibre, 21 grams daily, had 12% less coronary heart disease (CHD) and 11% less cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to those who ate the least, 5 grams daily.

Oats, being high in fibre, help to remove cholesterol from the digestive system indirectly lowering the blood level of cholesterol.

Since consumption of whole grain products and dietary fibre reduced the risk of high blood pressure and heart attack, Harvard researchers looked at the effects of cereal consumption on heart failure risk and followed 21,376 participants in the Physicians Health Study for 19 years.

They found that men who just enjoyed a breakfast bowl of unrefined, whole grain cereal had a 29% lower risk of heart failure.

CVD risk in post menopausal women

Eating a serving of whole grains, such as oats, at least 6 times each week is a very good idea for post-menopausal women with high cholesterol, high blood pressure or other signs of cardiovascular disease.

A study of over 200 post-menopausal women with CVD, published in the American Heart Journal, those eating at least 6 servings of whole grains each week showed slowed progression of atherosclerosis.

Avenanthramides

Research also suggests oats may also protect the heart in another way.

Avenanthramides are antioxidant compounds unique to oats.

A study suggests avenanthramides help prevent free radicals from damaging LDL cholesterol, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers tested the antioxidant ability of avenanthramides, they did increase the period before the LDL became oxidized, but when combined with vitamin C, the LDL was protected for an extended period.

The avenanthramides also suppressed the production of chemicals involved in the attachment of monocytes (a kind of white blood cell) to human arterial walls— the first step in the development of atherosclerosis.

Beta-glucan

Beta-glucan enhances the human immune system's response to bacterial infection.

Beta-glucan helps neutrophils (the most abundant type of non-specific immune cell) navigate to the site of an infection more quickly, and also enhances their ability to eliminate the bacteria they find.

Beta-glucan has beneficial effects in diabetes as well.

Type 2 diabetics given foods high in this type of oat fibre or given oatmeal or oat bran rich foods experienced much lower rises in blood sugar compared to those who were given white rice or bread.

Magnesium

Oats and other whole grains are a rich source of magnesium, a mineral that acts as a co-factor for more than 300 enzymes, including enzymes involved in the body's use of glucose and insulin secretion.

Now, research suggests regular consumption of whole grains also reduces risk of type 2 diabetes.

Selenium

Selenium is a necessary cofactor of the important antioxidant, glutathione peroxidase, which works with vitamin E in numerous vital antioxidant systems throughout the body.

These antioxidant actions make selenium helpful in reducing asthma symptoms and in preventing heart disease.

Selenium is also involved in DNA repair and is associated with a reduced risk for colon cancer.

Lignans

Plant lignans are a type of soluble fibre and phytochemical, especially abundant in whole grains including oats.

Lignans are converted by probiotics in our digestive system into enterolignans including enterolactone that is thought to protect against heart disease, breast and other hormone-dependent cancers.

Women eating the most whole grains were found to have significantly higher blood levels of the protective enterolactone.

Oats: A Hearty Meal

As part of your healthy way of eating, whole grains like oats can significantly lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Have at least 3 servings a day.

What could be a more delicious prescription for heart health?