For the past 30 days, some friends and I have been doing the Whole 30. It is a fairly restrictive, short term diet plan designed to help you identify some of the potential food triggers that may be causing digestion and inflammation issues in your life. One of the limitations it places is to avoid all grains. This limitation has been challenging because I think for most people, grains can be a healthy, filling addition to a nutritious diet. As my friends and I have talked about our progress on this plan, oatmeal has consistently come up as one of the things people have been missing the most. It seems many of us see it as a filling, satisfying start to the day. As a nutritionist, I know it as not only filling but also loaded with health benefits. Let’s explore some of the reasons oatmeal should be in your life.
- Oats are loaded with vitamins and minerals: ½ cup of oats is brimming with manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron, B vitamins and zinc.
- ½ cup of oats is a whole grain food with only 303 calories, 13 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat and 8 grams of fiber.
- Oats are loaded with antioxidants which reduce inflammation and one antioxidant found in oats also helps soot itchy skin.
- Oats can help with blood sugar control by slowing the digestion of your food.
- Oats are filled with a soluble fiber called beta glucan that helps lower your total cholesterol level and feeds the growth of good bacteria for a healthier gut.
- Beta-glucan has also been shown to support the body’s immune system.
- Oatmeal’s status as a whole grain means that it is a slow digesting carb, providing exercisers with a slow and steady source of energy for your workout.
- Oats are high in fiber which can help with digestive regularity.
Tomorrow is the last day of my thirty days and I think oatmeal
