Oatmeal, by itself, is a superfood, and has precisely what you need to break a long fast,
when your insulin levels are at their lowest and therefore prone to blood sugar spikes.

At its core, oatmeal is a complex carb with plenty of fiber. This combination is well
known for providing enduring energy throughout your day, without spiking your blood
sugar (assuming plain steel cut, not instant). Fiber is key in moderating how quickly the
carbs are absorbed.

What makes it a superfood is the rare type of soluble fiber in it called beta glucan, which
is known for many health benefits, including:

- Lowering blood cholesterol
- Reducing blood sugar
- Weight reduction
- Boosting the immune system
- Reducing the risk of obesity
- Reducing insulin resistance
- Reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome

Foods that offer the most beta glucan are oats and barley. It�s recommended that you
get 3g a day, which takes 1.5�2 cups of cooked oatmeal (50-75g uncooked).

95% of the US population does not get enough fiber. It�s recommended that adult
women consume 25g of fiber a day, and adult men 38g. Not getting enough fiber is a big
reason why the above health issues (diabetes, heart disease, bowel-related disease) are
so widespread.


^ 80g of dry oats provides 8g of fiber. A 150g potato has 2.2g of fiber with skin, and half
that without skin.

In contrast, a breakfast full of proteins and fats, such as bacon/sausage and eggs, make
your gut feel heavy and requires much more blood to digest, taking away from blood
available to your body for physical activity, greatly stunting your aerobic efforts.
Competing athletes are advised to give scrambled eggs at least 2 hours to digest before
an event. The advice that you shouldn�t swim after eating originates from these facts, as
you can imagine the consequences when a swimmer makes a risky decision that calls for
their peak performance to pull off.

What makes oatmeal questionable is that raw oats, like many other grains [and raw
seeds], have phytic acid, which has a temporary �anti-nutrient� effect. It binds to
minerals like iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium, reducing their absorption in the
digestive tract. Cooking removes only 10�20% of it. To counter it, you can either remove
it through methods like soaking overnight (AKA overnight oats, which gives it a creamier
texture), treat the oatmeal as a complete meal by itself (rely on lunch and dinner),
consume more of these minerals (perhaps through enriched foods), and/or consume
oatmeal with foods with vitamin-C (e.g. fruits and berries), which that enhance mineral
absorption.

There are many easy recipes for overnight oats that can counter much of the anti-
nutrient effect, as yogurt and acids in fruit (even better if you add lemon juice) can
break down the phytic acid. Adding wheat or rye (even in flour form) can add more
phytase (activated by soaking), which directly counters the phytic acid. You can safely
do meal prep for many days in advance with these ingredients.

While this may sound scary, what�s most important is that you have conscious control
over what you eat, and follow wise guidance. You know all those sayings that
�moderation is key�? Ask yourself, what is key to moderation? It�s self-control/discipline.
It�s absolutely no surprise that people who can exhibit enough self-control can be part of
the mindful crowd, compared to the preference-driven crowd who follow their urges and
who are often swayed by biases. Preference-driven types rely on their choice of copium,
usually some addiction like nicotine, alcohol, gambling/gaming, collection of nonsense
things (when hobbies turn into hoarding), comfort foods, etc. to cope with the stress of
continuously ending up with less than ideal circumstances. Being told that all these
things are bad only gets them to come up with nonsense to counter the 'good/wise/healthy' alternatives they�re recommended, as a way to mitigate the amount
of guilt they feel.

Posted by: Duytan Vu
Full story:
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-oatmeal-not-a-healthy-breakfast

--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v7.0
* Origin: The Hobby Line! BBS (999:1/1)