oatmeal...good or bad ?

Please do not use microwave food. It kills the nutrients, it's like eating dead food. Instant oatmeal is not healthy. It has high Glycemic Index. Glycemic index and glycemic load offer information about how foods affect blood sugar and insulin. The lower a food's glycemic index or glycemic load, the less it affects blood sugar and insulin levels. For diabetic patients, do not take instant oatmeal. Go for cooked oatmeal.

I eat oatmeal almost every morning...steel cut, stay away from the instant oatmeal packets.

No single food item is responsible for weight gain.

This.

I eat it every night to avoid midnight snacking. It works and keeps my mind under control-- as well as my cravings
But I can't use water....I use soy milk- it smells weird but I love it.

I love oatmeal! I admit that I put too much sugar in mine, though. I can't stand it without!

Haven't had oatmeal in ages since they don't have it where I live, but I love it.

Eating more than you burn is responsible for gaining weight, not oatmeal.

Assuming oatmeal = porridge I love it and have it most days as a really filling breakfast. I make my own with Oatley as I have to limit my dairy intake for health reasons. If oatmeal isn't porridge, please enlighten me.

If you are going to eat grain, steel-cut oats are one of the better options (eating wheat has a lot of problems attached to it). Steel-cut oats are higher in protein. I slow-cook them for at least an hour (the longer you cook them, the more you break down the plant lectins) and then I top them with a generous dollop of organic butter and three soft-boiled eggs (or I sometimes use poached eggs). The butter and the runny yolks from the soft boiled eggs combine with the oats to produce taste magic. Keeps me going for hours. I have this for breakfast on all my heaviest exercise days.

I always read that steel cut oats were preferable to even the 'old-fashioned' variety that takes 5 minutes or so (as opposed to the microwave sweetened flavored kind which really isn't worth your time). However, in the supermarket I compared the label to 'old-fashioned-cooks-in-5-minutes to the steel-cut variety and the nutrients & calories were EXACTLY the same: the only difference was price $1.75 for the 'old-fashioned' variety compared to over $6 for the steel cut. Seriously?

Why waste money on steel-cut if the only difference is that it is almost 4 times the price of the old-fashioned? Maybe there is a brand of steel-cut out there that is a superfood but.....eh....[insert Gallic shrug]

There's nothing wrong with oatmeal, but I won't eat it personally.

Oatmeal is very good for you...its what is added to it that can hurt us. I add it dry to my shakes and it fills me up and it helps lower cholesterol.

I eat it almost every day ...today I tried "refrigerator oatmeal" wasn't a fan, but maybe because I used plain greek yogurt?

Not a fan of "refrigerator oatmeal" either. I don't like the texture.

I usually eat only old fashion oats. I use 1/4 cup oats, 1/4 cup water, and 1/4 cup soy milk. Then I add fruit, pb2....ect, ect.

Have fun with your oats!

I love my oatmeal! I add dried fruits and nuts, some ground flax, fresh fruit, and a scoop chocolate or vanilla protein powder. About to have some now, as a matter o' fact.

I have to laugh at the title of this thread that urged me to make my first post here. I'd never heard that oatmeal might be 'bad' and though weight loss isn't my goal here, since I eat 3/4cup every other day, I was curious to see what others were saying. I'm happy to see all are intelligent and informative posts.

My semi-daily breakfast consists of 3/4 cup of oatmeal with a matching portion of soy milk, sprinkled with 1/8tsp cinnamon, 2tsp flaxseed meal and fruit - usually 1/4 cup of raisins. This is most always the single largest meal of the day and am struggling to consume enough calories to maintain my weight on my most active days. I think this is a testament to the comments I've seen in this thread about no single food being responsible for weight gain.

I suppose there is something that will work for everybody if they keep searching long enough but for me it has been being vegan, avoiding processed foods as much as possible and staying active. Rather than counting calories, I am using myfitness pal to ensure I'm getting the most nutrition from the calories that I am eating and the result is that I am at my ideal weight, am probably the healthiest I've been for 40 years ( I love the look of disappointment on my doctor's face when he can't find anything wrong at my mandatory, annual health screenings ) and eat plenty of oatmeal.

I always read that steel cut oats were preferable to even the 'old-fashioned' variety that takes 5 minutes or so (as opposed to the microwave sweetened flavored kind which really isn't worth your time). However, in the supermarket I compared the label to 'old-fashioned-cooks-in-5-minutes to the steel-cut variety and the nutrients & calories were EXACTLY the same: the only difference was price $1.75 for the 'old-fashioned' variety compared to over $6 for the steel cut. Seriously?

Why waste money on steel-cut if the only difference is that it is almost 4 times the price of the old-fashioned? Maybe there is a brand of steel-cut out there that is a superfood but.....eh....[insert Gallic shrug]

It can make a difference for diabetics. The steel cut oats take longer to break down into sugar since it is in a less processed form than rolled or instant oats which is obviously a good thing if you are insulin resistant.

For non-diabetics, there is no advantage other than texture, depending on your tastes there.