lowered my cholesterol

slynn5724
slynn5724 Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I lowered my cholesterol by eating oatmeal everyday.

Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Awesome! When did you start? What were your numbers before and after? How much oatmeal do you eat?
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,092 Member
    Congratulations for a good result!
  • donidaily
    donidaily Posts: 825 Member
    Thank you so much for sharing! I hope to achieve this too. I have swapped out my old bagel/toast/sandwich breakfasts for oatmeal or overnight oats. Was this the only major change you made to tackle your cholesterol?
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,216 Member
    edited July 2023
    There's oatmeal and then there's oatmeal. Consuming whole grain oatmeal like steel cut compared to quick cook or instant oats is a world apart. Steel cut contain the whole grain and we benefit from that which includes fiber that allows a large majority making down into our small intestine to feed our microbiome while maintaining most of the nutrients. Quick oats or instant is basically no different that eating any refined grain where it's absorbed mostly before it has a chance to travel to our digestive tract and basically just produces an insulin spike, which is not good comparatively speaking. Also the health claims for reducing cholesterol is left over advice from the 80's which was mostly influenced by the cereal industry and while it may reduce overall cholesterol, slightly, that metric doesn't mean very much by todays understanding of nutritional science and there's a more nuanced conversation needed there. My top 3 foods that really are totally misunderstood which oatmeal is one, the other two are orange juice and most supermarket breads. imo. Cheers.
  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,646 Member
    Even cheerios lower cholesterol in studies…so instant oats definitely count as “ part of the club” even if they’re the obnoxious relative nobody likes…
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,216 Member
    _John_ wrote: »
    Even cheerios lower cholesterol in studies…so instant oats definitely count as “ part of the club” even if they’re the obnoxious relative nobody likes…

    Your absolutely right and I don't think many will be giving up on refined cereal grains any time soon, there's just too many cool shapes and colours and they're just too damn tasty. Cheers
  • paints5555
    paints5555 Posts: 1,233 Member
    neanderthin wrote: »
    There's oatmeal and then there's oatmeal. Consuming whole grain oatmeal like steel cut compared to quick cook or instant oats is a world apart. Steel cut contain the whole grain and we benefit from that which includes fiber that allows a large majority making down into our small intestine to feed our microbiome while maintaining most of the nutrients. Quick oats or instant is basically no different that eating any refined grain where it's absorbed mostly before it has a chance to travel to our digestive tract and basically just produces an insulin spike, which is not good comparatively speaking.

    I think you are confusing quick oats sold in bulk containers with instant oats often sold in packets and combined with other ingredients and flavors. There is very little difference nutritionally by weight between steel cut and quick oats (or old fashioned oats) . They all contain the same whole grain groat (minus the outer shell) and just differ by how the groat is cut or rolled. They basically differ by piece size and how quickly they will cook. Instant oats are different and may have salt and/or sugar and flavorings added.


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