Oats
A Healthy Fiber Food

Healthy fiber food puts good nutrition into your high fiber diet.

Oats

Fiber:   100 grams grain = 10.6 grams

Oats are an excellent source for both dietary fiber and protein. This cereal grain supplies globulin-type protein, similar in quality to the protein you get from legumes.

Studies have shown the soluble fiber in oats make this cereal one of the best cholesterol lowering foods.

Oats in a healthy high fiber diet helps to maintain a healthy heart, control blood pressure, and control blood sugar levels.

Major Nutrients:

Health Benefits:

• Diabetes: Slows digestion and maintains blood sugar levels
• Heart Disease: Beta-glucan fiber may reduce risk of heart disease
• Very high in manganese, good for bone growth and digestive health
• Weight loss food: Low fat and filling. Satisfies appetite
• LDL Cholesterol: Soluble fiber (beta-glucan) helps lower serum cholesterol
• Blood Pressure: Complex carbohydrates in whole grain help maintain blood pressure

Oats in a High Fiber Diet

Oats, typically eaten as oatmeal cereal, appear in markets in several forms:

• Oat Groats (only outer husk removed)
• Oat Flour, whole oat flour retains bran
• Oat Bran (bran separated from endosperm)
• Steel-Cut Oats
• Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats (flakes)
• Quick Cooking Oats (steamed and rolled flakes)
• Instant Oats (partially cooked)

When cooked, oat groats make a dense and difficult-to-chew cereal, although they do provide the most nutrition. You will find steel-cut, old-fashioned, or quick cooking oats in most breakfast bowls.

Oat bran, now promoted as a health food, has fiber rich content. Bran retains most of the oat vitamin and mineral nutrition. You will find oat bran used in cereals, to make breads, and as a topping or as a thickener for vegetable-based dishes.

Commercial products use groats and bran, as well as oat flour, to increase fiber and nutrition values. Cereals, cookies, and breads may be fortified with oat groats or bran.

Oat grass and oat husks, as well as the grain kernel, are used in food dishes in some European cultures. Oat grass in particular has been said to hold medicinal properties, giving relief to uterine discomforts.

One Healthy Fiber Food Breakfast Recipe:

Nutrition based on data assembled from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.
g=grams, mg=milligrams, mcg=micrograms, kcal=calories