A Tale of Oats


So, what's the scoop on oats? Why do I encourage you to eat oatmeal? Why did I put oatmeal in George's Shake?

Oats are a slow carbohydrate, the best of the browns. They contain a special kind of fiber called soluble fiber. Apple skins, lentils and oats all contain soluble fiber. But the best of oats comes in its health benefits. Oats have been shown to significantly reduce cholesterol (including the overall level, LDL levels, and the ratio of low to high density by 24%), significantly decrease the glycemic response to breakfast cereal (by 50%) and increase immunity function. We have heard of the cholesterol effect, but immune function?

A recent study took a group of immunosupressed mice and compared their response on the introduction of an infective agent when they were given an oat extract. The mice who did not get the oats showed more severe clinical signs of disease and one half of them died. The oat eaters had "minimal" clinical signs and NO deaths. No deaths! No, we aren't mice, but that is a very interesting outcome. Eat oats, drink oatmilk. They are good for you!

* Yun, CH, et al. beta-(1-->3, 1-->4) oat glucan enhances resistance to Eimeria vermiformis infection in immunosuppressed mice. Int. J. Parasitol., 1997 Mar;27(3):329-37.

* Behall, KM, et al. Effect of beta-glucan level in oat fiber extracts on blood lipids in men and women. J. Am. Coll. Nutr., 1997 Feb;16(1):46-51.

* Tappy, L, et al. Effects of breakfast cereals containing various amounts of beta-glucan fibers on plasma glucose and insulin responses in NIDDM subjects. Diabetes Care, 1996 Aug;19(8):831-4.

(c) Kathleen DesMaisons 2006 All Rights Reserved