Oats : The heart grain

Oat is a wonderful whole grain cereal to have in your regular diet. There are various ways by which oats can be relished such as oatmeal, oat porridge, Instant oats, flavored oats, oat cookies, oat bars and so on… It has been scientifically proven that oats help to improve heart health through various mechanisms.

1.       Reduce the risk of heart disease: Oats, a whole grain cereal has a number of advantages. Research has shown that high levels of whole-grain consumption i.e. 3 or more servings per day are associated with reductions in risk for cardiovascular disease. Also,there are certain unique phenolic compounds  in oats called as avenanthramide which has shown to reducing early atherogenic events.




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2.       Cholesterol Reduction:  Oats contain a unique soluble fiber beta glucan which helps to reduce bad cholesterol i.e LDL cholesterol from your body. LDL cholesterol is major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. USFDA has approved a health claim on oats saying  that 3 grams of beta glucan from oats daily along with a diet low in saturated fat may help you to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease

3.       Reduce the risk of diabetes: Diabetes is an independent risk factor for heart disease. Epidemiologic studies have shown an inverse relationship between wholegrain consumption and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Oats is very good source of soluble fiber. Soluble fiber such as beta glucan helps to maintain steady glucose levels.

 

4.       Helps to decrease weight: Obesity is another cause for developing cardiovascular disease. Research has shown that 5-30 g of soluble or insoluble fiber daily can effectively reduce food intake and/or hunger and produce weight losses that last for up to 52 weeks.

 

5.       May aid in lowering blood pressure: High blood pressure increases the pressure on blood vessels of the heart which may lead to injury and increases the risk of coronary heart diseases. Observational studies indicate that population consuming whole grain cereals such as oats have lower blood pressure. A study conducted in China demonstrated that people consuming 25 g oats daily had lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure.