#138 Oats for Breakfast

I got asked in the membership this week why I always have oats for breakfast.

 

Doesn't everybody? 🤣

 

I wasn't a huge porridge fan as a kid. My uncle came and lived with us for a while and he made it every morning with lots of salt and that really put me off.

I did love Ready Brek as a kid, which is very finely processed instant oats with warm milk it was great on cold winter mornings. I know now that the grainier the oats the better to get all of the health benefits.

But it wasn't until as an adult I went to see a nutritionist that I started using rolled oats every morning.

 

I add chia seeds and flaxseeds into my oat container for an extra nutritional boost. I have a Brazil nut for selenium. And throw in some fresh or frozen blueberries for the anti-oxidants and to get a fruit serve in. I make the oats either by soaking them overnight or I cook them and then I add a scoop of protein powder. It is one of my favourite meals. At the moment I am loving the Nothing Naughty lean bean protein powder.

Why the protein powder? A high-protein breakfast in the morning is great for my metabolism and makes the oats an awesome post-training meal as I have usually done my weight training and a walk before breakfast. A high-protein breakfast is also good for the mind and body as we age.

 

The value of rolled oats.

Most of us fail to eat enough fibre these days. Fibre is so important for our long-term health (and weight loss).

We should be eating 25-28g fibre daily minimum and a serve of oats is 5g to kick start our day,

It is not just the fibre that is important it is also the type of fibre. The soluble fibre in oats, beta-glucan is especially good at controlling blood lipids or fats in our blood. It helps to mop up LDL or bad cholesterol.

This type of fibre also helps protect us from diabetes and heart disease and the aventramides in oats also reduce inflammation. And chronic inflammation is where most bad things start from heart disease to cancer to arthritis and dementia.

The soluble fibre also slows down the digestive process keeping us feeling fuller for longer. And feeds our gut microbiota keeping it healthy.

If you are celiac oats that are guaranteed to be gluten-free are available.

So yes I love oats, they are a nutritional powerhouse and whether I cook them or make overnight oats they are my breakfast of choice at least 5 days a week.