Health Benefits of Oatmeal

| Modified on May 08, 2017
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Oatmeal Health Benefits

Porridge has been a staple breakfast for generations and for good reason! It starts your day with a simple, filling, inexpensive and nutritious whole grain. Oatmeal is a popular porridge that has multiple health benefits. Oatmeal is great for constipation, cholesterol control, your heart, your kidneys and your nerves.

Oatmeal contains protein, carbohydrate and fiber. It provides you with niacin, folic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus.

1. Heart Health

Studies have found that regular oat consumption is protective against heart disease and can lower cholesterol. Some popular processed boxed breakfast cereals boast this fact, but don’t be fooled, a processed boxed cereal is not the same thing as a fresh bowl of oatmeal. With oatmeal, you control the amount of sugar. You don’t need preservatives. And you can add other nutritious foods to round out your breakfast.

2. Kidneys

Oatmeal has a mild diuretic effect, which helps to flush the kidneys. For this reason, if you eat oatmeal before a long car ride, plan time for an extra pit stop!

3. Digestion

For those with a gluten allergy, gluten free oats are a great grain option. (Oats do not contain gluten but could be contaminated with gluten in processing unless special care has been taken.)

The fiber in oatmeal is helpful for constipation. Oatmeal is easily digested and not hard on the stomach. It provides nutrition and calories for a weak or convalescing individual.

4. Galactagogue

Nursing mothers find that oatmeal consumption can increase their milk supply. Oatmeal also promotes relaxation in new moms and is a good source of nutrients for them as well.

5. Nerves

The nutrients in oatmeal are health to your nervous system, but oats also have a calming effect on the nerves. A bowl of oatmeal in the morning can start you off on a steady note. Try a small bowl of oatmeal at bedtime for insomnia. The calcium and magnesium in the oatmeal promote a restful night’s sleep.

How to Eat Oatmeal without Getting Tired of It

While generations of cultures have subsisted on the same breakfast porridge day in and day out, modern societies are accustomed to choice. Oatmeal lends itself to variety!

You can easily add any different kind of fruit to your oatmeal including strawberries, blueberries, peaches, raisins, and bananas.

Nuts and seeds add some texture to your oatmeal. Consider walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds or ground flax seed.

If you are trying to include some healthy coconut oil into your life, oatmeal is a great place to put it. Add a teaspoon to your morning oatmeal. The extra fat improves the mouth appeal of oatmeal.

Oatmeal can be made with water or milk or a combination.

If the thought of a hot breakfast in the summer isn’t exciting to you, make muesli instead.

Muesli Recipe

  • ½ cup oats
  • 1 cup almond milk or pineapple juice
  • Dried fruit of your choice
  • Nuts
  • Mix the above and whatever else you like into a bowl.
  • Cover.
  • Refrigerate overnight.
  • In the morning you have a flavorful chilled oatmeal breakfast to get you off to a good start.

Do not buy those little oatmeal packages. They are overpriced and full of un-necessaries. Oatmeal is too easy to make to bother with individual packages that have way more sugar than most people would add on their own.

Oatmeal Bath

Any discussion on oatmeal must include the healing benefits of oats in the bath.

An oatmeal bath is soothing to poison ivy, rashes, and chicken pox. Fill an old sock with a cup or two of oats. Tie the sock off. This is your large “oat” tea bag. Allow it to sit in your bath with you and periodically squeeze some of the “oat juice” from the sock onto your affected skin. Alternately you can grind up a cup of oats in your blender and add this to your bath, but it may make your tub need a good rinsing afterwards and you will want to be careful not to clog the drain.

Oatmeal Paste

For a small area of skin afflicted with a rash, bee sting, or poison ivy, make an oatmeal paste and apply it to the skin. Try 1/3 ground oatmeal with ½ cup warm water and mix it to a paste. Cover the paste with plastic wrap and a bandage and carry on as if you were not suffering! The healing properties of the oats will reduce itch and inflammation and provide nutrients to the skin right where they are needed.

Do you use oatmeal for your health? Please send us some feedback!


Anxiety

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Posted by Caroline (North Ireland) on 02/10/2007
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Porridge oats- boiled for 2 minutes on the lowest heat. Drain then eat. Good for depression and nervous disorders.


Dermatitis

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Posted by Wallace (Minneapolis, Mn) on 01/15/2013
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I had seborrrheic dermatitis several years ago. I tried everything... Shampoos, vinegar, prescriptions, etc. I started using OATMEAL SOAP when I took a shower and it seemed to stop the itching (there are many kinds and companies making this soap so you have to experiment to see which works for you). I used it for my body and hair and it stopped the itching on my arms and hands but MOST IMPORTANT it stopped the itching on my HEAD, EYES, EARS etc. During a shower I would start with my scalp and soap my head twice to get the hair, ears, eyebrows etc. Clean. Instead of a cream rinse I would soap my hair once more and leave that on til the end of my shower when I rinsed the oatmeal soap off my head and body. I have a minor flare up ever so often but it has stopped my dermatitis misery better than anything else. Please be PATIENT... It doesn't work overnight!!! Keep using the oatmeal soap (and nothing else!!! ) when you take a shower (may take a week, a month, maybe more???) I also use it when washing my hands (unless I need to use antibacterial soap to remove nasty things from my hands). My itchy arms, hands and back have all gone away except for a few flare ups but they don't last long.


High Cholesterol

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Posted by Da (Phoenix, AZ) on 06/07/2008
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42 Points Drop in 4 Months. I started eating oat meal raw and in 4 shorts months my cholesterol has gone down from 209 to 167. Here's what I did, I pour about 8 table spoon full of raw oat grain in a bowl, add water (sometimes milk) a few raisons or dried cranberries and and coco nut flaks... and that's it. Tastes like regular cereal. Also, I would drink pysillum (metamucil) four to five times a week. I have been truly amazed.

Now I am gonna start working on reducing my high blood sugar. I will be trying Apple Cider Vinegar 2 tbsp in 6oz of water and 12 oz of grape fruit juice everyday... God willing that will work for me.


Lethargy

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Posted by Pete (Eastbourne, UK) on 10/02/2008
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Lethargy; Oatmeal every day will help with tiredness. I take it almost daily with semi-skim milk in standard cereal bowl.


Shingles

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Posted by Bettylou (Arkoma, Ok, United States ) on 10/22/2011
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Hello, I just found out from a doctor a few days ago I went to the emergency my first thought was I had cancer. I had a big red bump on my back and two small bumps in one of my breast I was very shocked to learn I had shingles I worked in the medical field and was exposed to shingles never once caught them. The Doctor said we caught it at the right time since it was only a few days. He gave me pain med and antibotics which didn't help much but when I read where it was related to chicken pox. I remember my mother making a paste from oatmeal and applying to the red patches and thought I would give it a try it gave me a lot of relief. Thank God for mothers they know best.


Skin Issues

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Posted by Grateful (Quincy, Florida) on 07/30/2013
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For years I have had a chronic skin problem. Many test, doctors no relief. I stopped eating anything sweet, and I got some relief. However, I still had that burning feeling. One day after returning from a doctor's appointment, I decided to take a cold shower and bath with oatmeal. I have been using cold water/oatmeal twice a day everyday.

Not only do I feel better, but my runny nose stopped. I feel great!