'Healthy 'breakfast item that slashes cholesterol and keep you full
A health expert has hailed the benefits of one of Britain's most popular breakfast foods. Porridge is a source of numerous health benefits including protein, B vitamins, iron and fibre.
It's eaten daily by millions of Brits. Alongside being nutritious, porridge allows us to stay fuller for longer due to its slow-release energy, reports CoventryLive.
Another benefit of porridge is that the wholegrain oats contain a soluble fibre called beta-glucan which helps to lower your cholesterol level if you eat 3g or more of it each day. There's a total of 2g of beta-glucan if you have 40g of porridge oats in a serving.
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Prof Tim Spector confirmed porridge can reduce cholesterol and blood fat levels. But the King’s College London expert in genetic epidemiology stressed not all oats were created equally, and buying unrefined oats with plenty of bran was preferable to sachets of 'instant oats', many of which are processed.
"Are oats healthy or not? It's a question I often get asked and it depends," Prof Spector said. "It depends on your own body, how you respond to sugars, and it also depends on which ones you pick.
"You've sachets of highly refined, ground-up oats you can make in just a few minutes. (The ones) with bran make a huge difference in fibre and have a different effect on your body.
"Studies have shown that, if you eat enough oats, you can reduce your blood cholesterol but you do have to eat a lot of oats to do that. And it's because they contain beta glucan which ends up lining your intestines to stop those lipids, those blood fats, getting into the system rapidly."
It is a message backed up by British Heart Foundation dietitian Victoria Taylor. She said there were many varieties of porridge oats, including rolled, quick and instant. But she warned against consuming too much sugar which can make porridge less healthy than people think.
"There’s nothing wrong with microwaving porridge, especially if you are in a rush in the morning," she said. "Instant porridge is fine if you stay away from flavoured or sweetened versions. Even healthy-sounding flavours such as apple and blueberry generally contain added sugars.
"Whichever porridge you choose, make it with low-fat milk or water to keep the calories down and minimise saturated fat, especially if you are trying to lower your cholesterol levels."
Prof Spector continued: "As goldilocks knows, not all bowls of porridge are created equally. The type of oats you choose makes a difference to their impact on your health.
"For gut health, I would recommend higher fibre options such as oat bran (~16g/100g) or whole rolled oats (~10g/100g) to the refined ‘instant’ oats which have less fibre (~3g/100g) and are absorbed more quickly, potentially causing a larger blood sugar response.
"Beta glucan in oats can help reduce blood cholesterol but again, the type of oats you choose matters. While instant oats only contain ~4g of beta glucan per 100g, oat bran contains up to ~10g/100g."