Contents
Description
Oats (oatmeal) is one of the healthiest cereals. Modern environmental conditions are such that the body becomes clogged quickly, and it is beneficial to carry out regular cleaning today.
Oats belonged to medicinal plants and was popular as a panacea in ancient China and India. Modern dietetics, traditional medicine, cosmetology actively use oats for treatment, weight loss, and rejuvenation. And oatmeal cookies, porridge, and cereal have become favorite treats for breakfast.
Oats were once considered livestock feed and food for the poor. But now it is on the tables of all people who adhere to a healthy lifestyle. We will find out what benefits brings oatmeal and whether there is any harm from it
Oatmeal Composition and calorie content
Oats are so popular because they are healthy. And it is useful due to its composition. The content of vitamins, trace elements, minerals, acids, and oils is vibrant. The cereal contains vitamins A, B, E, F; trace elements – potassium, copper, iodine, manganese, zinc, silicon, selenium, boron, chromium; pantothenic acid; amino acids and enzymes; mineral salts and essential oils.
- Calorie content 316 kcal
- Proteins 10 g
- Fat 6.2 g
- Carbohydrates 55.1 g
History of oatmeal
The eastern-northern regions of China and the territory of modern Mongolia are the historical homelands of oats. The cultivation and cultivation of this plant began on these lands later than barley or wheat cultivation. Historians believe that oats had a reputation as a weed that littered plots of the spell back then.
However, it was not destroyed but processed along with the main culture since the Chinese and Mongols already in the 2nd millennium BC. It was known what benefits oats have. With the spread of agriculture to the north, the heat-loving spelled lost its relevance, and they became interested in oats as the main crop.
N.I Vavilov put forward such a hypothesis when he saw the contamination of spelled crops with oats during a trip to Iran.
European traces of oat crops date back to the Bronze Age. Scientists found them in what is now Denmark, Switzerland, and France. They found the Written evidence of culture in the Dieikhs records (IV century BC) and the writings of Pliny the Elder. The latter noted that the Greeks and Romans laughed because the Germans made porridge from oats since they saw in this plant only a fodder purpose.
Documentary evidence
Documentary evidence of the cultivation of oats in England dates back to the end of the 8th century. For many centuries, oatcakes were one of the main diet components of Scotland’s inhabitants and neighboring regions. The oldest cereological document, The Devil-Reaper, depicts a devil creating circles in a field of oats. In the 16th century, oats were raw materials for brewing beer in Nuremberg and Hamburg breweries. Although previously, no cereal except barley was the raw material for this purpose.
Oats are an annual plant that originated in Mongolia and northeastern China. Whole fields of heat-loving spelled were growing there, and wild oats began to litter its crops. But they did not try to fight it because they immediately noticed its excellent feeding properties. Gradually, oats moved northward and displaced more heat-loving crops. He is very unpretentious, and in Russia, they said about him: “oats will sprout through the bast shoe.”
Oatmeal was crushed, flattened, ground into oatmeal, and in this form, many peoples ate. Oatmeal porridge, jelly, thick soups, and oatcakes are common in Scotland, Scandinavia, Latvia, Russians, and Belarusians.
Why oats are useful
The composition of oats allows us to consider it a unique product with a wide range of useful properties: organic acids bind harmful substances and remove them from the body; fiber lowers cholesterol levels, cleanses the intestines, improves its functioning; the starch is a slow carbohydrate that helps you avoid overeating; vitamins and minerals are undeniable benefits for all systems.
Oat broth is the most common form of medicinal and prophylactic use. It achieves the maximum concentration of each of the nutrients.
When deciding what to eat for breakfast, do not think for a long time, but it is better to boil yourself oatmeal – an incredibly healthy porridge with many medicinal properties. A plate of oatmeal contains a good half of the daily value of nutrients for the body – thus, breakfast really sets the tone for the whole day ahead, giving the necessary energy and improving mood.
The beneficial properties of oatmeal for the human body have been proven for a long time. Firstly, it is the best fiber and complex carbohydrates source. Secondly, it contains all the most important health components (magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, iodine, zinc, and a whole bouquet of vitamins), and thirdly, oats are an excellent antioxidant.
Oats in the diets
It is not for nothing that oatmeal is the main part of many Hollywood stars’ daily diet because the guarantee of beauty is a healthy stomach. Oatmeal normalizes bowel function and envelops the stomach with a film that facilitates digestion and cleanses the entire gastrointestinal tract system from toxins.
Doctors prescribe oatmeal to those who often complain of bloating, pain, discomfort in the stomach, and those suffering from gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.
The benefits of oatmeal and its beneficial effect on the formation and development of bones and muscle tissue (which is why pediatricians so desperately recommend it to all children) maintain the work of the circulatory system, improve the metabolic processes of the body.
Few people know that oatmeal is rich in biotin, a useful substance that effectively fights dermatitis and other skin irritations, bringing it back to normal, especially in winter.
Despite its calorie content (345 kcal per 100 grams of oatmeal), it is very useful to those trying to lose extra pounds.
Contraindications of oatmeal
The use of oats and products made from it is not beneficial for cholelithiasis, absence of gallbladder, cholecystitis, liver, or kidney dysfunction. With ailments of the digestive system, it is necessary to coordinate its inclusion in the diet with the attending physician. There is no direct ban on consumption during pregnancy and lactation, but caution will not be superfluous.
The use of oatmeal in medicine
Oats are in the diet for many diseases; the coarse grains of oats are better when crushed. They store all the nutrients, fiber, and their glycemic index is lower. Therefore, whole grains of oats can be a part of a diet with diabetes. Fast-cooking oatmeal is not beneficial – it has a lot of sugar, the glycemic index is much higher.
Based on oats, medicinal jelly, liquid cereals are cooked in water. They envelop the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, stimulate digestion. It is useful for ulcers, gastritis, constipation. Oatmeal inhibits the disease, does not allow it to worsen. It was used for feeding patients decades ago.
It also reduces the risk of bowel cancer, which is much higher with stool stagnation, constipation. Regular emptying, which is the result of oatmeal, reduces the risk of cancer.
Oats in cooking
In terms of prevalence all over the world, oats rank 7th among cereals. Cereals (oatmeal, oatmeal), confectionery products, including the famous oatmeal cookies, and drinks – jelly and oat “coffee” are made from this valuable food culture. These foods are very high in calories and easily absorbed by the body, so they are often included in children’s diets. The famous “French beauty salad” is made from oatmeal.
Groats, oatmeal, and oatmeal are useful for chronic inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. Oatmeal jelly contains a large amount of mucus, which has an enveloping effect.
Everyone who uses oat products needs to know: oatmeal from oat grains is much better for absorption than oatmeal. Whole grains of oats cooking time should be at least 20 minutes, oatmeal for about 5-7 minutes.
How to cook oatmeal
Ingredients
- Water 1 liter
- Milk 1 liter
- Sugar 3 tablespoons
- Salt 0.5 tsp
- Oatmeal 2 cups
- Butter to taste
Preparation
- A critical point is in choosing oatmeal. It is best to take long-boiled oatmeal for 15-20 minutes; this cereal’s porridge is the most delicious. Do not take quick-cooked oatmeal or, in general, one that is poured with boiling water.
- We mix cold water and milk.
- We put milk and water over medium heat and bring it almost to a boil.
- Then add sea salt.
- Then add sugar and mix everything well. Sugar can be added a little more or less to taste. You can eliminate sugar and replace it with honey, which we will add to the finished porridge.
- Bring sweet milk to a boil; skim off the foam if desired.
- Then add the rolled oats and mix everything well. Calculation of liquid and cereals – 1: 3, i.e., cereals 2 cups, and milk and water – 6 cups.
- Cook the rolled oats over low heat for 15-20 minutes, then cover and let the porridge brew for 10-15 minutes.
- Put the porridge on the plates and add the butter. Everything is ready.
You can cook oatmeal in water and add milk or cream to the finished porridge, but porridge cooked in milk turns out to be tastier.
How to choose and store oatmeal
Oats are sold in different types. Most beneficial in whole grains. This porridge is delicious but difficult to cook – you need to soak it in water and cook for an hour.
Therefore, there is a more convenient option – crushed oatmeal, cooked for only 30-40 minutes. It is even easier to cook “rolled oats” – rolled oats, about 20 minutes. They can be soaked and eaten without heat treatment, as well as added to baked goods.
The main benefit of oatmeal is in the shell of the grains. Fast-cooking cereals, which are ready 3 minutes after pouring boiling water, are devoid of almost all the benefits. The grains are processed and peeled to cook faster. Sweeteners, flavorings are in the composition to these cereals; oatmeal is very high in calories and “empty.” Very quickly, you will feel hungry again. Therefore, it is better to choose the oats that cooking time is as long as possible.
Pay attention to the packaging – apart from oats; nothing should be in the composition at all. If the packaging is transparent, look for pests among the beans.
Dry oats are better to store in sealed glass and ceramic containers in a dry place. After cooking, the oatmeal will stand in the refrigerator for a couple of days.