Oats are cereals with countless properties and highly recommended for healthy diets and for athletes.
However, is it a perfect food? When and how is it advisable to take oats? How much oatmeal should be eaten? When is it not advisable to take oats?
This article will try to answer these questions and give precise information concerning oats, in order to have better knowledge about this product and hence make the best choice to include it in the diet and get the most out of it.
Nutritional composition of oatmeal
Before talking about oatmeal, its properties, benefits, etc., the first thing is to really know in order to reach conclusions and intake recommendations, is its nutritional composition, both in terms of macronutrients and micronutrients.
MACRONUTRIENTS
Every 100 grams of oats has the following macronutrients:
- Carbohydrates: 59,8 g (of which 0 g are sugars)
- Fats: 7,1 g
- Proteins: 11,7 g
- Fibre: 5,6 g
ENERGY: 361 Kcal
This makes it a food rich in carbohydrates (70%), low in fats (18%), with high protein content (12%), and an interesting amount of fibre.
MICRONUTRIENTS
Oats are rich in several vitamins and minerals, specifically vitamins B, vitamin E, phosphorus, zinc, folates, potassium and magnesium.
What can eating oats be useful for?
Based on its nutritional composition, oats are a highly recommended source of carbohydrates, both for a healthy diet and for athletes. In addition, its low (none) sugar content makes it a very interesting daily product, as it will cause few glucose peaks and will deliver sustained blood glucose curves.
On the other hand, oats are high in fibre, so they can be a good way to include fibre in the diet and cover the 20-35 grams of fibre recommended daily.
However, it should be noted that the fact that oats have such a high fibre content will make them a lower carbohydrate food compared to other cereals such as wheat, cornflakes or rice.
Oats are therefore recommended for low (1-3 g carbohydrate/kg of body weight per day) or medium (3-6 g carbohydrate/kg of body weight per day) carbohydrate diets, or when not aiming for a very quick availability of blood glucose since, depending on its preparation, it has a medium or low glycemic index.
Thus, diets that seek to maintain or lose weight can include oats among their foods, given that they provide enough amount of carbohydrates, fibre and also have a high satiating power. Nor should we forget the ‘quality’ of this food, as it provides vitamins B, essential for carbohydrate metabolism, minerals such as magnesium and potassium, crucial for physical activity, and vitamin E, which gives oats a certain antioxidant power.
Its protein content is not very high compared to other protein foods (meat, fish, eggs, etc.), but its contribution can help to reach the total amount of protein required per day and balance the consumption of animal/vegetable proteins.
Finally, oats are cereals that don’t contain gluten, so are suitable for consumption by people with coeliac disease or gluten intolerance. However, can cause certain problems if they aren’t pure and are mixed with other cereals. These people should not exceed 50-70 grams of oats per day.
How can you eat oats?
Oats can be eaten in different ways, from flakes to other forms such as granola or muesli, being advisable to eat them for breakfast, which, together with milk, are a perfect combination of carbohydrate, fibre and protein intake.
For example, a bowl of oats (60 g) with a glass of milk (250 ml), would provide approximately 50 grams of carbohydrates and 15 grams of protein. Being possible to enrich the amount of carbohydrates of this breakfast including one or two pieces of fruit, and protein by adding half a scoop of whey protein.
On the other hand, oats can also be eaten as a snack or after training, by taking oat bars that provide a moderate energy dose and medium carbohydrate release.
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Vegan oat bars gluten-free made of high quality natural ingredients and suitable for celiac and vegans.
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Other ways of taking oats, and quite tasty by the way, can be the following:
Otras formas de consumir la avena, y bastante sabrosas por cierto, pueden ser las siguientes:
- In the form of pancakes, mixing it with eggs or egg whites, flour, honey or cinnamon.
- Baked or microwaved and mixed with other ingredients such as nuts, dark chocolate, fruit or yoghurt.
- In a smoothie with different fruits, ice cream or yoghurt, whey protein and berries.
All these options are great recovery meals after a workout or as snacks, with a balanced supply of carbohydrates, fibre, protein and antioxidants.
These combinations are useful for people who aim to increase their muscle mass, since they entail an additional energy intake based on proteins and carbohydrates, besides being very healthy. These snacks or smoothies are also going to increase protein intake frequency, necessary for muscle hypertrophy.
When is it best to have oats?
Since there’s no perfect food, oats also have their shortcomes and weaknesses. As mentioned before, one of the ‘benefits’ given to oats is its high fibre content and for this reason, it’s a food that should be avoided the days before endurance competitions such as triathlons, marathons, etc., in order to minimise gastrointestinal problems during these events.
Additionally, to be rich in fibre and with certain amount of fats and proteins, makes it a food with a lower amount of carbohydrates, so for a high-carbohydrate diet (7-10 g of carbohydrates / kg of weight per day), it may be advisable to search for other foods with the same calories but richer in carbohydrates, such as rice, cornflakes or pasta.
So it may be a ‘good breakfast’ for everyday life, but not the best for high-intensity days or endurance races, where other types of cereals may be better options.
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