Can anyone confirm eating a bowl of oatmeal daily lowers your cholesteral?

Answer 1

Yes. You can find the results of controlled, double-blind studies conducted at several medical schools throughout the US on a good Google search. It does lower LDL (bad cholesterol) but only by a few points. Still, if that is what you want, oatmeal is very good for you in many ways. That is one of them.

Answer 2

The question is...can you confirm it doesn't?

First off, the oatmeal discussed here is not the instant kind that comes in the different flavors — these are full of sugar. The real stuff is the plain oat flakes from Quaker Oats or a similar brand.

The benefits of oatmeal are due to the fact that it's made from oats and oats are a good source of both soluble and insoluble fiber.

According to the American Cancer Society:

1. Insoluble fiber's cancer-fighting properties are due to the fact that it attacks certain bile acids, reducing their toxicity.

2. Soluble fiber may reduce LDL cholesterol without lowering HDL cholesterol. LDL is bad; HDL is good.

3. Soluble fiber slows down the digestion of starch. This may be beneficial to diabetics because, when you slow down the digestion of starch, you avoid the sharp rises in your blood sugar level that usually occur following a meal.

4. It has been found that those who eat more oats are less likely to develop heart disease, a disease that is currently widespread in the United States.

5. The phytochemicals in oat may also have cancer-fighting properties.

6. Oats are a good source of many nutrients including vitamin E, zinc, selenium, copper, iron, manganese and magnesium. Oats are also a good source of protein.

The difference between insoluble and soluble fiber, besides the foods that they come from, is what they do in your body.

Insoluble fiber's main role is that it makes stools heavier and speeds their passage through the gut, relieving constipation. Soluble fiber breaks down as it passes through the digestive tract, forming a gel that traps some substances related to high cholesterol, thus reducing the absorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream.

Answer 3

S H gave you some good information. But, if you don't like to eat oatmeal everyday you can take the oatmeal and grind it up in your food processor and add a couple of tablespoons of the ground oatmeal to some yogurt. This is how I eat it, I can't eat cooked oatmeal everyday. And, the uncooked is in it's more natural state - very healthy!

Answer 4

You'll need actual oats and you'll need to cook them with no sugar. You can get dietary or diabetic sugar substitute like splenda. It lowered my mom's cholesteral by over 40 points! But it took patience and about a year.

Answer 5

Studies have shown that Oat Bran lowers cholesteral.

Answer 6

All the research Info will point to that. Meaning that eating fiber from Oatmeal by the Recommend Daily Allowance (FDA) will result in a decrease in cholesterol

Answer 7

I would eat a bowl of oatmeal with bananas, or with cinnamon & brown sugar, etc; but not with a squirrel w/suit & hat. I would however, have the "squirrel with the suit and hat", as a dinner guest and serve him a bowl of mixed nuts and/or granola.