Oatmeal is one of those foods that is always on healthy food lists to eat, and there’s good reason for it: Research shows it’s helpful for lowering cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, boosting immunity, and reducing the risk of heart disease.
An oatmeal diet, which can mean eating oatmeal a couple of meals a day and then eating a nutritious dinner, has also proven to be an effective way to lose weight.
You don’t have to follow an oatmeal diet to see the benefits of eating oatmeal – whether you decide to eat oatmeal for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner, including this healthy grain in your diet can be good for your health and can be useful for weight loss.
Reasons why including oatmeal can help you lose weight
A study by researchers at the University of Florida found that eating a bowl of oatmeal with some protein for breakfast helped non-dieters successfully – they only managed to cut about 100 calories from their daily diet and walked no more than 15 minutes a day.
These are some of the top 6 reasons why oatmeal can be very useful to help you lose weight.
1. Oatmeal helps you stay full
Do you know why you can eat a giant donut and feel hungry after a couple of hours? If you eat oatmeal, you will feel fuller for a longer period of time. That’s because oats contain a special fiber called beta-glucan, which can activate hormones that reduce hunger after meals. Beta-glucan is also sticky, so oatmeal stays in your system for a longer period of time.
2. Oats can help reduce fat
Insulin, which is released by the body in response to blood sugar, is the hormone that tells our body whether to store energy in the form of fat. When you eat oatmeal, you help keep your blood sugar from rising, which means less insulin and less fat accumulation.
3. Lowers cholesterol
Doctors believe that the fibers in oatmeal bind to cholesterol molecules and remove them from the body. Research shows that oatmeal can lower „bad“ LDL cholesterol by up to 10 percent in people who eat one bowl of oatmeal a day. Even better: the more oatmeal you eat, the more it can lower your cholesterol, according to studies.
4. It will make you crave healthier foods
It’s not clear exactly why, but research shows that eating oatmeal triggers cravings for healthier foods like healthy protein and vegetables, foods high in lower abdominal fat-reducing minerals like magnesium, and vitamins that speed up the metabolism like B vitamins.
5. Can increase immunity
According to research from the University of Montana, the fibers in oats can help white blood cells track infections and help eliminate them from the body. These fibers can also disable some bacteria and viruses and help you get better faster when you have a cold or infection.
6. Supports hormones
Oatmeal contains a phytochemical called enterolactone, which may help regulate hormone levels in women and reduce the risk of breast cancer, according to some preliminary research.
While these are just some of the benefits of eating oatmeal, it is very clear that consuming oatmeal can exceptionally help you lose weight.
