Is Oatmeal a 'Super Food'?

Although I do not believe in the idea of one all encompassing 'Super Food', I do think that there are many foods out there that have unique and noteworthy benefits and should be incorporated into one's diet.

This morning I ran across this blog post posted on Health Habits, claiming that Oatmeal is indeed not a super food. The author brings up several good points about Quaker Oatmeal (the flavoured packets you add water to) and its very obvious unhealthy attributes. However, the author goes on to claim that oatmeal, in general, is not a super food and equates it nutritionally to other sugary cereal brands.

This got me thinking, and I decided to do some research on my own.

First off, the answer to the question "Is Oatmeal a 'Super Food'?" is a resounding yes. It is a great source of fiber, sugar free, has a high calcium and potassium content naturally and is often fortified with other nutrients. It is a complex grain that takes a lot longer to work through your system, thus lowering your chances of type II diabetes and making you feel full longer without crashing. It is low in salt and has no cholesterol.

If you're eating it for breakfast serving yourself up a bowl of oatmeal (1/2 C oats, 1/2 C milk and 1/2 C water) has only 125 calories, over 200 mg of calcium and even more potassium. The fat, sugar and protein content depends largely on the type of milk you have with it. Furthermore, oats are one of the foods that has actually been shown to lower cholesterol - especially when taken with orange juice¹.

The problem arises when you (or companies like Quaker) add sugars and flavourings to make the oatmeal a little more palatable. Instead of adding sugar, why not try fresh berries or bananas? Dried fruit also makes a delicious addition as well as being healthy.

Also, oatmeal is part of a healthy breakfast, not a whole breakfast. As Health Habits points out, you should be eating much more than 125 calories for breakfast, but along with a glass of orange juice and say a banana you are well over 300 calories, which in most cases makes a very sufficient breakfast. Remember that you should be eating 5-6 meals a day, not just 3.

So the author over at Health Habits is correct in the sense that prepackaged oatmeal is not a super food, it has been processed and unfortunately has a very high sugar content. However, this does not mean that all oatmeal is unhealthy - in fact just the opposite. Oatmeal, made from rolled oats (which is just as quick and easy, mind you) is a 'super food', and when properly incorporated into your diet could have some excellent benefits.