Oats decoded

They’re often touted as one of the healthiest breakfast options to choose from. And quite many eat them too. But how well do you know your oats? Today, there are different varieties available online, if not at your local grocery shop. And naturally the obvious question pops up — which one is the healthiest of them all? We asked experts to shed light on the difference between them, and which one is the nutritious of them all.

Are they really healthy? 

So much has been spoken and written about oats being healthy. But does it actually hold true? Holistic Nutritionist, Luke Countinho doesn’t mince his words when saying that oats are healthy, when one uses the right oats.

“All these quick instant oats are garbage and are highly processed and stripped of most fibre and nutrition, and in fact, it causes more harm as it spikes blood sugar levels. Plus, the processed oats will make one hungry quickly because it is devoid in fibre. The beauty of pure oats is that it’s fibre rich and will keep one full for a longer period of time and minimise cravings,” he explains, adding that when using pure oats, one can make a breakfast out of it by cooking it in water and adding nuts, seeds. Oats can also be ground and made into pancakes with veggies or like an upma for breakfast.

The varieties

Pallavi Srivastava, Fitness Nutritionist, Proprietor, Q-Slim Fitness Studio explains the different varieties of oats available in the market:

Steel-cut oats - These are simply oat groats cut into pieces. These on an average give about 170 calories per serving and 7 gm of protein and 5 gm of fibre but they take time in cooking.

Rolled oats - These are the second variety which are made by steaming and rolling the oat groats. As these varieties are already steamed they take lesser time to cook, also serving 190 calories per serving, with 5 gm of fibre and 7 gm of protein.

Instant oats - These are the most commonly known and most processed form of oat groats, which is instant oatmeal. They take the least time to cook. They yield 170 calories, 6 gm of protein and 4 gm of fibre per serving. Instant oats are partially cooked and dried ones.

Choosing the healthiest

So how to separate the wheat from the chaff ? But in this case, choosing oats with the most amount of fibre and nutritional value. “Healthier than all of these are the original oat groats, but they take longer to cook hence, people prefer the useless instant quick oats. If one cannot do oat groats, then steel cut and rolled oats are better options. Instant oats are stripped of their fibre and most nutrition and just spike blood sugar levels rapidly,” cautions Coutinho adding that he doesn’t recommend adding fresh fruit with oats as grains and fruits should always be separate, and that fruits are best digested on an empty stomach.

Today, instant oats are available in various flavours like masala, Chinese, fruit flavours in order to woo consumers. What about these? Srivastava advises that one should ensure that it should not be loaded with sugar and artificial colours, or with added sodium. Read the label carefully and choose the unsweetened one.

How often to have

One can have oats daily, if using the right oats, opines Coutinho adding that many of his clients also consume oats in the form of pancakes, as an evening snack or a night snack. Sometimes, oats also serves as a pre-workout snack as it helps boost testosterone, especially in men.

Don’t leave your roots

“Though oats have been around for years, we Indians have recently adopted oats into our diet. Oats aren’t our staple, our staple is rotis. How often should one eat oats? It depends on how your palate likes it. However, my advice is to never leave your roots. You can have oats daily if you like but once in a while, say once a week, have traditional breakfast options like idli-sambhar, poha, upma, etc. which are healthy too,” says Consulting Nutritionist, Pooja Makhija.

What about muesli?

Oat groats or steel-cut oats will be healthier than muesli as muesli is just a combo of oats and other cereals that are processed and are crunchy because they are toasted in oil. Nuts are added which are good but most muesli has added sugar too, says Coutinho adding that he would stick with plain high quality unprocessed oats unless he gets a muesli which is designed in balance without sugar and preservatives.

Other healthy breakfast options

Red poha or normal poha with veggies, upma with suji and veggies, homemade dosa and idli with fresh chutney, fresh vegetable juices, homemade almond pancakes, homemade vegetable parathas with pure ghee and white butter or curd, millets with veggies, says Coutinho.