What Happens If You Eat Oatmeal in the Morning?

Hi friends. What if you eat oatmeal for breakfast? Today I went to Denny's to meet my Bible study girlfriends and I took a look at everything on the breakfast menu and decided to splurge on a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and strawberries.

Now, the waitress offered me oatmeal with sugar and cinnamon. But if you follow my videos, you know that I'm pretty particular about cinnamon, and I'll tell you about that a little later. So, one of my girlfriends, she pointed at my bowl of oatmeal and said that she ate that for breakfast every day. And is that really a good thing?

This video will be packed with oat facts, and I bet you'll be surprised on whether or not it really is a good thing to eat oatmeal on a daily basis. Does oatmeal help to lower cholesterol, or is it simply a sugar bomb because it's full of starch? Is it really good for your heart? Can you eat it if you have diabetes? Or does it secretly spike your blood sugars? What about instant oatmeal? Is it just as healthy as regular oatmeal? How about the ones packaged in those little paper packets? Is that junk? And is oatmeal a good gluten-free option? I got another one. Will oatmeal help you lose weight or will it make you more bloated?

By the end of this video, you will be an oatmeal expert. And not only will we answer those questions, but you also understand the mechanisms behind why they are so. And you'll be able to understand why oatmeal can elevate blood sugars for some people. And in others, it may be one of the simplest, cheapest food that can reverse type 2 diabetes. So, let's dive into the nutrition facts of oats.

Oats are considered to be one of the healthiest whole grains you can eat. But is that true? Well, like any whole grains, they are packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber and antioxidants. But that's not why people don't like oats. They complain that it's full of calories and carbohydrates. So, let's look at 100 g of dried oats that has 389 calories and 66 g of carbohydrates. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?

Well, to give you a little perspective and examples of other carbohydrates, here's a list of some common carbs. So, if you eat all 100 g of white bread, you would actually be eating 520 calories. So much more than just eating dry oats. And that's about 130 calories more. And white bread isn't filling. But if you ate 100 g of the chemical white sugar, also known as table sugar or just regular sugar, you would eat 387 calories. two calories less than 100 gram of dried oats. But I think everybody should know that they don't look the same, right? They're not equivalent in nutrition.

Now, let's take a look at how much food that really is. If you ate the bowl of dried oats, 100 g, you'd probably be a bit full. But if you just ate a bowl of crystallized sugar, you'd probably be hungry. I mean, who eats a bowl of just plain table sugar? You probably don't eat it in that form, but you may be sucking on candy all day long. Or you may be drinking sodas and juices, especially those artificial sugary water drinks. Or maybe you eat desserts. So why are we even talking about the chemical sugar and 100 grams of oats in the same sort of subject matter, right? In the same topic. They are both carbs. But you and I both know that the amount of nutrition in a bowl of oats is so much more than a bowl of purified sugar. There's no way that you can make sugar look like oats unless you manipulated it. But sugar really isn't even food. It's a pure chemical. And do you find it strange that a bowl of oats has less calories than white bread? I mean, think about which one actually will make you more full and which one will make you hungrier. And yet, it has more calories. the white bread.

Right now, let's look another dried food. Potato chips. 100 grams of potato chips. That has over 1,000 calories. You can eat two and a half bowls of dried oats for that thousand calories. And I'm sure you can get full on those 2 and 1/2 bowls. But I bet you'll be more hungry after you ate 100 g of potato chips. That's why when you eat potato chips, you can't help but look like a potato. Unlike eating white bread, oats naturally come with essential vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, as well as fiber. And to be fair, white bread is fortified with some vitamins and minerals, which is actually ironic because the original whole wheat grain already had many of the vitamins and minerals and fiber before industry processed it, threw away the good stuff, and then just gave you the starch to make the look and texture of white bread. But if you actually ate the whole wheat grain, you would get many of the vitamins and minerals that is not in white bread. That was an original grain. You also get the natural fibers that contains a lot of the phytonutrients as well as a component of germs, which is the protein part of a grain that they call germ. You'll get natural fibers, protein, vitamins, and minerals. These things are not in white bread because refined flour is stripped of the micronutrients that is in the original plant.

And the other ironic part is that because everything is made out of wheat, we lack diet diversity. Millions of people have always gotten sick when they didn't diversify their diet. And the government thought it was smart to address this problem because it affected the recruitment of soldiers. And so they asked the grain companies to put some of the nutrients back. Now does this make any sense? Instead of telling them to not mess with the food, they just said, "Here, add some vitamins and minerals and you can still sell your stuff." Looks like to me not only waste of food, but a waste of effort. And inherently, there's something wrong about it, right? Who eats food like that? Well, billions of people. And it all started in America. And ever since we've been fortifying grains and making like this white refined stuff with fortified vitamins, the body habits of people have changed. Essentially, these supplements added to our food have allowed us to gorge on poor nutrients, right? Empty calories. And whether or not you wanted to supplement where you're getting some supplement, you're just not getting an adequate amount of it.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have no issues with taking the right supplements. I myself take supplements every day, but I find it quite wasteful that we throw away the best part of foods, the outer shell and the germ of grains that contain the fiber and the protein and vitamins and minerals as well as other phytonutrients. And these are the main reasons why white bread is not healthy because it's incomplete in nutrition.

And do you know what else is in oats that you won't find in white bread? I mentioned it earlier. It's fiber. 100 g of oats has 10.6 6 g of fiber, which by the way is a reason why oats have been used to cure diabetes. That's correct. Oats, despite being loaded with carbs, improves insulin resistance, unlike that list of dried carbs I gave you. Take a look at this list again. What does it have in common? They are highly, highly refined processed foods which spike your blood sugars and your insulin. All of the ingredients on the list is made out of really ultrarocessed ingredients and when it hits your stomach acid, it basically falls apart and you rapidly absorb all the calories. And what's wrong with that? Nothing. If you're in it to gain weight, but if you're trying to maintain your weight, improve your insulin, as well as reduce your blood sugar levels, then eating ultrarocessed refined carbs should not be the way that we choose our food. Food should be slowly absorbed, not shocking our system. And what's even more scary is that there's actually foods on this list that's even worse than the other ones. Can you guess which one that is? I'll give you a hint. It's high in both fat and carbohydrates. And I'll tell you why that's a worse combination later.

Now, this list also lacks special ingredients that are in oats. That's really the magic for why oats reduce blood sugars. Do you know what it is? I mentioned it earlier. It is why oats are sticky. And I used to think that stickiness was because of starch like why rice is sticky. But it's actually sticky because of a fiber called betaglucan. It's a soluble fiber. Now I purposely seek soluble fiber like betaglucan rich foods because it helps me lower my LDL cholesterol. Now I know there's a big debate about cholesterol and I believe that LDL cholesterol is tied to growing plaques and plaque when you have more of it is tied to less blood flow. And when you don't have enough blood flow, your heart doesn't get so healthy.

The other part of betaglucans is that it also feeds your gut microbiome. It's a fiber. It helps you to gain satity earlier so that you feel full and you eat less. Oats are also a good source of plant proteins and it contains more proteins than many other grains. It also supports muscle repair and growth and are rich in antioxidants, especially aanides, compounds that may help lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation. Ainathrammites are unique polyphenol compounds found almost exclusively in oats. They belong to a group of plant chemicals called phenolytic alkoids and are known for their anti-inflammatory antioxidant effects. It's mainly in the brand of the oats, the outer layer of the kernel. They are there to help protect the oats from pathogens as well as from the stress of weather. Now when you eat it, you also benefit because they appear to calm inflammation in the body as well as in the skin and in the blood vessels and it acts as a strong antioxidant to help neutralize free radicals. It also may support your heart health by improving your blood vessels. So the endothelium, the inside lining of your blood vessels and it can help to reduce inflammation there. If you've ever taken an oat bath, you know it feels kind of soothing afterwards. And that's what oats are known for, to soothe irritation, reduce inflammation, and that's why colloidal oatmeal is often used for eczema and rashes. So, in essence, they have active healing compounds. And research suggests that they may have both a topical as well as systemic effects when you eat it or when you apply it on your skin.

When it comes to digestion, oats have a slow digestion. basically a slow digesting carbs. In fact, oats have low glycemic index which helps to keep your blood sugars pretty stable to provide steady energy and not sugar spikes. And as a bonus, they naturally are gluten-free. However, through processing, they may be contaminated with gluten. So, if you want to have a gluten-free product, then you want to make sure that it's certified gluten-free on the packaging. This is especially true for people who have celiac disease.

Now, here are some common ways that I eat oats. You can eat it as porridge. You can cook it with mocha or water. I generally use a plant-based milk. Some people they do overnight oats. They soak it in some kind of plant-based milk or yogurt. And some people blend oats and smoothies to get that extra fiber and thickness. Another way that it's commonly used is in baked goods to add it to their muffins and cookies and breads. Or they make granola and energy bars. Keep in mind that the more you refined the oat and the more you bake it and then if you add fat to it, you're going to just increase the density of the calories and then that may not be such a healthy food.

Here are some tips and considerations. Instant flavored oats can be high in added sugar. You may want to skip those. Um, it's best to choose plain oats or sweeten it naturally with fruits like berries. Now, if you want to add cinnamon, well, you may want to bring your own and eat it without the syrup and the sugar or the honey. I usually bring my own cinnamon as most places they carry the fake cinnamon or Cassia cinnamon and not the real cinnamon sylon cinnamon. Cassia cinnamon has a toxin in it and that's why I try not to eat um just random cinnamon. Of course, if you're just going to eat a little bit, it's probably okay, but you know, if I know something has a toxin, I usually try to avoid it. You can also pair oats with some fiber richch protein like nuts and seeds, which helps to diversify your nutrients. Don't forget, try some vegetables. Now, I know American breakfastes don't usually include green leafy vegetables. Asian breakfastes do, and I'm used to eating green vegetables for breakfast. Really, green vegetables should be eaten all day long, right? If you're eating three meals, you should have it with all three meals. And unfortunately, those green potatoes should not be eaten cuz they contain a toxin. And if you're eating regular potatoes, well, people consider them a vegetable, but unfortunately, they do not count as longevity food because they don't increase longevity. Unless you're in a famine, then that would be good food.

Now, remember that oats can be eaten savory, right? Oats are high in fiber. You may want to gradually increase your intake so that you avoid bloating if you don't feel well after eating a bowl of oats.

So, let's talk about the starch and sugar spikes. Yes, oats, it contains carbs, but they don't have the same effect on blood sugar as when you eat rye bread. However, different form of oats spike sugars differently. So when you go to the store, you'll find quick or instant oats, rolled oats, steel cut oats, or oat gros. Instant or quick oats are the worst for metabolism because it is the most heavily processed. Rolled thin oats are often precooked and then dehydrated. It has a relatively high glycemic index of 80 to 90 and it can break down quite fast to then spike your blood sugars. It shortens it to 80 to give you more cravings. And what is worse is that it's typically paired in those packets with added sugars and artificial flavors. And unfortunately, there is minimal fiber structure left due to the processing and there is very little chewing that you need to do, right? It acts almost like refined carbs in the body.

Now, something better is regular rolled oats. Number two, and it is usually steamed and then rolled flat. Now, this leaves it more intact, much better than the quick oats, but it's still pre-cooked. It has a modern glycemic index of 55 to 70. And because of the structure, it has a more stable effect on your blood sugars. Now, people typically use it as oatmeal or overnight oats. And of course, because it retains more of its fiber structure, it is a better food than quick oats. Now, I think at Denny's, it's probably a version of quick oats. Now if it was oats or toast or between two bowl of oats with water.

However, a better choice is steel cut oats which is produced by taking whole oat gros and you cut it into two to four pieces by some steel blade. Because most of it is still intact. The glycemic index is lower. It roughly is about 40 to 50. And this causes a slower digestion to keep you fuller longer and the results are better blood sugars. If you like to eat hot cereal, it has an excellent chewy texture. It is definitely much better since it has more intact fiber structure which takes it longer to digest. However, the best oat for metabolism are oat grows which is the least processed. Now, it's a whole grain. The glycemic index of oat grows is 35 to 45 which is the best. As a result, you have slower digestion, gradual release of glucose, which then causes a prolonged fullness. So, it helps you to eat less food. Some people soak it overnight and then cook it like rice or porridge. This allows you to maximize the fiber. You also have intact fiber structure which then preserves the micronutrients and they add ananththerides.

Hi friends, I am so thrilled that you want to take charge of your health and take charge of your food. Now I know nutrition can be complex but it doesn't have to be and I'm here to support you in this lifelong journey. So, if you point your camera app to this QR code, it'll take you to a link for a free handout that I created just for you. And if you like it, if you want to see other handouts, please go to the link in my show notes and then you can leave me your feedback on what I could do to help you in your journey. Okay, back to the video now.

And as you can see, there's no such thing as oats without increasing your blood sugar because it has carbohydrates. And on the surface, it seems like a bad concept, but in reality, you need carbohydrates for energy. You also need carbohydrates for structure. There's not going to be a normal person with a normal gut that doesn't have a rise in blood sugar of some sort after eating oats. And if you don't have that, then you're not absorbing your food. But the reality is, we don't have any data on sugar spikes. We have data on prolonged sugar spikes, not just a random spike and then you go down. And if you're eating carbohydrates with glucose and not getting a rise in your sugars, then there may be something wrong with your absorption.

Now, here's the surprise. Despite the fact that oats can spike people's blood sugars, in other people, it's actually been shown to reverse diabetes. And you know what the magic is? You have to eat oats in the correct way. Now, oats has been shown to cure type 2 diabetes because oats by themselves have very little fat. And if you understand what causes diabetes, you'll understand it's saturated fat that reduces the body's ability to process glucose. Now, this has been shown decades ago through publications. During when insulin was released, several doctors actually tested this theory in their patients, and patients actually felt better eating more carbs, and they actually had less requirements for insulin if they could keep their fat down. But I know some of you are uncomfortable with original old studies. But there's nothing wrong with old studies when their methods are sound. This is how science progresses. It's like learning the alphabet. Why would you want to repeat that, right? You would go to the next step, which is to put words together with the alphabets that you learn. But unfortunately, we're not listening to published papers and sound science because everywhere I go, they offer junk food full of fat and carbs. And that's where hotel bars come in, right? Free breakfast. What is it full of? Fat and carbs. However, once in a while, you'll find a free breakfast bar with oatmeal. And I found one. I recently was at a hotel and I was scooping my oatmeal in a cup, which is actually really difficult to do when the cup is smaller than the spoon in diameter, right? And so I was kind of making a mess and taking a long time. And I was holding up a line and the guy behind me said, "It's a good thing I don't eat oatmeal." And of course, I couldn't help but to engage in that kind of opportunity for a conversation. So, I asked him, "How come you don't like oatmeal?" And he's like, "Well, you know, I'm on a low carb diet. It's also kind of slimy, right?" And then he told me how he was on a keto and carnivore diet, but he couldn't sustain it. So, now he's on his version of a low carb diet, and he thought oats were just sugar in a bowl.

Now, all right, I can see his point. If you're trying to go low carb and avoid carbohydrates, and oatmeal on the surface seems like a food to avoid. And it's not just him. You know, he got his material from a lot of big influencers who say throw away oatmeal because it's actually going to make you worse. But that's not what the data shows. The data shows people who eat more oats actually lose weight, have less fat, and have better blood sugar control. Now, obviously, if you don't eat any carbs, you'll have better blood sugar control, right? That's like a duh. But I bet you're surprised that we actually have published papers in which patients in hospitals were fed oats and they reversed their diabetes in just a few days. So, guess you can eat oats if you're a diabetic. Not only can you eat oats, but you probably should eat oats unless you're allergic.

Oats are a slow absorbing carb because of the betalucan. It thickens your meal in the gut and instead of glucose just rushing in, it actually triggles in. And so in these hospital studies, they took people with type 2 diabetes, actually in the intensive care, and they gave them oatmeal diets, which then lowered their insulin requirements by 40% within a few days. Now, that's not just managing diabetes. That's actually reversing the root cause, which is insulin resistance. And here's the reason why. Oats reduce lipo toxicity. Lipo is lipid, which is another word for fat, and toxicity is poison. So, unfortunately, fat is a good energy source, unless it's clogging up the wrong cells. Your muscle never sells. It's not just fatty liver, it's fatty muscles or flabby, weak muscles, and that's how diabetes starts. The fat makes the liver and muscles unresponsive to insulin. Reduce your fat and your insulin will work again. And you can do this by fasting, which is an unassatable way to live, right? you basically will start losing muscle mass. And as we age, we're already losing muscle mass. So, I really don't want to speed it up. And that's also another reason why people get diabetes as they grow older. You're losing muscle. Your muscles are your biggest glucose sinks. So, when you lose that power, you start getting higher glucose in your blood. And if you've been following my videos, you know that I'm not into short-term unsustainable bio hacks like fasting. And I know that may be controversial right now cuz it's popular. and fasting has been practiced for years. Well, what can I say, right? You're gonna be losing muscle mass. Maybe you just haven't noticed it yet. And just because you haven't noticed it doesn't mean it's not happening. And personally, I'm on a mission to build muscle as I age, not to lose it. And that's why I don't do fasting. I do timerestricted eating, but not fasting. And plus, I'm trying to get biodiversity, eating a whole bunch of different foods, and I can't do that if I'm fasting, right?

And do you eat those oatmeal packets? Now, you probably know that isn't the best form of oats, right? And nor is eating oats in a cookie helpful. And I'm sure you know a cookie, no matter how you think of it, whether it's made out of oats or not, is not a healthy food. Now, besides the chemical sugar in it, is full of refined carbohydrates. And it's even worse because it has saturated fat. Now, in that cookie are several different carbohydrates. It's pure sugar, it's refined flour, and then it could be pieces of rolled oats. And to lump them all together is unfair because oats has so many more beneficial health qualities over pure sugar which is half fructose or even refined carbohydrates which has lost the brand and the germ and it definitely doesn't have betaglucans.

Let me take you back to the late 1990s when I started noticing that oats started getting a healthy label right a heart healthy label on its product in the supermarkets. That was the first time the FDA allowed a health claim directly linked to a specific food like oats to a reduced risk of heart disease. Now, the claim was based on studies showing that betaglucan, a soluble fiber in oats, helps to lower LDL cholesterol. And I mentioned that earlier, I know. But this marketing campaign is pretty successful because whenever I think of hearthealthy foods, I think of oats. And this is despite the fact that I know there are plenty of other foods that can help you lower your cholesterol. If you eat a bowl of oatmeal a day, you can roughly lower your cholesterol by 5 to 10%. So why do people discount it? Well, because they don't believe cholesterol causes heart disease. But if you do believe cholesterol causes heart disease, then you can reduce it by pooping out your bile. And you poop out your bile by preventing it from getting recycled. That's where the oats come in.

Now again, carbs are not all the same. Oats and sugar, they're both carbs, but one is actual food and the other is a pure chemical that we have simply confused in food and added to our foods. Now, a chemical is a single molecule that literally is table sugar. There's nothing else in the bowl but table sugar. So, if you just eat a bowl of sugar, you'll be missing in over 40 essential micronutrients and a plethora of other micronutrients that we don't count as essential, but they are sure are very important. And that includes fiber. If you're trying to have your health, your immunity, and longevity, you got to check all of these boxes and micronutrients. And when you eat oats, you get quite a few. You don't get all of them. There's no single food that will give you all your necessary micronutrients. That's hence the importance of eating a diversity of foods.

Now, remember that betaglucan soluble fiber that's in oats? Well, when you eat it, it forms a gel in your gut. That gel acts as a binder. It binds bile acids. Your bile acid is made out of cholesterol. So then that is excreted in the toilet bowl. So you basically you're pooping it out. And when you pull cholesterol out through bile, your body or your liver is forced to pull more cholesterol out from your blood. And this doesn't just reduce LDL, it reduces inflammation, both in your gut as well as in your blood vessels because high LDL causes inflammation in your blood vessels. Well, and when you have excess inflammation, you start forming plaque. It's just a way that the tissue repairs. Ultimately, if you stack enough plaque, you block blood flow. This is true no matter your body part.

And so, your immune system, it starts in your gut. Starts with what you're feeding your gut microbiome. And literally, if you don't feed it, you know what it's going to do? It's going to turn around and eat you. It basically will eat the mucous lining in your colon. And that mucus is supposed to be a protective barrier, but it can't serve as a protective barrier if it has holes in it, right? So literally when you go fasting or starving, those microbiome critters, they're going to turn around and eat the mucous lining in your gut. And this can cause leaky gut, which then can cause toxins and allergens to transllocate through your intestines and then cause inflammation in your body. And this can be so bad that you can get an ulcer, you can have bleeding or you can perforate. So most people don't realize that in healthcare we see people fast all the time. This is mostly due to their illness, right? And it's not uncommon that they actually end up having a GI bleed. But first, let's think about what happens when you fast. You usually will probably get tired and weak eventually. And when you fast, if you choose to do it, your mindset is convinced it works. And your mind may feel recharged, but you have compromised your gut barrier and your muscle mass. I don't think people realize that. Some people when they go on prolonged fasting they can have gastrointestinal bleeds or they can struggle to even stand even after 24 hours of fasting maybe due to a loss of appetite and then they have no energy and hence I would rather address lipotoxicity or fat deposition in the wrong organs but eating foods that also feed beneficial gut microbes that produce butyrate and short- chain fatty acids that repairs gut as well as calms inflammation. And at the end of the day, inflammation is what causes so many diseases that we're dealing with in society today. It weakens the body instead of getting the body stronger. It also makes the body lose muscle mass, increases insulin resistance, and increases blood sugars.

Now, imagine being told that you need insulin for life, and then within a week, you're using less insulin. But that's what happens when you change your diet. Now, I think this is a really important point. Your gut and your immune system kind of dictates your whole body and even your metabolism. So if you've ever felt gassy after eating oats, then your gut bacteria is also feasting. You know that oats betalucan that fermentss into short- chain fatty acids and I already mentioned it feeds your gut microbiome, but it in turn feeds you because your gut microbiome creates butyrate and other short- chain fatty acid like acetate and propionate. Now this increases your gut lining. It reduces systemic inflammation. It actually tells your immune system to calm down because it often times will overreact. And think of it this way, oatmeal doesn't just feed you. It feeds 100 chill and microbial friends. And in turn, they protect you on a daily basis. I know there are thousands of people who want to detox, but they only think of it doing it once in a while. But detoxing should be something we do every day. And if you're pooping, you are detoxing because your poop is absolutely toxic. That's why your body is trying to expel it. Now, in my house, we have a lot of pooping conversations. I always ask my kids, "How many times you poop in a day?" Hypocrates, the father of modern medicine, says that we should be pooping three times a day. And if you're not pooping every day, you're just trapping a lot of that toxin. You're recycling a lot of stuff that should be excreted. Now, the classic example of people who need to poop a lot are liver failure patients. Now, the liver is so important to keep you mentally sharp and toxins can build up like ammonia if your liver doesn't work. So, in order to reduce ammonia levels, we have to make liver patients poop a lot. Otherwise, your ammonia builds up because they can't detoxify it. And ammonia is the byproduct of eating protein. Now, you need protein everywhere, including your stomach and your colon. They are all made out of muscle. But the food that your colon needs is a little different than what your biceps need. Your colon actually needs butyrate. Those short- chain fatty acids that I mentioned earlier. That is what it takes to power and move the colonic muscles so that you can poop. And this is why fiber should be a very important part of everybody's diet.

But oats also help you lose weight. And here's why. Ever soak your beans? Now, if you come back a few hours later, you know that the beans expand so much that they may overflow your container. Now after you cook your oats, you will also notice that they expand, right? And this can happen in your stomach too. And when that oatmeal expands in your stomach, it actually triggers hormones like GLP1 and peptide Y that reduces your appetite. And in sites studies, oats keep people fuller longer, longer than toast, and cereal or even bagels. And this is comparing the same amount of calories with each foods. Now, that's why people who eat oats, they tend to lose more weight without even trying. Have you ever noticed that after eating a bowl of oats, you don't actually raid the pantry midm morning. That's not just discipline, it's actually biology.

Now, here are some healthy oat recipes, all without added sugar or refined flour, or dairy. Number one is savory oat bowls. You can put steel cut oats with sauteed mushrooms, spinach, garlic, and top that with some pumpkin seeds. If you want a sweet version, banana, cinnamon, oats, mash some ripe bananas, and you can cook it together or eat it fresh. You can roll it with some oats with some cinnamon and walnuts. Overnight oats, well, if you soak your oats in some plant-based milk, you can add some chia seeds, berries, and flax. And oat grow porridge, that's slow cooked gats with apple chunks, and hemp seeds. Oat energy bites. You can eat rolled oats, mashed bananas, cinnamon, chopped nuts, and you roll it and then chill it. And keep in mind, oats are very versatile. You can add oat flour, basically ground up oats yourself to your favorite pancakes. Or you can stir oat brand into soups as a thickener. Now, I sometimes use oats. I just blend it up and I use that as a thickener in veggie burgers. And of course, you can put it in smoothies to give you that extra fiber. Now, I try not to blend grains in my smoothies because of the starch content. That just gives a lot of added calories. Be creative. Oats don't just belong in a bowl. They belong in your kitchen toolbox.

So, which of these processed foods will spike your blood sugars and keep them high longer? You guessed it, the potato chips. Because they are high in fat, too. And if you want to learn more about that, watch the next