Ugggh! Can We Please Stop Soaking Our Oats?

 

 

 

Everyone makes mistakes. The internet is full of mistakes. And, when it comes to news about our dietary health, what often happens is, one trend or another becomes popular, and everyone wants to say something about it — causing mistakes!

Some folk have published such mistakes in books.

In 2007, one health writer asked kids, "Fruits and Vegetables: What Doesn't Count?" Two foods that didn't count, in that book, are pretty basic to wellness. In the book published by DK Limited, potatoes and sweet potatoes "shouldn't count as one of your five daily servings" of fruits and vegetables!

I wouldn't have believed someone published that. That's pretty outrageous. But that actually appears in print, in a book still being sold today.

If I had to guess, the book's writer didn't mean to say potatoes and sweet potatoes don't have the nutrition we need for good health. If I had to guess, something went wrong when the book was edited. If I had to guess, I think the writer may have written, instead, that fast-food fried potatoes (some types of French fries and tater tots) don't have the fiber and other nutrients we need, just as potato chips and ketchup don't have the nutrition we need.

I'm pretty sure that's what the writer must have said before the book was edited, because "ketchup" is in the book's list of foods that don't count as fruits or vegetables. Ketchup, most fast-food fries, and tater tots, don't count as part of our daily fruits and vegetables. But potatoes, just generally, do.

 

Everyone Makes Mistakes

Potatoes, yams, and sweet potatoes (without the heavy candy coating) are actually packed with nutrition. We just need to know how to prepare them. If we cut them thin and deep fry them, we destroy the nutrition we need. If we cut them thin and put them in a very hot oven so that they dry out, we destroy the nutrition we need. And if we boil them a long time, or if we turn them into soup, we may break down these vegetables' fibers so that the fiber doesn't help our health.

But, ugggh. Everyone makes mistakes.

When that book was written, for children, calendars had turned to a new millennium. And people were talking about all kinds of diets. Editors of the above book may have misunderstood the book's author, because of countless ways people were writing about carbohydrates (or carbs).

Writing about low-carb diets had become popular, because a company called Atkins Nutritionals had begun to sell information and products that capitalized on that trend, according to a CNN Money report in January 2006. But that low-carb trend was beginning to fail, as Atkins lost steam due to bankruptcy — and as some companies (those processing high-carb foods) began to downplay carb craziness through assuring customers they were adding fiber to many products.

More than 15 years later, food science has helped us know so much more than back then. We know whole foods are healthier than any processed food, and that we need to be eating at least a few whole grains with each meal.

 

Let's Have Oats! But Can We Avoid Soaking Them?

Oatmeal is a whole grain that should be very popular. It's a whole food that's inexpensive and potentially healing. But some folks dislike it; many folk misunderstand it; and plenty of internet and book misinformation is leading countless consumers to prepare it in ways that maybe aren't so good.

One thing that's misunderstood about oatmeal, is whether or not it's safe for diabetes. While it's true science is still investigating whether type 1 diabetes can be helped by oats, and while it's true children four-months-old and younger shouldn't have oats (always talk with your child's doctor), one fact of the matter for type 2 diabetic adults, is that rolled oats are safe.

Rolled oats are not only safe in type 2 diabetes cases; rolled oats can be a huge help in these cases. (Read all about oats in my post, Bread is for Living!) One of the beneficial (dietary) carbs in oats, beta-glucan, is different from other beneficial carbs. Despite the seemingly small amount of it in oatmeal, beta-glucan is a soluble fiber that manages to lower blood sugar in cases of type 2 diabetes, and it outperforms the effects of sugary carbs not only in oatmeal — it outperforms the sugary carbs in whole meals, lowering both blood sugar and blood pressure.

As to how to prepare these healthy oats, there is more than a little misinformation out there about that, too! Much of the misinformation may be because of a trend that says to soak your oats overnight. ... Everyone makes mistakes.

One oat-soaking article, online, uses the words "oat groats" interchangeably with "rolled oats," proving the writer read something and tried to explain it, without really understanding. The writer probably read that oat groats have to be soaked overnight, so we can digest the oats well. But the writer made a mistake in thinking rolled oats are the same as groats, and developed an article that is really about soaking rolled oats — not groats — overnight. Believe it or not, that's a popular mistake.

Groats are the hard, whole seeds of oats. We need to soak oat groats, because the whole seeds are not friendly to digestion, can block absorption of some of the nutrients we need, and can cause gas and bloating. But very few people, worldwide, are eating oat groats!

The oats we find on grocery shelves are either steel-cut, old-fashion rolled, or instant. And any of these can be eaten right out of the box (on top of yogurt, for example), without harming digestion. In fact, those three types of processed oats are already lightly cooked — as in very lightly toasted. But boiling them a little can help us get more benefit from eating oats; and, because they are cut into thick slices, steel-cut oats should be boiled or microwaved longer than rolled oats.

 

A Bowl of Healing, in Less Than Two Minutes

How long to boil oats is really up to individual taste, but I suspect many people's dislike of oats is because they are used to eating oats that are very mushy (that are instant, or that are boiled for too long).

I prefer a bowl of oats that has lots of flakes that are still a little stiff and whole, instead of mushy. When I mirowave oats, I want to see a lot of slices of oat that are still whole instead of mushed into cream. I avoid instant oats, not just because instant oats become mushy, but also because the instant oats are chopped into crumbs that don't give us as much benefit as when oats are in slices that are more whole.

By the way, instant oats may not be a good option for diabetics. And, if making an oatmeal smoothie for a diabetic, be sure not to put oats in a blender; instead, prepare the smoothie in a blender, then stir in your oats (right out of the box) with a spoon. That helps preserve the healthy fiber that benefits type 2 diabetes.

Another word of caution about cooking with diabetes: Putting a lid on oats, while they are cooking, causes you to lose more of the beneficial fiber in oats. Recognizing oats cook differently than rice, don't cover oats with a lid, regardless of whether on the stovetop or in the microwave. Putting oats under pressure of a lid can turn them as much to mush as soaking them does.

One way I've found to make a bowl of oats that's the texture I like, is to only pour just enough water to cover the dry oats before microwaving. The more water or milk in the oats, the longer the time for the oats to absorb the water or milk, the more mushy the oats!

And the really good thing about my eating oats that aren't so mushy, is that it's better nutrition for me. At least one study's findings, published in the Journal of Functional Foods in 2017, implies that oats that are close to raw, give us 26 percent of the beneficial fiber that lowers cholesterol and blood sugar, and that increases insulin sensitivity; but very cooked oats only give us nine percent of that beneficial fiber.

The same principle probably applies to oats that soak overnight unnecessarily. By soaking the oats too long (or by eating pre-sweetened and other instant oats), we diminish the helpfulness of a needed fiber: a fiber that otherwise makes oats safe and beneficial.

Soaking can turn a food that's good for type 2 diabetes and for diabetes prevention, into a food that may not be very helpful at all.

So, instead of soaking, why not spend less than two minutes waiting to microwave?

Can I get an amen?

 

 

Some folk like oatmeal that's watery or milky, and that's just fine — as long as the oats have not soaked a long time in the water or milk, and as long as the oats aren't cooked for too long. Click the picture above for a simple, stovetop recipe. This recipe uses apple juice and fresh apples as sweeteners and for added nutrition. And the ground cinnamon (not cinnamon sugar!) isn't only tasty; the cinnamon, a few times a week, adds more antioxidants for good blood pressure — and a boost in helping lower cancer risks.

For only a few minutes more in preparation and cook time, recipes like this offer far more therapeutic benefit, and fewer bad carbs, than in eating small, pre-sweetened packs of oatmeal. Like Cheerios, small, pre-sweetened packs of oatmeal are instant oats that aren't as safe and beneficial for persons with type 2 diabetes; yet such persons may eat as much as three cups of cooked rolled oats (one- and one-half dry cups) as part of a balanced meal (for instance, with eggs and a banana) — and have stable blood sugar for hours, studies indicate.

But let's always ask for grace.

 

I'm Just Going to Pray

I'm asking the Lord to restore this blog to the format and wording I meant it to have, to the personal space I meant it to be. Both the messages and the way this blog held together, were a thing of peace for me. I had "Servants, well done" peace about it. I'm going to rest in the love of Jesus, and pray this space and more, will be again all that gave me peace.

Bread is for Living

 

 

Click the photo, for a simple recipe.

  

Not all Americans made a habit of ordering food for delivery when we found ourselves homebound two or more years ago. Millions went to grocery stores and cleared whole aisles, even clearing baking ingredients at some stores. And millions combed the internet for recipes.

It wasn't that people were cake-making and celebrating. But maybe many were finding reason to be more at home while at home.

Some businesses that surveyed their customers, included The Hershey Company. According to Hershey, customers were finding recipes to work on as activities, with children at home. Hershey also found customers were relieving stressful feelings through kitchen creativity.

For some of us, 2021 was a tumultuous year, and 2022 is offering uncertainty. But we can hold out hope for quieter, more faithful days ahead.

One thing of living I'm looking forward to, is the ability to share a table, at least every now and then.

That's because I know life is meant for living. And our bread was meant for life.

***

What about Whole Grains?

A longwinded word on few things I've learned

(A journalist's notes, in want of an RD's review)

Kimberly H. Johnson

The USDA's 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines says we need at least three ounces of whole grains, daily. It's not only that whole grains give us fiber. It's that whole grains are packed with health!

Old-fashioned rolled oats, for example, gives us a healthy, soluble fiber that lowers cholesterol and blood sugar. The healthy calories in oats also come with cancer-fighting antioxidants.

Similarly, whole wheat has some cancer-prevention properties.

What is whole wheat?

A food is "whole wheat" when it includes all the parts of a wheat seed that we are able to eat. That includes the "bran" (the edible outer skin) of the seed, without the hard, inedible "hull" of the seed.

The whole edible seed of wheat is called a "wheatberry."

Some bread-makers throw in a few slightly cracked or crushed wheatberry seeds, along with other whole seeds that are slightly cracked or crushed (for example, poppy seeds and flax seeds). These breads may be a little unusual.

But, usually, whole-wheat breads are made by grinding all parts of wheat seeds into a powder that's called "flour."

The best whole-wheat breads say "100% Whole Wheat" on their package, regardless of how much bran is in the bread. The 100-percent-whole label means the bread flour is made of all three edible parts of wheat seeds; the 100-percent also means the whole flour is not mixed with any type of white flour that isn't made with all parts of the wheatberry.

White flours that aren't made with all parts of the seed can cause greater spikes in blood sugar, because those white flours are missing fiber and fats that help us.

By the way, white flours aren't white only because they've been bleached with a food-safe chemical. Some flours include bran skins that are yellow-white, instead of brown or tan; and the yellow-white bran makes the flour more naturally white.

Some whole-wheat flours also contain less bran than others, because whole-grain product-makers are only required to include "roughly" the amount of bran a seed has when it's freshly harvested.

However, most white bread flours don't have any bran at all in them.

Most white flours are made by grinding down the seed after the bran and germ — the most healthy parts — are removed. So, most white flours aren't only bleached; most don't have any of the healthiest parts of the seed. These flours are not "whole wheat."

How should we choose?

Some nutritionists may frown on all white flour that isn't made from whole seeds of wheat. But that's probably being a little too restrictive. Most wheat breads, even those that say "whole wheat" (but not "100%"), mix their whole-seed flour with white flour that does not include the bran and germ parts of the seeds. And that can be okay.

A bread that has a little refined (meaning processed to the point of being non-nutritional) white flour can be okay if we're not at high risk for diabetes, as part of a diet that seldom includes soft drinks and the other very processed foods that we call "junk food."

Less than 100-percent whole wheat, or made with a refined white flour, can be okay sometimes. Dieticians would say never have a fast-food burger bun, if white bread were an absolute no-no for everyone. What matters is whether we're avoiding soft drinks, commercially produced fries or potato chips, and other no-fiber, high-carb stuff when we have a meal with refined white bread.

A 2019 Advances in Nutrition article by Glenn Gaesser, professor of exercise physiology at Arizona State University, points to more than 20 studies that conclude refined white breads, by themselves, are "not associated with all-cause mortality," meaning not associated with type 2 diabetes, coronary vascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, or cancer. In contrast, he points to studies that demonstrate many of our health difficulties are worsened by the habit of eating foods like "red and processed meat, sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, [commercially processed] French fries" at the same time as processed white breads.

Studies prove it's best not to have a habit of eating refined white breads with other less healthy foods. And, of course, it's good to be in practice of making choices to include at least a little whole wheat or other whole grains with each meal.

Finding products that include at least some "whole wheat," or at least some bran, is one way to do that. But, keep in mind, we can't know whether a whole-wheat bread has more or less bran by looking at it. Some bread-makers add brown sugar for color and taste. And some use the yellow-white bran that makes the bread a lighter color.

What's most important to know about a wheat bread is whether the bread alone causes an individual's blood-sugar to spike if diabetic, and whether we like it, can afford it, and how many whole seeds are in each slice of bread. The more whole seeds in a slice of bread, the more nutrition and the lower our blood sugar.

It's worth saying that some persons who are not at high risk for diabetes, enjoy the texture of breads made with a little white flour, instead of only with whole wheat, and that can be okay, especially if there is enough whole grain in the diet.

Although not every brand of bread tells customers how many whole grains (seeds) are in a slice of their bread, some brands do tell the public how many whole grains are in one slice. These are a few examples:

 

Arnold Whole Grains Bread

9 grams whole seeds, including wheat seeds, in each slice

 

Arnold Whole Grains 12 Grains Bread

13 grams whole seeds, including wheat seeds, in each slice

 

Bunny Made with Whole Grain White Bread

5 grams whole wheat seeds in each slice

 

Nature's Harvest Honey Wheat Bread

8 grams whole wheat seeds in each slice

 

Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Bread

13 grams whole wheat seeds in each slice

 

Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Sugar-free Bread

11 grams whole wheat seeds in each slice

 

Mrs Baird's 100% Whole Wheat Bread

13 grams whole wheat seeds in each slice

 

Oroweat 100% Whole Wheat Bread

23 grams whole wheat seeds in each slice

 

Pepperidge Farm Thin Sliced 100% Whole Wheat Bread

14 grams whole wheat seeds in each slice

 

Sara Lee Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread

13 grams whole wheat seeds in each slice

 

This list does not include every whole-wheat bread on the market, and this list is not meant to promote the sale of any brand. But based on these examples, many whole-wheat breads have about 13 grams of whole grains per slice. That's about one and one-fourth tablespoons full of whole seeds per slice. That may sound like a lot, but we're not talking about junk food; we're talking about something we're supposed to eat!

At least one, four-week study shows bread doesn't change the blood-sugar levels in pigeons. Although science has said not to feed bread to ducks and pigeons anymore, because doing so keeps them from hunting and deprives birds of the nutrients they really need, birds eat grains, too. But there's maybe a lesson in that for us: Just don't fill up on bread.

Even healthy lambs, by four months, may eat about four pounds of hay and grains each day, nearly three pounds of that being grains. After all, sheep have something like four tummies to consider!

Although we digest differently from many other animals, we at least know we need some of the same foods.

Oats: The "Best" Alternative

Not everyone is able to eat breads that are made from wheat. Some people's bodies overreact to the protein strands, or gluten, in wheat products. This food allergy is an immune response called celiac disease. 

Persons with celiac disease need to avoid wheat, rye, and barley products; but oats may be a good alternative for those who talk with their primary-care doctors about their allergy and food choices. 

And oats not only may help folk who have a wheat allergy. Whole oats can be a wonder food, for anyone.

A large bowl of old-fashioned rolled oats can be just fine: a whole bunch of whole grain in one serving. One and one-half dry cups (135 grams):

• provides more than 25% of the healthy calories we need each day;

• helps release a hormone that tells us we're full and won't need to eat for a long while;

• has more than 80% of the daily selenium we need (more about that, later);

• has iron (more than half the amount we need each day) and calcium;

• protein: 16.9 to 39 g;

• beneficial fats: 10 to 15 g;

• saturated fat: 0 g;

• cholesterol: 0 mg;

• dietary fiber: 13.5 to 24 g; and

• is a huge help in the fight against diabetes.

One study notes oatmeal was used in an emergency, intensive-care setting: to prevent a diabetic patient from dying. That's because oats don't only have essential calories, vitamins, and minerals. Oats also have antioxidants, and unique fibers, that aren't found in many other foods:

Beta-glucan, a unique soluble fiber in oats, makes up about four percent of rolled oats' weight. This healthy carbohydrate

• improves insulin sensitivity;

• slows the body's absorption of sugars;

• lowers cholesterol, through causing the liver to excrete more cholesterol in bile, so that the liver uptakes excess cholesterol from the bloodstream;

• helps prevent vascular damage from LDL (bad) cholesterol;

• can offer 100% of the magnesium we need each day for heart health and quality sleep;

• can offer five times or more the amount of manganese we need each day for proper blood-sugar regulation, nerve function, and bone health (A diet poor in manganese can lead to stunting in children, and poor bone health as we age.);

• offers a good amount of pantothenic acid, an aid for some types of arthritis;

• helps boost our immune health;

• raises the number of healthy bacteria in the colon;

• helps prevent colorectal cancer by strengthening cells in the colon and intestines; and

• helps eliminate the need for laxatives. (Some studies have concluded laxatives deplete nutrition and lower quality of life — and shouldn't be used often.)

As if that's not enough, oatmeal has two, unique antioxidants that gently open blood vessels for better bloodflow, and that further reduce inflammation.

All this may well make the case that mom knows "best."

Figuring It All Out

Only one dry cup of "old-fashioned" rolled oats gives us the minimum three ounces we need in whole grains. Remarkably, two slices of an ordinary 100-percent whole-wheat bread, only have a little more than an ounce of the grains we need.

Even two slices of the most nutrition-packed breads, may not meet our complete daily need. A bread that has 46 grams of whole-grain wheat in two slices, has only a little more than half the minimum.

To help make sense of that:

Three ounces of whole-grain wheat seeds is about an eighth of a cup (about 85.5 grams). Two slices of an ordinary "100% Whole Wheat" bread in a day, has less than 35 percent of the at least one-eighth cup we need. By the end of each day, we need to have had at least an eighth cup of grains from our favorite products. And, really, that's not a lot.

Different research shows from 40 to 98 percent of us, in the U.S., don't eat the amount of whole grains we need — a fact that impacts our cancer risks for the worse.

But it's not easy understanding why we're not eating many whole grains.

Only one-fourth dry cup of brown rice gives us more than twice the minimum whole grains we need in a day. Plus, rice helps us in many little-known ways.

An Underestimated Alternative

Brown rice isn't the diabetes-prevention and cholesterol-lowering powerhouse oatmeal is. It's a superfood in its own way.

Brown rice is a whole grain that, surprisingly, offers way more benefit than whole wheat — beginning with the fact that brown rice is high in selenium, a powerful antioxidant mineral.

Studies indicate selenium

• is crucial to thyroid function and metabolism;
• heightens immune responses in persons with HIV, influenza, and hepatitis C;
• helps in the fight against heart disease and cancer (even destroying some types of cancer cells);
• relieves side-effects of radiation during cancer treatment; and
• slows memory loss due to neurological decline.

  See https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/selenium-benefits.

Rice, oats, and eggs may be the most affordable food sources of selenium.

Brown rice also has

• vitamin B6, to help lower the amount of an amino acid that contributes to heart disease, and to prevent degenerative problems of the brain and eye;
• manganese for growth and nerve health;
• magnesium for heart health;
• iron for overall health;
• pantothenic acid, for help with some types of arthritis; and
• antioxidants, to reduce inflammation and cancer risks. (A type of antioxidant, lignans, in rice, don't only reduce inflammation; they help lower cholesterol and blood pressure.)

And while it's true that jasmine rice is an unhealthy option, studies indicate many types of rice — including simple, brown rice — may be responsible for lower rates of chronic diseases in some parts of the world. And, while a few people fret over the possibility of high arsenic in rice, the health benefits far outweigh the odds of any poisoning!

People who ate two large servings of brown rice a day, had lower blood-sugar levels after meals, says one study.

Other Whole-grain Options

Every family and individual makes their, his, or her own choices about whole grains.

While boxed cereals aren't usually the best option, some cereal makers do a good job putting whole grains in their products. For people who don't like the texture of oatmeal (despite how beneficial oats are!), there are other whole-wheat options in breakfast cereal.

Options can include whole-grain bran cereals like Fiber One Original Bran cereal with whole grains, Total Raisin Bran, and Great Value Raisin Bran. Manufacturers sometimes change their ingredients, but these examples, at one point, had more fiber and whole grains than most sandwich breads have. (Raisin Nut Bran also used to be a good option, but, at some point, the cereal's maker slacked off on the whole grains and added corn flakes to their bran. Corn flakes are not a good cereal option, at all.) Just check the ingredients label on your cereal. The first three ingredients tell you what the product is mostly made of.)

*       *       *

Not Mad about Nutrition: But fighting hard not to lead another crazy neighbor astray

 

 

I'm not a food alarmist.

I'm not one of those folk who goes around snatching food out of anyone's hands like retired NBA player Dikembe Mutombo blocking food purchases in a Geico commercial.

Although I never willingly choose to eat anything prepared with coconut oil*, and although I'll never agree with laxatives, I'm not one who goes around saying never eat this food, and don't ever eat that food. There's an occasion for everything that has Heaven's blessing.

Yet I may object when lives are on the line, and when we're about to spend a crazy amount of money only to do something unhealthy. Setting a good example is important to me, and to most other folk who are Christian.

But many folk never give a second thought to whether a food purchase is joyful, a blessing, or whether it will make sense to an onlooking, covetous, or confused neighbor. I, for one, am more special than not to give food a second thought.

I try to model food ways that most people can manage to follow. I try not to have food habits that are too expensive — or too unhealthy — for most other people to have as habits. That's the season Heaven has had me live for a long time (1 Corinthians 10:31-32).

I think that, from a Christian perspective, we're living during a very difficult time (Matthew 23:15), when many are easy to be conflicted, and sometimes enraged, by even our personal choices.

But food should be an easy matter to manage or to deal with. Although we may think carefully about it sometimes, our meals were never meant to torment us.

... After all: We've lived this far, by faith.

 

 

 

A school lunch during the Great Depression, in 1936, gives a fair idea how some of our elders not only survived, but thrived. 

Public-domain photo: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

 

~

* Cooking with coconut oil is a fairly new trend on the global stage. But it's not a good trend. In fact, when I was a child, adults in the know, cautioned against eating very much candy made with coconut oil. I think news reports, at that time, may have been reacting to a study that may have found a popular candy prepared with coconut oil was raising bad cholesterol pretty significantly.

When we fast-forward more than 40 years to today, there's a push to accept global trends without regard for anyone's health. And maybe people who push that way, just don't recognize that, no matter where anyone is in our world, there is always some foodway that isn't exactly good for us; and coconut oil is one of those vices. Coconut oil is more saturated with fats that hurt us, than any other cooking oil, including shortening and beef fat.

Coconut oil does have some redeeming uses, however.

Plain, 100 percent coconut oil from the baking aisle at the grocery store, is very good for healing cracked skin on feet, and it conditions and protects our African-American hair beautifully, without unwanted fragrances and oiliness.

Amen.