What kind of oats should you eat?

Oats are a good source of soluble fiber which can help reduce cholesterol and help steady blood sugar levels.

There is a variety of oat types available out there, but which one is best? Before I tackle this question, here is a list of the different types of oats:

• Oat groats: all types of oat cereals start out as groats. These are hulled, toasted oat grains.

• Steel-cut (Irish) oats: the least processed type of oat cereal where toasted oat groats are chopped into chunks. These oats must be cooked before they are eaten. Cooking time is apx 45min.

• Stone ground (Scottish) oats:  similar to Steel-cut oats, but they are ground into smaller pieces. These oats must also be cooked before eaten, but the cooking time is only 20-25min since they are smaller.

• Old-fashioned rolled oats: made by steaming the toasted groats and then running them between rollers to create flakes. These oats can be eaten cooked or uncooked. Cooking time is apx 10min.

• Quick oats: similar to old-fashioned oats, but rolled into thinner flakes so that they cook faster.

• Instant oats: the most processed type of oat cereal where the groats have been chopped fine, flattened, pre-cooked, and dehydrated. Instant oatmeal usually has added salt and sugar.

At first glance, one would assume that steel-cut oats would be more nutritious than rolled oats given that they are less processed. Although this would be a good educated guess, in fact there are very minor differences between them. Steel-cut, old-fashioned, and quick oats are all derived from whole grains and they all have about the same amount of fiber, protein, calories, and other nutrients. Furthermore, they are all very similar with regards to glycemic load (the speed in which a food is digested and converted into blood sugar) The major differences between these oat types is the texture. Thus, it really comes down to personal preference.

The only oat type that you may be better off not eating would be the instant oats due to the added salt and sugar. Plus, during the time it takes you to boil the water, you can cook some old-fashioned oats in the microwave instead.

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