Raw Or Cooked Oats, How Is It Best To Eat Them?
Oats are a cereal that is an excellent food for both adults and children, not only for its high nutritional value, but also for the benefits it offers to our health. Although we usually associate it with breakfast, raw or cooked oats lend themselves to many preparations, to be consumed in any meal of the day.
Obviously, eating raw or cooked oats involves variations in their properties, so how is it best to eat them? This is an important question, as many foods are known to lose some of their nutritional value during cooking.
Below we will evaluate the pros and cons of the two ways of taking raw or cooked oats and then … may the best win!
Oats: the nutritional value
Whether it’s raw or cooked oats, this cereal is always a great source of nutrients and energy . A ration of oats is able to provide us with proteins, minerals, vitamins (although in lesser quantities than other nutrients), soluble fiber, fats and carbohydrates.
Among its major properties, we can underline the importance of soluble fibers, which help fight constipation, since they cover the intestine with a protective layer that facilitates and regulates intestinal transit.
Oats also help to avoid weight gain, as it satisfies and keeps cholesterol under control thanks to the contribution of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
One of these soluble fibers – β-glucans – is responsible for regulating blood glucose and lipid levels. The carbohydrates present in this cereal also play a very important role, as they take much longer than normal to reach the blood.
This feature makes oats an ideal food especially for those suffering from diabetes and for those who practice sports.
However, with the same nutritional properties, raw oats have an advantage over cooked oats: they are able to retain these properties longer and in greater quantities.
When we cook oats, we lose a large amount of minerals and fibers contained in them. In addition, we also burn many of its enzymes, which are useful in promoting digestion and the elimination of toxins from our body.
Furthermore, during cooking, other fundamental elements are also lost, such as vitamins B and E and selenium, a mineral rich in antioxidants that helps prevent cancer, aging and heart problems.
Flavor and digestion
In this respect, cooked oats are better, not only because of their more palatable flavor, but also because they are much easier to chew and digest than raw oats.
In fact, many people find it harder to chew raw oats, since they haven’t been softened by the cooking process. In addition, once eaten, they then present a situation of intestinal discomfort, characterized by the presence of gas, pangs and constipation.
However, all is not lost for raw oats and there is a way to overcome these drawbacks. It is possible to soften this cereal without cooking it, leaving it to soak for a couple of hours (with a proportion equal to two cups of water for each cup of oats), after which it will be sufficient to blend it and ingest it to taste.
You can also sweeten oats by adding a little honey or sugar, to improve their flavor, or mix them with yogurt, fruit or other foods: in this way, the other ingredients will mask the taste.
Summing up, is raw or cooked oats better?
After evaluating the nutritional aspect, flavor and digestibility, between raw and cooked oats, it is the first to prevail.
Although its texture and flavor are inferior to cooked ones, the possibility of improving them and its nutritional superiority make raw oats a perfect food to keep our body fit, healthy and full of energy.
Images courtesy of Sebastian Tauchmann
