Why Grandma Was Right - Eat Your Oatmeal!
Lisa Meller, CMP, CITP, CED
Owner | Senior Event Director | Event Consultant
Oats stimulate your immune system – did you know that? I didn’t!
If you’re at all like me, you’ve kind of grown up dismissing some of the basics like eating your peas and having oatmeal for breakfast. Yeah, yeah, yeah . . . I know mom. I know, Grandma. I honestly sort of thought of peas and of oatmeal, especially, as “peasant food” that were sort of throw-away filler without that much nutritional value. I just thought we ate them because they were cheap and were readily available.
OK, I WAS WRONG! I am totally OK with openly admitting that!
If your grandma told you to eat your oatmeal, she was RIGHT!
So today I want to focus on some info you may not have ever known about ancient grains like oats – a top source of D-beta-glucans. ?(Peas I will save for another topic, but I can tell you that I’m growing a bunch in my garden now and find ways to incorporate them into my plant-based organic many times per week!)?
Back to OATS . . ?
DID YOU KNOW THAT OATS are awesome at stimulating your immune function?
I bet you thought they were only really good for fiber and for reducing cholesterol. BUT, there’s much more!
Oats contain high levels of D-beta-glucans. D-Beta-glucans (or, for today’s topic, just “beta-glucans”) help our bodies with everything from brain function to cancer prevention. They have proven to be:
·?????? anti-tumor
·?????? antimicrobial
·?????? anti-allergic
·?????? anti-diabetic
·?????? anti-obesity
·?????? and anti-hypercholestrolemic (meaning, they help control cholesterol levels and bring down LDL – aka "bad"- cholesterol). ?
They help us manage fatigue and reduce immunity caused by emotional stress, and they help reduce risk of cardiovascular disease. ?Beta-glucans from food also help our bone marrow recover after irradiation, which is really important for those going through cancer treatments and even for all of us, as we are continually exposed to low levels of irradiation. ?These results are in tons of well-respected peer-reviewed research papers and have demonstrated these effects in countless clinical trials. Some studies even show good results with beta-glucans for combatting skin conditions such as dermatitis, eczema, ulcers, sores and wrinkles - and I’m sure the list goes on!
Wow, right? I bet Grandma didn’t know that, but she did know that it was a darn good way to feel good throughout the day, to keep BM’s regular, and to curb hunger while maintaining energy.
In today’s day and age of high tech EMF’s, highly over-processed and fake food, of pesticide use and of chemical sprays, our immune systems are constantly under attack. We need to do all we can do boost our systems and to help our bodies heal.
What are beta-glucans and where can I get them, you ask?? I didn’t know, so I looked it up! I earned a ton through my studies at the Energetic Health Institute, through which I plan to become a board-certified holistic nutrition counselor. ?Beta-glucans were the topic of one of our homework assignments in the coursework.
Beta-glucans are naturally-occurring fibers and polysaccharides found in? high amounts in foods like OATS and BARLEY - ?two of the highest sources of beta-glucans,? . . .and in other foods like cereals and whole grains like rye, wheat and sorghum.? BUT, they’re also in high amounts in MUSHROOMS such as Maitake, Shiitake, Reishi, and Chaga – and even in your everyday button mushrooms. You can find them in algae, chlorella, seaweed, kelps, and in nutritional yeasts. (Well, back to peas . . . you can also find beta-glucans in beans, peas, and lentils, and to a lesser extent in fruits and veggies such as broccoli, sweet potato, eggplant, apples, strawberries, dates and prunes. Yep, Grandma was on it with eating your ?rainbow of fruits & veggies, too!)
And how do they work? For those of you who want to geek out a little more deeply with me, you’ll find that in our gut these polysaccharides bind to immune cells and stimulate their activity and messaging systems. Our immune cells come in a variety of types, where some act as communicators to call in the big dogs, and the big dogs either swallow up foreign invaders (phagocytosis), or they actually SHOOT THEM DOWN in an immune response. Anything we can do to support our troops I’ll do!?
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As fibers, they also help clear out cholesterol and regulate blood sugar levels. This is also related to detoxing and to keeping us healthy in general.
Beta-glucans also support prebiotic and probiotics – the GOOD bacteria that we need in our guts – by enhancing their activity. This is critical, especially since there are so many over-prescribed anti-biotics, and we NEED to keep the good ones going if we’re truly going to fight off infection.
How much should we ingest? ?There is currently no one-solid recommended daily value, but the FDA allows for any food with 750 mg or greater of beta-glucan to claim health benefit, and at least 3 grams per day is linked to reduced heart disease risk. It seems that a good starting point is about 3.5 grams of beta-glucans, which you can find in about 1.5 cups of cooked oatmeal (or 3 packets of instant oats), or about 1.5 cups of cooked pearl barley. Higher doses, around 7 – 10 g per day, have shown significant additional benefits, including curbing hunger. For those who are at risk of infection, up it to about 20 – 50 mg/ day and keep it up for weeks or even months to see the long-term results.
So, can we eat too many beta-glucans? Research shows that there are NO known adverse reactions to eating a bunch of seaweed, oats, barley, or delicious mushrooms. BUT, if you’re not used to eating these foods on a regular basis, go slowly and start out with spreading them out during the day (such as oatmeal in the morning, and a yummy Japanese soup with seaweed and mushrooms in the evening). Some people report at first some bloating, gas, and abdominal cramping.
AND, if your doctor has prescribed drugs that suppress the immune system, (1) seriously discuss getting OFF of them and anything that has proton-pump inhibitors, but (2) DO talk to your doctor about it because beta-glucans may have some adverse effects if you are on some medications, especially blood pressure meds or other non-steroidal meds.
Keep in mind that HIPPOCRATES was also right – “Let food be by thy medicine and medicine be thy food." Smart man.
Grandma knew, and so did her grandma. Let us not forget this as WE become grandmas (and grandpas), too!
Check out a few research resource links. This is just a start, but hopefully it’s enough to get you more excited about just how good “the basics” can be!
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Highlighted Resource Links:
#wellness #healthylifestyle #holisticnutrition #betaglucans #wholegrains #nutrition #organicfoods #immunity #immuneresponse #cardiovasculardisease #antimicrobial #antitumor #anticancer #antimicrobial #medicinalmushrooms
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Vice President of Operations at Exhibit Services Inc.
10 个月Great information.