4 Oatmeal Nutrition Facts You Need to Know

In your continuous effort to eat healthy and provide a good diet for your family, you have probably considered making oatmeal an essential part of your daily diet. You should now commit to the food that is often considered one of the healthiest choices available.

The oatmeal nutrition facts reveal even more benefits than previously thought. The facts are these: if you are looking for a delicious way to eat healthy, and you want to entice your children into eating well by offering them something that is quick and tasty, you need to consider oatmeal.

Oatmeal is considered an almost magical food, given its many health benefits. While most people end up loving the taste of it once they have tried it, oatmeal somehow remains one of the least eaten available foods in the world. The USDA estimates that only 5% of the world's entire oat crop is actually eaten by humans.

That means that there is plenty of oatmeal left for you, your family, and your friends. Let's take a look at how beneficial oatmeal can be to you and those whom you care about. The oatmeal nutrition facts are exceptionally good news in a world that is filled with fast food, sugary snacks, and little desire to eat healthy.

1. Oatmeal helps you lose weight

Oatmeal is appealing to health experts because it actually reduces your craving for foods that are not good for you. We all know which ones those are! Habits are very hard to break, especially when it comes to the yummy snacks we have always adored. But if you are not pleased with the shape you are in, consider the impact of the types of foods you have eaten for years and years. Is it time to make a change? If so, oatmeal is an excellent alternative to the foods you have previously eaten.

Oatmeal is known for being a food that "sticks to your ribs", meaning that it simply stays in your stomach longer than junk food. This longer stay in your stomach allows you to feel fuller for a longer amount of time. You will find that your body no longer is tortured with the constant cravings that come from simple carbohydrates. Thus, you end up with significantly more energy and less hunger.

That combination is a winner when it comes to eating right. It is also one reason why oatmeal is a nearly perfect morning meal. You need to eat something in the early hours of the day that will fill you up for the rest of the morning. Nothing can hold you over like oatmeal.

2. Oatmeal nutrition leads to a healthier heart
Recent studies have shown that women are more prone to heart disease than originally thought. While this is not encouraging news for you as a woman, you can feel good about the medical research that offers suggestions. Simply put, there are things you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease. You want to find a wide range of foods that help in the fight against heart problems. Oatmeal definitely falls into that category.

All of the nutrients in oatmeal are exceptionally good for you and your ticker. Your heart needs all of the B vitamins, calcium, iron, and Vitamin A it can get. In addition to these little helpers, oatmeal provides you with high levels of fiber and very low levels of fat. There is absolutely no cholesterol in oatmeal, so you will never have to worry about it clogging your arteries. In fact, we will now look at the ways in which oatmeal can actually remove cholesterol.

3. Oatmeal nutrition actually gets rid of cholesterol
First off, perhaps you have heard a lot about cholesterol, but do not fully understand what it is and how it can negatively affect you. Cholesterol is an incredibly fatty substance that is produced by your liver. Another way that we gain this not-so-pleasant substance is by eating products that come from animals, such as beef, poultry, and dairy products. Cholesterol by itself is not necessarily a bad thing, as it does a number of helpful things for our bodies, such as creating hormones and digesting fat. The problem occurs, however, when our bodies have a higher than normal amount of the fatty substance. Our arteries get clogged and that can be very exhausting for our hearts.

Now check out this oatmeal nutrition fact. If we told you that oatmeal was a good source of nutrition that helped fight against heart disease by decreasing cholesterol, you would be ecstatic. But it gets even better than that! Not only does oatmeal help lower one of the leading causes of heart disease, it is also able to completely remove it. People from all parts of the United States have recently confirmed what several dozen studies have shown: oatmeal can eliminate your bad cholesterol without affecting your good cholesterol. Your body needs the good kind, so it is a very good thing that oatmeal can distinguish between the two.

How does oatmeal actually achieve this for us? It helps to compare the little pieces of oats found in oatmeal to small sponges. These small sponges soak up all of the bad cholesterol in your body. They then take the yucky stuff and remove it from your body. Mission accomplished! All of this is attributed to the very valuable fiber that is found in oats.

4. Oatmeal strengthens your children's bodies
As you might imagine, each member of your family will be positively affected by your decision to include oatmeal in your diet. Even the youngest members will be better off if you convince them to eat oatmeal on a rather consistent basis. For example, if you have young children, you are well aware of their need for high levels of nutrition. Good nutrition helps your children grow strong and healthy. Because you care about them, you want to fill their little bodies with the things that will best prepare them for development.

One area that parents often neglect is their children's teeth. Did you know that what your child eats directly affects their teeth? Oatmeal has a very positive effect on young teeth. Because oatmeal is loaded with high levels of nutrition, your children's teeth will be strong and healthy looking. You have tried to be a good role model for your children by flossing and brushing your teeth regularly. Now prove to them how the consumption of healthy foods is just as important.

In addition to oatmeal being very healthy for you and your family, it is easy to prepare and can be served in a variety of ways. Experiment with some of the different toppings that are often used to spice up oatmeal. Some of these include yogurt, fruit, and syrup. Regardless of which topping you use, your entire family will be surprised that something so tasty can also be so good for them. If need be, keep it a secret!

The oatmeal nutrition facts all point in the same direction. If you are looking for a food that can help you begin your day with lasting energy, can help you lose weight, and can help in the fight against heart disease and other anxiety-inducing diseases, eat oatmeal.