Oats Improve Heart Health: Grain Benefits for Your Diet

Oats have long been a safe source of food to improve overall health. The benefits of the grain have been documented in hundreds of studies over the years. Now, there are new findings from the Annual Conference of the American Chemical Society.  

There's a long list of wide ranging health benefits that oats can provide an everyday diet. The Whole Grain Council narrowed down the scholarly studies and presented the most important ones that you should know about oats. For example, oats can reduce asthma risk in children, increase appetite-control hormones, improve immune system defenses, reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes, lower bad cholesterol, and help control blood pressure, among other benefits.

Oats can also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease because of its high fiber, vitamin, mineral, and phytochemical content, which has caught the researchers' attention for the most recent oat study.

At the 247 Annual Conference of the American Chemical Society in Dallas, Texas, eleven top scientists presented their study entitled "Physicochemical Properties and Biological Functionality of Oats" and enumerated the various health benefits of oats. But most importantly they focused on the growing evidence that oats contain a phenolic compound avenanthramide (AVE). This compound is believed to wield antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-itch, and anti-cancer properties and is only found in oats.

Those properties, the scientists say, may play an important role in protecting the heart. They provide evidence that AVEs suppress both inflammatory cytokines that affect fat in the arteries as well as the process associated with the development of atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in the arteries). AVEs are also believed to help the atheroprotection of oats because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Oats and other whole grains can be incorporated with breakfast, lunch, and dinner and will help improve one's overall health because they contain antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that are not found in many other foods. Visit the Whole Grain Council website to learn more.