Oats Nutrition

Oats are among the most versatile grains and foods out there. You can eat them raw by making overnight oats and adding them to smoothies, or you can eat them cooked by making the traditional oatmeal. You can also use them to make granola, protein balls, breakfast cookies or muffins… and they make a great soup or mushroom gravy thickener. 

The best part is that oats are very nutritious. They are rich in protein and fiber, thiamine, biotin, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, zinc, and a great amount of manganese content. They also contain phenolic acids, which are strong antioxidants and help fight inflammation.

Oats are gluten free, so they can be enjoyed by people with gluten sensitivities. Do check that the packaging says they are gluten-free since different grains may be processed in the same facilities, and there is always a risk of cross-contamination.

You can find oats in different forms: steel cut, rolled, instant, flour, oat bran, oat milk… As with all whole foods, the less processed they are, the better they are for you. That being said, steel cut oats and old-fashioned rolled oats have the same nutritional content. Instant oats may have some fiber removed, same as some commercial oat flour. If you need oat flour, just grind it yourself in a spice grinder or in your blender to preserve its nutritional content. When it comes to oat milk, most nutrients are lost with the pulp, which is why commercial oat milk has added nutrients.

Do Oats Cause Blood Sugar Spikes?

The short answer is no. Oats have a medium to low glycemic index. They only become high-glycemic when fiber is removed or when sugar is added like in those instant flavored packages. But, when it comes to eating whole or minimally processed oats, these are some examples of their glycemic index values, according to this review:

• Steel-cut oats: 52 GI
• Old-Fashiones oats: 56 GI
• Instant oats: 67 GI
• Muffin made with oat flour: 53.6 GI

As a reminder, a low glycemic index is 55 or below, medium is 56-69 and high is anything above 70. 

One top reason why oats got the bad rap of causing blood sugar spikes is their high starch content. In reality, 40% of this starch content is slowly digestible and 30% is resistant starch, leaving only close to 30% of rapidly digestible starch (RDS). And even the glucose absorption from RDS is slowed down by another key component of oats: beta-glucan, a high-viscosity, soluble fiber. 

Recent Discovery: Oats Can Help Us Eliminate PFAS!

Recently, oats made the headlines because of their high beta-glucan content and a surprising discovery. This soluble, gel-forming fiber that helps us grow good gut bacteria, lower our total and LDL cholesterol levels, and regulate our blood sugar, also binds to PFAS or forever chemicals in our digestive tract. By doing this, oats help us eliminate these forever chemicals before they get absorbed into our blood. This is huge because PFAS are present in our drinking water and foods for various reasons, and once absorbed, it’s very difficult to break them down and they can stay in our body forever.

The study that discovered this had a small sample of 72 individuals; it only lasted 4 weeks, and its original purpose was to test the efficacy of oat beta-glucan to reduce cholesterol levels. On December 2024, some of the scientists involved in this study published a pilot study conducted with mice that supported the idea that oat beta-glucan supplements can reduce PFAS in the body. 

Further studies are needed to understand the effects of eating beta-glucan-containing foods such as oats and mushrooms as a regular part of our diet. Whenever possible, we should try to avoid exposure to PFAS by limiting the amount of foods packaged in plastic that we eat, by avoiding plastic water bottles as much as possible, and by using a water filter at home that can filter out PFAS.

Organic or Conventional Oats?

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) warned about the high content of glyphosate in conventionally grown oats based on studies connected in 2018 and 2019. The oat products tested included popular brands and even children’s cereals. 

In 2022, EWG found that infant cereal had mostly undetectable levels of glyphosate. Gerber oatmeal products were clear. Gerber’s Baby Cereal, Quaker Old Fashioned Oats, and General Mills Cheerios were tested for 414 pesticides and 3 herbicides, and none of these chemicals were found above the lab’s detection limits.  

More good news: In 2023, EWG found that glyphosate levels had dropped in various oat products. For example, Quaker Oatmeal Squares went from 3,000 parts of glyphosate per billion (ppb) to less than 500 ppb and as low as 20 ppb. EWG recommends not getting over 160 ppb, though. But this is still a very significant drop. 

What caused this decrease in glyphosate use? The EWG believes it could be due to a campaign led by this organization that advocated to end pre-harvest use of glyphosate. Yes, glyphosate has been sprayed on oats (and legumes) before harvesting them to dry them out!

Despite these positive results, 30% of conventionally grown oat products tested still showed high amounts of glyphosate. The highest levels showed up in Quaker products, especially in Quaker Oatmeal Squares. 

Aside from glyphosate, another pesticide was found in conventional oats: chlormequat. In May 2023, this pesticide was detected in 92% of oat-based foods, including Quaker Oats and Cheerios. So, we’re doing better in the glyphosate department, but now we’re having a chlormequat problem. Why? Because this pesticide is linked to reproductive and developmental problems in animals, and it’s possible that it could have the same effect on humans. 

If you can, buy organic oat products. But don’t remove oats from your diet if you can only get conventionally grown. Experts believe that the benefits of oats outweigh the risks.