Ways to boost your heart health
February is the British Heart Foundation’s national heart health month, so we thought we’d celebrate our beloved oats and the ways they can help promote better heart health.
Cholesterol lowering effects of Oats and Beta Glucan
Oats contain a soluble fibre called beta-glucan, which has been shown to lower non-HDL cholesterol. Non-HDL cholesterol is what we sometimes call bad-cholesterol, and when we have too much of this cholesterol in our blood it puts us at risk of strokes and heart disease. To stop cholesterol from being absorbed into the body, Beta-glucan forms a gel like substance in the gut, and this binds with cholesterol rich bile-acids, actively helping to lower cholesterol. The beta-glucan in oats is what gives porridge it’s creamy consistency too!
How much beta-glucan should I aim to eat?
The recommended daily allowance to help unlock these cholesterol lowering benefits is 3 grams of beta-glucan. A 40g serving of our jumbo oats contains 1.4 grams, so 46% of the daily goal. To help hit your target of 3 grams, you could start your day with a bowl of porridge and then add an extra serving of oats later in the day. Try adding an extra serving of oats to a smoothie, or snacking on oatcakes or granola. You could also blitz up oats to use as oat-flour to make pancakes (suggested recipe here) or oat muffins to help you reach your target.
Is the beta-glucan just found in plain jumbo oats?
Beta-glucan is found in all oats, so our entire porridge range contains beta-glucan, including our porridge pots and porridge sachets as well as our jumbo oats.
