Oats... the myth, dispelled!

A collegue of mine and I were just talking about oats... she said that Quick Oats (not the instant sugar kind) have no fibre and are not good for you, whereas steel cut oats are very good for you.  As per usual, I consulted my good friend Google to get the answer.

If you like oatmeal but have recently been made to feel guilty (by the media, fitness trainers and the internet) for eating Quick Oats, which are as the name implies, QUICK, let me put your mind at ease.  I got my info from THIS article and the comments.

 

 

A rolled oat is basically an oat, put through rollers and made flat.  A steel cut oat is that same oat, cross cut into approximately three pieces. Keeping the outside of the oat intact means that the cooking process will be longer as those oats are more resistant to absorbing water.  That's about the only difference.

 

The two biggest arguments to this are 'steaming the quick oat (which is done to partial 'par cook' it in order to make it 'quicker') causes it to lose it's nutritional value and 'rolling' it cause the Oat Bran to be removed.

 

As far as the steaming goes, yes, cooking causes items to lose some of their nutritional value, hence why eating raw is sometimes a better choice.  But unless you're planning on eating your 1/4 cup of Steel Cut oats raw and crunchy (good luck with that!), you're going to cook them both, so it's not really a viable arguement.

 

And yes, the rolled oats change shape, potentially causing the oat bran to fall out... but ever notice that your quick oats are dusty?  Well the oat bran that just fell out of your oat is likely crushed up and coating your rolled oat.  If the fibre content of the two are identical, then it's safe to say that each still includes all its' fibrey parts!

Nutrients – Let’s compare the Quaker Steel Cut Oats to Quaker Rolled Oats.

1/4 cup of Quaker steel cut oats:
Calories – 150
Fat – 2.5g
Carbs – 27g
Fiber – 4g
Sugar – 1g
Protein – 5g

1/2 cup of Quaker old fashioned oats and quick oats:
Calories – 150
Fat – 3g
Carbs – 27g
Fiber – 4g
Sugar – 1g

Protein – 5g

*A rolled oat takes up more space than a steel cut oat, thereby needing more room for the same weight. That's why Steel cut oats are measured at 1/4c and the more bulky quick oats are measured at 1/2c.  This comes out to the same weight of food and is thereby comparable.