Fan zhihong, associate professor of food science and nutrition engineering, China agricultural university

People's Daily online - life times

      Oatmeal is well nourished, and this is almost a consensus. But in the face of products such as "oatmeal", "oatmeal" and "oatmeal" on the shelves, many people have made it difficult to choose. For the most common questions, I'll answer them one by one.

      Question 1: "oatmeal" and "cereal" are the same thing?

      A: they're not a thing. The pure oatmeal is rolled in oats and is flat, with a diameter of about the same size as the yellow bean grain. The processed instant oatmeal is a bit of a crush, but it can still be seen in its original shape. Oatmeal is a mixture of various cereals, such as wheat, rice, corn and barley, where oatmeal is only a small part, or even oatmeal. Foreign products like to add fruit stem, nut slices, bean fragments and so on, domestic likes to add maltodextrin, sugar, milk powder (phytolipids), essence and so on. By contrast, adding fruits, nuts and legumes is healthier and can enrich the source of dietary fiber. Adding granulated sugar and dextrin reduces the nutritional value and increases the rate of blood glucose rise. Adding milk is not good for cardiovascular health, because it contains partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, and the "trans fatty acids" in it can promote heart disease.

      Question2: some products claim to be high in calcium, high iron, and high protein. Are they better than pure oatmeal?      

      A: the oatmeal itself is high in nutritional value, as a staple food, even if it doesn't include other nutrients. Merchants add some nutrients, on the one hand, to improve the quality of products, and on the other hand, it is a propaganda way to attract consumers to buy it first. Some "cereal" products themselves have a small percentage of oats, and even adding other nutrients, such as calcium and protein, is not actually more nutritious than pure oatmeal. Therefore, do not think that after adding some nutrients, processing products will definitely exceed natural products.

      Question 3: are some of the most inconspicuous big bags of oatmeal in the most inconspicuous places?

      A: these products don't have fancy marketing, or add any synthetic material, which is the real natural oatmeal. Natural oatmeal has a high protein content of 13%~ 15%, with high levels of calcium and potassium, rich in beta-glucan and more unsaturated fatty acids. In general, the more sticky the equal amount of oatmeal, the better the health effect. However, many consumers don't even know what a pure oatmeal is, and don't know that it tastes like that, and the texture is so sticky and even a little rough. Unfortunately, after years of processed foods, many people have been unable to adapt to the crude and light natural flavor.

      Question 4: many oatmeal products claim to be free to cook, so are they boiled or washed?

      A: from a health standpoint, you cook better. Because cooked oatmeal can provide the greatest satiety, the blood sugar rises at the slowest rate. At the same time, these cooking oatmeal did not add any added ingredients, such as sugar, cream, maltodextrin, and essence. Some instant oatmeal is just a minute or two of heat, and they are a good choice. Those ready-to-eat products cater to consumers' need for convenience and delicacy, which is not necessarily consistent with health values. For example, most of these products are added to sugar, which not only lowers nutritional value, but also damages the benefits of low blood sugar levels and high satiety. There's also a lot of added phytolipids, which can make oatmeal beneficial in preventing cardiovascular disease.