Contents:
- Medical Video: What Will Happen If You Start Eating Oats Every Day
- Why can someone have dyslipidemia?
- Eating oatmeal can help reduce blood fat levels
- Why is that?
Medical Video: What Will Happen If You Start Eating Oats Every Day
High levels of blood fat are almost always associated with high cholesterol and obesity. In fact, a person who is thin and looks fit can even have high levels of fat in his blood. This condition is called dyslipidemia. Well, experts revealed that regular eating oatmeal or oatmeal porridge can reduce blood fat levels. Why is that?
Why can someone have dyslipidemia?
Before we talk about dyslipidemia, we must recognize the types of fat in our body, namely LDL (low-density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol), HDL (high-density lipoprotein or good cholesterol), triglycerides (the result of excess consumption of carbohydrates that are converted to fat), and total cholesterol (accumulation of all three types of cholesterol).
Dyslipidemia is a fat metabolic disorder that occurs when the fat level in the bloodstream is too high or too low. The main types of fat abnormalities were increased total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, and decreased HDL cholesterol levels. So, these three things must be fulfilled when a person has dyslipidemia, not just high cholesterol.
Dyslipidemia is caused by genetic factors and aging because with increasing age the function of the organ will decrease and affect the process of cholesterol metabolism in the body. But a diet high in saturated fat and sugar, obesity, and a mager lifestyle or rarely move is the most common risk factors of this condition.
High fat levels in the blood risk forming free radicals in the body, which are destructive and can trigger various diseases. Ranging from arthritis, heart disease, atherosclerosis, stroke, hypertension, gastric ulcer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, to cancer.
Eating oatmeal can help reduce blood fat levels
In a study conducted by researchers in China, a group of participants who were asked to regularly consume 100 grams of oatmeal every day reported a decrease in total cholesterol, LDL bad cholesterol, and dramatic shrinkage of waist circumference - especially in people who have hypercholesterolemia.
Other research in Canada also concluded the same thing, that routine eating oatmeal every day can reduce the amount of total cholesterol.
Why is that?
Oatmeal, especially made from whole wheat, contains high water soluble fiber. Whole wheat oats are also enriched with β-glucan, protein, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamin B1 which function to produce energy. Eating oatmeal also provides a longer satiety effect, thanks to a combination of types of water soluble fiber and β-glucan which is slowly digested in the small intestine.
In addition, the content of β-glucan in whole wheat helps the liver produce special bile which works to inhibit the absorption of LDL cholesterol, or "bad" cholesterol. The production of bile does not depend on the digestive process, but rather from how much fatty acid content the small intestine absorbs to return to use by the liver.
In the digestive system, beta glucan works to reduce the absorption of bile and cholesterol from food. As a result, there will be less bile used by the liver. This then causes good HDL cholesterol levels to bind to groups of bad fats, such as LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. This effect ultimately causes total cholesterol levels in the blood to decrease.
Moreover, oatmeal also contains chemical compounds of lignans which can prevent the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease, strokes, and heart attacks.
