Do raw oats absorb as well as cooked oats?

[jbo]

I saw this posted recently as one of the best breakfast you can eat:
http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal

Which basically doesn't cook or eat the oats, which I was wondering if the beneifts are the same for raw oats compared to cooked oats?

I typically make a breakfast every morning and I noticed there was a link on the site for making an oatmeal smoothie, which takes oats and puts it in the blender to turn it into small powder. I'm wondering if this will have the same health benefits or will it just go through my system?

http://www.theyummylife.com/Oatmeal_Smoothies

 

[Solstice Goat]

Adsorb what?

Lettuce fiber has the same benefit as oat fiber without all the empty carbs.

 

[jbo]

Adsorb what?

Lettuce fiber has the same benefit as oat fiber without all the empty carbs.

No clue what your talking about to be honest. What is lettuce fiber? I tried to google it and nothing is called lettuce fiber. Maybe your comparing any type of lettuce to oats?

Not sure how you're comparing a grain to a lettuce, as it's like comparing cocoa powder to fish. But below you can see the benefits from oats if you are unaware of all the benefits, which they are drastically different.

I'm just still shocked you can compare the two as many of the healthiest people I know eat oatmeal for breakfast everyday. I don't, but I'm hoping I'm not understanding what your suggesting, because lettuce for breakfast? A serving size of Oats has about 7 grams of protein and two grams of fiber, which I guess if you only look at calories and don't care about protein then lettuce half gram of protein and 1 gram of fiber for a cup would keep you full for breakfast.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=54
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=61

 

[jbo]

I actually found the answer to my question. All grains need to be cooked or soaked over night as we don't digest them well and the nutrients won't be absorbed well. There are more benefits of soaking the oats than eating them raw.

 

[Solstice Goat]

I try to avoid getting recommendations for products from the company selling the product, but you're correct; I don't see the benefits of eating oatmeal.

I apologize for being ambiguous with the 'lettuce fiber' recommendation. Last time I made that recommendation the same result happened, the individual wanted to know which pill he could take to get the benefits of lettuce fiber. I should have taken heed.

There are benefits to not soaking your grains too; Depends on which benefit you're trying to get.

Heck, oatmeal was one of Wilfred Brimley's favorite breakfasts. :mrgreen:

 

[ChrisCarlton67]

I actually found the answer to my question. All grains need to be cooked or soaked over night as we don't digest them well and the nutrients won't be absorbed well. There are more benefits of soaking the oats than eating them raw.

Very interesting and this is something I learned over the years, but seem to have forgotten. Now, I LOVE my oatmeal, but I usually use the instant stuff

One thing I did learn from one of your links is about chia seeds having more omega 3 than flak seeds. I use flak and love them (in my smoothies). But, I've never heard of them.

Anyone have experience using them? Flak adds a sort of nutty (albeit a little bitter) taste to my smoothies.

Anyway, not to get off topic. Yes, cooked, or soaked oats is easier on the digestive system (it's all coming back to me now) and that means more nutrition absorption.

 

[jbo]

Very interesting and this is something I learned over the years, but seem to have forgotten. Now, I LOVE my oatmeal, but I usually use the instant stuff

One thing I did learn from one of your links is about chia seeds having more omega 3 than flak seeds. I use flak and love them (in my smoothies). But, I've never heard of them.

Anyone have experience using them? Flak adds a sort of nutty (albeit a little bitter) taste to my smoothies.

Anyway, not to get off topic. Yes, cooked, or soaked oats is easier on the digestive system (it's all coming back to me now) and that means more nutrition absorption.

I personally put chia seeds in water the night before I make my smoothie for the morning. I've gone back and forth about not using them, because I use hemp protein, which seems to have a lot of similar benefits, but I'm still using chia seeds. If you soak them in water the night before they are supposed to be better for you and I can tell you I feel fuller from them being soaked than not being soaked.

 

[ChrisCarlton67]

Ohhhh, you SOAK your chia seeds.

Well, I certainly have to give that a try. Thanks for the input!

 

[Living Food]

Raw oats can be difficult to find, but if you do get them soak them overnight and sprout them for 3 days, rinsing twice a day. Eating grains, nuts, or seeds raw is always a bad idea because they contain various nutrient and enzyme inhibitors that rob your body of nutrients and hinder your digestion. Eating them cooked is also a bad idea because cooking destroys many vital nutrients and enzymes. Sprouting solves all of these problems; it not only greatly reduces nutrient + enzyme inhibitors, it also greatly increases the quantity of nutrients and enzymes in the food and makes it much easier to digest.

So yes, raw oats have all the benefits of cooked oats, and many other benefits as well - but only if you sprout them.

 

[jbo]

Raw oats can be difficult to find, but if you do get them soak them overnight and sprout them for 3 days, rinsing twice a day. Eating grains, nuts, or seeds raw is always a bad idea because they contain various nutrient and enzyme inhibitors that rob your body of nutrients and hinder your digestion. Eating them cooked is also a bad idea because cooking destroys many vital nutrients and enzymes. Sprouting solves all of these problems; it not only greatly reduces nutrient + enzyme inhibitors, it also greatly increases the quantity of nutrients and enzymes in the food and makes it much easier to digest.

So yes, raw oats have all the benefits of cooked oats, and many other benefits as well - but only if you sprout them.

You think eating raw almonds and walnuts is a bad idea?

 

[Living Food]

Unsoaked, yes. Always soak them for 12 hours at the very least, but if you want to make them very easy to digest and get the most nutrients out of them, then sprout them. Contrary to popular belief almonds can be sprouted - otherwise there wouldn't be any almond trees. The trick is to find almonds that are truly raw - even almonds labeled as "raw" (in the US anyway) are frequently either pasteurized or treated with toxic chemicals to sterilize them.

Sprouting walnuts is extremely tricky, I've never done it myself but my sproutarian friend has; you end up ruining a good portion of them trying to remove them from their shell without cracking it. Sprouted walnuts are an amazing food, they just take a lot of effort to get right. I'd sprout them if I had access to lots of raw walnuts.

It is far better to eat sprouted nuts then pasteurized and/or roasted nuts, too. Heat causes the oils in the nuts to become rancid, denatures proteins, destroys enzymes and other nutrients, and causes the formation of carcinogens.

The above applies to cooking just about anything, by the way.