What is oat?
Raw oats involve rolled oat flakes that have undergone heating during processing but not boiled for use in recipes such as porridge or oatmeal. Oats are basically plants which its seed, stem, leaves, and bran (the outer layer of whole oats) are used to make medicine.

They are commonly used worldwide and have a lot of health benefits to the body. Its botanical name is Avena sativa and can be consumed raw or cooked in various recipes. Raw oats are often used to lower cholesterol and reduce your chance of developing heart disease.

Also, oat bran and whole oats are suitable for high blood pressure; diabetes; high cholesterol; constipation; diarrhea; diverticulosis; and digestion disorders like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). They can be used in preventing gallstones, heart disease, stomach cancer, and colon cancer.

Raw oats are mostly consumed as whole grain. Since your body can’t breakdown the kernels, they must be processed, which includes the following:

Separating its hull from the oat groats
Treatment involving heat and moisture
Sizing and categorizing of it
Milling or flaking
Its final products are oat flour, oat bran, or oat flakes (also called rolled oats).

Oat flake which is a common breakfast for all can be consumed raw or cooked.

This implies that you can either boil them, as when preparing porridge or oatmeal or enjoy them cold by adding raw oats to shakes. However, all oat kernels undergo a heating process to make them easily digestible but raw oats are technically cooked.

raw oats
Read Also: https://relhealth.com/13-surprising-foods-that-keep-your-entire-body-healthy/

Are raw oats nutritious?
Yes, they are. Oats are well known for their fiber and plant-based protein content, and several other nutrients as well. An 81 gram (a 1-cup) serving of raw oats have the following constituents:

Carbs: 55 grams
Protein: 11 grams
Magnesium: 27 percent of the daily value (DV)
Phosphorus: 27 percent of the DV
Zinc: 27 percent of the DV
Calories: 307
Fiber: 8 grams
Fat: 5 grams
Selenium: 43 percent of the DV
Potassium: 6 percent of the DV
Oats are also rich in soluble fiber, a particular dietary fiber that forms gel-like substances when digested, aside from being rich in nutrients like selenium, magnesium, and phosphorus.

The major variety of soluble fiber in oats is beta-glucan, which is associated with most of the grain’s health benefits.

Oats have adequate absorbable plant protein and provide the human body with more of this nutrient than many other grains.

Notwithstanding, oats protein structures are similar to those of legumes, which are known to be of high nutritional value.

What are the health benefits of consuming raw oats?
Since raw oats are packed with enough health-boosting compounds, they provide the body with several health benefits.

It helps lower cholesterol levels

Several studies have shown how raw oats helps reduce cholesterol levels since they are rich in the soluble fiber beta-glucan.

Beta-glucan acts by developing a gel in your small intestine. This gel prevents the absorption of dietary cholesterol and interferes with the reabsorption of bile salts, which are important in the metabolism of fats.

Another research deduced that daily doses of at least 3 grams of oat beta-glucan can lower blood cholesterol levels by 5-10 percent.

Eating oat bran, raw oats, and other soluble fibers can modestly reduce total and “bad” LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol when taken as part of a diet low in saturated fat. In each gram of soluble fiber (beta-glucan) consumed, total cholesterol level decreased by about 1.42 mg/dL and LDL by about 1.23 mg/dL.

Total cholesterol can be reduced by about 4-14 mg/dL when you consume 3-10 grams of soluble fiber. But this has a limit as doses of soluble fiber higher than 10 grams per day don’t seem to increase its effectiveness. Consuming three bowls of oatmeal usually about 28-gram servings per day can lower total cholesterol by about 5 mg/dL.

Consequently, a test-tube study shows how raw oats produces around 26 percent of their beta-glucan content during digestion, compared to only 9 percent for cooked oats. To some extent, they may affect fat metabolism and cholesterol levels.

The FDA recommends a daily intake of 3 grams of soluble fiber to help lower blood cholesterol levels. But this recommendation doesn’t match research findings; controlled clinical studies deduced that a minimum of 3.6 grams of soluble fiber per day is needed to lower cholesterol.

Suitable for heart health

One of the risk factors for heart disease is high blood pressure, which is one of the most prevalent conditions and a leading cause of death worldwide.

Soluble fibers such as beta-glucans in raw oats have been found to lower blood pressure effectively.

Food products containing whole oats that provide 750 mg of soluble fiber per serving can be labeled with the health claim that it may lower your risk of developing heart disease when added as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.

According to a 6-week study involving 18 people with elevated blood pressure levels, those who consumed 5.5 grams of beta-glucan daily experienced a 7.5 and 5.5 mm Hg reduction in systolic and diastolic pressure, respectively, compared with a control group.

Read more at https://relhealth.com/is-consuming-raw-oats-healthy-benefits-and-side-effects/