Oatmeal is a popular breakfast food among Americans and like most breakfast foods, oatmeal is rich in carbohydrates. The quality of carbohydrates in the diet can be evaluated by looking at the fiber content of a food, its glycemic index score and glycemic load. These values vary from one type of oatmeal to another so it is important to know the facts so you can start your day off right.
Carbohydrate Content
A serving of 1/2 cup of dry oat flakes, whether it is instant or old-fashioned oat flakes, contains 150 calories, 27 g of carbohydrate, 1 g of sugar and 4 g of fiber, which is the equivalent of 23 g of available carbohydrates. Available carbohydrates correspond to the portion of the carbohydrates able to influence your glycemic response, or blood sugar levels. Calculate available carbohydrates by subtracting fiber from total carbohydrates. A 1/4-cup serving of dry steel cut oats provides the same amount of available carbohydrates. A packet of instant flavored oatmeal also contains 27 g of carbohydrates and 12 g of sugar, but only 2 g of fiber, which leaves a total of 25 g of available carbohydrates.
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index, or GI, ranks carbohydrates on a scale of 0 to 100. Low GI foods have a value between 0 and 55, medium GI foods have a value between 56 and 69 and high GI foods have a value of 70 or higher. The GI value of old-fashioned oat flakes is low, at 55, while the value for steel cut oats ranges between 52 to 57, making it a low to medium GI food. Instant oatmeal has a GI of 69 and 83, which falls in the high GI category. The smaller the flakes, the higher the GI.
Glycemic Load
The glycemic load of a food can be determined by multiplying its GI with its available carbohydrate content per serving, divided by 100. For example, because 1/2 cup of dry old-fashioned oatmeal contains 23 g of available carbohydrate and has a GI of 55, its GL value will be 12.7 -- or 23 multiplied by 55 and divided by 100. The GL of 1/4 cup of dry steel cut oats corresponds to between 12.0 and 13.1 and the GL for a packet of instant flavored oatmeal ranges between 17.3 and 20.8. A GL value of 10 or lower is considered low, between 11 and 19 is considered medium, and 20 or higher is considered high. According to this classification, a serving of oatmeal has a moderate glycemic load, with the exception of instant flavored oatmeal which has a moderate to high GL value.
Oatmeal and Health
Choosing low GI foods and keeping your dietary GL low are good strategies to stay healthy. Low GI and low GL diets are associated with a healthier body weight, improved blood cholesterol levels, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, enhanced physical performance and more stable blood sugar levels. Oatmeal can be part of a low GI and low GL diet, but select old-fashioned oat flakes or steel cut oats for their lower GI and GL values. Flavor your oatmeal with plain yogurt, fresh or frozen fruits, nuts or nut butter to avoid adding extra sugar to your meal.
