A warm breakfast fills your stomach in the morning, and oatmeal provides not only the hot meal but a range of nutritional value. This cereal -- made of cooked, rolled oats -- is fairly bland on its own, so it serves as a neutral-flavored base for common additions such as fresh fruit, dried fruit, fruit preserves, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Basic Nutrition
Oatmeal contains 144 calories per 1 cup serving of prepared cereal. As the first meal of your day requires 350 to 500 calories as a best practice, according to Go Ask Alice! Columbia University's Health Q&A Internet Service, serve oatmeal with fruit as well as a side of lean protein, such as Canadian bacon, to bring it into the ideal calorie range. A serving of oatmeal also contains 2.3 g of fat as well as 25.3 g of carbohydrates and 6.1 g of protein.
Vitamins
A 1-cup serving of oatmeal is a good choice for helping you to process the energy from the foods in your meal plan due to its B-vitamin content. This cereal provides 17 percent of the thiamine, or vitamin B-1, your body requires each day. You also get smaller amounts of several other B vitamins in a serving of oatmeal, including vitamin B-2, or riboflavin; vitamin B-6; niacin, known as vitamin B-3, and pantothenic acid, or vitamin B-5.
Minerals
Each serving of oatmeal provides 18 percent of the daily recommended intake of phosphorus, which balances the acids and bases in your blood and put proteins stored in your body into use. One serving of oatmeal also contains 14 percent of the magnesium you need every day, as well as under 10 percent of the potassium, calcium, iron, zinc and copper you require.
Benefits
One serving of oatmeal has 4 g of fiber, or 10.5 to 16 percent of the amount you need in your meal plan each day. The water-soluble fiber in oatmeal has quite a few benefits for your health, including protecting you against the development of type 2 diabetes by lowering your glucose levels, and reducing your risk of heart disease by helping to lower cholesterol levels. Research published in the October 2008 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" notes that the consumption of oatmeal may also help ward off early onset of macular degeneration due to its low glycemic index, a result -- at least in part -- of its fiber content.
References
- Fitbit: Oatmeal, Prepared, No Added Salt
- Go Ask Alice!; Breakfast: The First Chance to Fill Your Tank; January 2009
- Australian Dept. of Health and Ageing; Vitamins and Minerals; July 2006
- MayoClinic.com; Dietary Fiber: Essential For a Healthy Diet; November 2009
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Dietary Glycemic Index...Macular Degeneration; S. Kaushik, et al; October 2008
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