Antioxidants get a lot of press for their health-boosting properties, and whole oat groats also are widely promoted as a healthy food. Oat groats, like all whole food items, are not considered an antioxidant overall, but they do contain plenty of antioxidants. If you enjoy the taste and texture of oat groats, a bowl of this healthy hot cereal can be a great breakfast or snack and can be a wonderful way to increase your antioxidant levels.
Oat Groats
Oat groats are the most basic form of oats and consist of the whole grain without any processing. It takes longer to cook oat groats than other forms of oats, such as steel-cut oats, rolled oats or instant oatmeal. Oat groats, along with other forms of oats, provide plenty of nutrition. This whole grain food has high levels of soluble fiber, the type that lowers cholesterol levels. Oats also contain higher levels of antioxidant compounds than most other types of whole grains, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants act in the body to neutralize free radicals, byproducts of metabolism that can damage cells by stealing electrons from molecules, including DNA and cell membranes. Eating foods high in antioxidants might help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and vision loss. Thousands of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals have antioxidant properties, although they do not necessarily have the same effects as each other. Consuming whole foods that contain a variety of antioxidants, such as oat groats, is a healthier option than focusing on only one or two independent nutrients or taking supplements.
Specific Nutrients
Many nutrients in oat groats provide antioxidant activity, but this whole grain food is a particularly good source of vitamin E, selenium and manganese. Oat groats also contain plenty of phytochemicals, plant chemicals not classified as vitamins or minerals, that also exert a positive effect on the body when consumed. In particular, avenanthramides, which are only found in oats, were shown to act as antioxidants in a June 2007 study published in the "Journal of Nutrition."
Considerations
While oat groats are not considered an antioxidant in and of themselves, they are a great source of powerful antioxidants, including some that you cannot get elsewhere. Other forms of oats also have these same nutrients and phytochemicals, but commercial processing reduces the levels of antioxidants in oats, according to a 2002 study in the "Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry." Oat groats and steel-cut oats, a chopped version of oat groats that remains otherwise unprocessed, have higher levels of antioxidants than oatmeal or rolled oats that have been processed by steaming, autoclaving or drum drying.
References
- Health Food Made Easy; Oats, Groats, What's the Difference?
- Drugs.com: Oats
- MayoClinic.com; Food Sources the Best Choice for Antioxidants; Donald Hensrud; June 2009
- Harvard School of Public Health: Antioxidants- Beyond the Hype
- "Journal of Nutrition"; Avenanthramides Are Bioavailable and Have Antioxidant Activity in Humans After Acute Consumption of an Enriched Mixture from Oats; C.Y. Chen, et al.; June 2007
- "Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry"; Effects of Commercial Food Processing on Levels of Antioxidants in Oats; S. Bryngelsson, et al.; March 2002
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