Making a nutritious breakfast can be a challenge if you have a hectic schedule, and skipping breakfast or choosing fast food may seem tempting. If you want a healthy hot breakfast or snack, instant oatmeal can be a solution. It is available in most stores and convenience stores, easy and quick to prepare and high in essential nutrients.
Background
A 28-g, or 1-oz., packet of dry instant oatmeal that is plain or unflavored has 105 calories. It has 3.5 g of protein and less than 2 g of total fat, including less than 0.5 g of unhealthy saturated fat. The packet provides 19 g of carbohydrates, including 16 g of starch. Flavored instant oatmeal is often higher in calories and total carbohydrates because of the added sugars for flavorings. The nutritional values of your instant oatmeal will change if you add ingredients such as milk, sugar or butter.
Dietary Fiber
A packet of instant oatmeal has 2.8 g of dietary fiber. A high-fiber breakfast may help you control your weight by making you feel less hungry throughout the morning, according to the Mayo Clinic. Oats are a source of soluble fiber, which is the kind that may help regulate your blood sugar levels. Most healthy adults should get about 25 to 38 g per day. Dietary fiber comes from the parts of plant foods that your body cannot digest, and your meal or snack will be higher in fiber if you eat your oatmeal with fruit, such as berries or bananas, or nuts, such as almonds or pecans.
Vitamins
Fortified instant oatmeal is high in many B vitamins, including thiamin, or vitamin B-1, riboflavin, or vitamin B-2, niacin, or vitamin B-3, folate, vitamin B-6 and pantothenic acid. The B vitamins are essential for proper energy metabolism in your body and for preventing heart disease. Women who may become pregnant need adequate folate to prevent neural tube birth defects, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Fortified oatmeal has 1,000 international units of vitamin A, or 20 percent of the daily value. Unfortified instant oatmeal is not high in these nutrients.
Minerals
Fortified plain instant oatmeal has 8 mg of iron, or 44 percent of the daily value, in a 1-oz. package. Iron is necessary for preventing iron-deficiency anemia, which threatens many children, adolescents and women of child-bearing age, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Unfortified instant oatmeal has 1 mg of iron. Fortified oatmeal has 99 mg of calcium, or 10 percent of the daily value. Oats are naturally low in sodium.
References
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010; January 2010
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Breakfast Cereals
- Mayo Clinic; Healthy Breakfast: Quick, Flexible Options to Grab at Home; February 2011
- Mayo Clinic; Dietary Fiber: Essential for a Healthy Diet; November 2009
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