As we know, oats are one of the most fiber rich (yet palatable) foods around, and the main ingredient in a healthy, energy rich, filling, tasty breakfast that will sustain you until lunch. At least. But the reasons to love oats don’t end there, and neither does their nutritional value.
Let’s see what oats are made of.
FooDosage Nutrition Calculator Entry – Oats, 100g
Note that all recommended intake figures below are based on the needs of a 31 year old non-pregnant, non-lactating woman on a 2000 kilocalorie diet. Your personal requirements may differ (wildly). One way to figure out your individual needs, including calories per day, is the FooDosage Nutrition Calculator. It’s free, by the way.
Oats – Macronutrients
FooDosage Nutrition Calculator – Oats, 100g – Macronutrients
Nearly 17 grams of protein per 100 grams, now that’s not bad at all. Note that they only score an 81% protein completeness though, as they’re deficient in the amino acid lysine. That issue is swiftly resolved by adding another food with a surplus of lysine. Milk, for example.
For comparison, here’s the results for a serving of banana porridge, à la FooDosage:
FooDosage Nutrition Calculator – Banana Porridge – Macronutrients
As you can see, the protein count decreased slightly to 16g / 100g, but now thanks to the milk, it’s completeness score is (above) 100%, so it all counts.
Oats – Vitamins
FooDosage Nutrition Calculator – Oats, 100g – Vitamins
Oats are rich in thiamin (Vitamin B1) and sport a good amount of pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5). But how does porridge fare?
FooDosage Nutrition Calculator – Banana Porridge – Vitamins
A lot more balanced, our porridge comes with good amounts of thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), pantothenic acid (B5), Vitamin B6, and cyanocobalmin (B12). That’s a good start.
Oats – Elements & Electrolytes
FooDosage Nutrition Calculator – Oats, 100g – Elements & Electrolytes
Here’s where oats really shine. Of course, one figure sticks out:
Manganese, at 4.9g per 100g, or 273% of our sample woman’s RDA.
They are also rich in phosphorus, copper, magnesium, zinc, and iron.
Of course, those numbers change a bit when we examine the contents of our bowl of banana porridge.
FooDosage Nutrition Calculator – Banana Porridge – Elements & Electrolytes
Obviously, most of those numbers take a bit of a hit, when we halve the oat content of the meal, but you’re still getting very decent amounts, especially of Manganese.
On the other hand, due to the milk and banana, we see a good amount of calcium and potassium now.
In my opinion, such a bowl of porridge just makes for a great, and nutritious, start of the day.
Additional Benefits of Oats
Apart from the benefits of being very rich in fiber, and being very nutritious in general as shown above, oats carry some additional benefits.
- They are rich in antioxidants, specifically nitric oxide and Avenanthramide. The latter is found almost exclusively in oats, and has anti inflammatory properties and relieves itching.
- Avenanthramide has also been shown to help prevent free radicals from damaging LDL cholesterol, thereby lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Oats have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels.
Complete Results in Text (Oats, 100g)
ShowNutrient Unit Amount % of RDA Target Minimum Maximum Special / Relative Energy kcal 389 19% 2000 – – – Carbohydrates (Total) g 66.27 25% 268.3 130 317.1 – Dietary Fiber g 10.6 43% 24.39 – – – Fat (Total) g 6.9 12% 56.82 45.45 79.55 – N-6, Linoleic Acid g – – 4.545 4.545 22.73 – N-3, Total (Incl. ALA) g – – 1.976 0.909 4.545 – N-3, (EPA & DHA) g – – 1.976 0.25 4.545 – Protein g 16.89 35% 97.56 48.78 170.7 81% Histidine g 0.405 46% 1.756 0.878 – 0.304 Isoleucine g 0.694 57% 2.439 1.22 – 0.422 Leucine g 1.284 48% 5.366 2.683 – 0.929 Lysine g 0.701 28% 4.976 2.488 – 0.861 Methionine & Cysteine g 0.72 59% 2.439 1.22 – 0.422 Phenylalanine & Tyrosine g 1.468 64% 4.585 2.293 – 0.794 Threonine g 0.575 44% 2.634 1.317 – 0.456 Tryptophan g 0.234 69% 0.683 0.341 – 0.118 Valine g 0.937 60% 3.122 1.561 – 0.54 Vitamin A µg – – – 700 3000 – Thiamin (B1) mg 0.763 69% – 1.1 – – Riboflavin (B2) mg 0.139 13% – 1.1 – – Niacin (B3) mg 0.961 7% – 14 35 – Pantothenic acid (B5) mg 1.349 27% – 5 – – Vitamin B6 mg 0.119 9% – 1.3 100 – Biotin (B7) µg – – – 30 – – Folate (B9) µg 56 14% – 400 1000 – Cyanocobalamin (B12) µg – – – 2.4 – – Choline mg – – – 425 3500 – Vitamin C mg – – – 75 2000 – Vitamin D IU – – – 600 4000 – Vitamin E mg – – – 15 1000 – Vitamin K µg – – – 90 – – Calcium mg 54 5% – 1000 2500 – Chromium mg – – – 25 – – Copper mg 0.626 70% – 0.9 10 – Fluoride µg – – – 3000 10000 – Iodine µg – – – 150 1100 – Iron mg 4.72 26% – 18 45 – Magnesium mg 177 55% – 320 – – Manganese mg 4.916 273% – 1.8 11 – Molybdenum µg – – – 45 2000 – Phosphorus mg 523 75% – 700 4000 – Selenium µg – – – 55 400 – Zinc mg 3.97 50% – 8 40 – Potassium mg 429 9% – 4700 – – Sodium mg 2 0% – 1500 2300 –
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Bon Appetit 🙂
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