Porridge is our top choice for a heart healthy breakfast – when it is made with low-fat milk or water and unsweetened. All porridge oats are wholegrains and they all contain a soluble fibre called beta-glucan, which can help lower your cholesterol level if you have 3g or more of it daily, as part of a healthy diet.
Try Weetabix (which provides 3.8g of fibre per two-biscuit serving) or Shredded Wheat (6g of fibre per serving when consumer with semi-skimmed milk). Alternatively, porridge is also high in fibre at around 9g for half a cup of oats.
The researchers, who published their findings in the Nutrition Journal, found that eating porridge for breakfast is more satisfying helps manage hunger better than cereal.
Porridge is one of the most nutritious foods available. For starters, it's an excellent source of carbohydrates for energy and fibre to aid digestion. In fact, one bowl of porridge provides more fibre than a slice of wholemeal bread — one reason to swap your morning toast for some oats from time to time.
Porridge is our top choice for a heart healthy breakfast – when it is made with low-fat milk or water and unsweetened. All porridge oats are wholegrains and they all contain a soluble fibre called beta-glucan, which can help lower your cholesterol level if you have 3g or more of it daily, as part of a healthy diet.
Weet-Bix is a good source of B vitamins including B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin) for energy, as part of a balanced diet. Weet-Bix is high in folate! This B vitamin helps support healthy blood cells and immune system, fights fatigue and maintains a healthy mind, in combination with a balanced diet.
Yes, it is good to eat oatmeal every day considering its nutritional profile and health benefits, including weight control and heart-healthy effect. As a breakfast food and mid-meal snack, oatmeal is potentially a better option than the majority of foods available in the market.
People should start with oatmeal two to four times a week and work their way up to daily servings, he says. It may be beneficial to have a large glass of water with oatmeal to help move the fiber through the GI tract to reduce bloating and stomach pain.
Milk is rich in fats, calcium, and Vitamin D that complements the nutrients in oats. Thus oats cooked in milk have benefits over oats cooked in water. Milk has fats, calcium, and Vitamin D that is normally absent in processed oats. Apart from adding a flavour, it also helps in keeping your muscles and bones healthy.
Best weetabix alternative: Aldi Harvest Morn Wheat Bisks. Best golden syrup-flavoured porridge: Quaker Oats So Simple Golden Syrup Porridge. Best special k-style cereal: ASDA Special Flakes Cereal. Best fruit & nut muesli: Lizi's Super Muesli Glow.
The Original Superfood
Well, Weetabix was a superfood* before superfoods were a thing. We're 100% whole wheat and packed with many of the nutrients your body needs.
Amounting to a mere 171 calories, a bowl of porridge can keep you going without snacks until lunchtime (or precisely 4 hours and 21 minutes, according to the Quaker Oats website.)
Porridge made from rolled oats, steel cut oats etc. is much better for you. Oats are a whole grain and have many proven health benefits. Be careful to avoid 'instant oats', and products with added ingredients such as sugars etc.
Weetabix is fortified with certain vitamins and minerals and if eaten to excess, then you could be taking in too much of these nutrients. We would recommend that an adult eats no more than four (4) Weetabix biscuits per day.
Superfood oats – the secret ingredient in porridge
Oat flakes are easily digestible and have a positive influence on our intestinal flora. Oats also contain important nutrients such as the vitamins B1 and B6, as well as zinc, iron and magnesium. Oats are therefore a real superfood when it comes to nutrients.
Oats are a versatile grain that can be eaten at any meal, but you can get the best weight loss results by eating them at breakfast and dinner. Eating oats at breakfast can keep you feeling full till lunchtime, thus reducing your need for a mid-morning snack.
You can have oatmeal three times a day as it is considered a healthy whole grain food. Add nutritious toppings for a well rounded meal, and the oatmeal diet is very much helpful to stay fuller and lose weight.
According to USDA, a breakfast with 2 medium eggs will yield approximately 13g Protein and 1.1g Carbs whereas a bowl of oatmeal will give you 2.4 g Protein and 12g Carbs. So if Protein is your priority for breakfast then the clear choice is Eggs.
"Grains in oatmeal trigger insulin production much like whole-grain bread," says Cynthia Pasquella, CCN, CHLC, CWC. "They raise your blood sugar naturally and make you feel sleepy. Oats are also rich in melatonin, which relaxes the body and helps you fall asleep."
The fibre in Weetabix can be a little harsh on the tummy of a very young baby and some parents have found that it can cause diarrhea and nappy/diaper rash.
Weetabix is fortified with certain vitamins and minerals and if eaten to excess, then you could be taking in too much of these nutrients. We would recommend that an adult eats no more than four (4) Weetabix biscuits per day.