Traditionally, we’ve been told that eating a bowl of porridge is one of the healthier breakfast options, as it’s high in fibre and helps to regulate blood sugar levels. However, according to the French biochemist and author Jessie Inchauspé, better known online as Glucose Goddess, “Oatmeal is 100 per cent starch, and starch is converted to glucose when digested.”
You might imagine that a sweet breakfast helps you to feel more energised in the morning but, as Inchauspé points out, in reality “science shows us that while a sweet, starchy breakfast gives us pleasure (it releases dopamine in our brain), it’s not the best way to give us energy. It causes a glucose spike, which impairs our body’s ability to produce energy efficiently, makes us tired and causes all sorts of side effects.”
Don’t ditch your daily bowl of oats just yet, though, here are some expert tips from nutritionists to help you adapt your porridge, to make it the healthiest it can be.
Is it good to eat porridge every day?
“If you eat oatmeal prepared in the right way, without sugar or additives, every day you can get many benefits to your health such as having a high fibre intake, reducing cholesterol, maintaining satiety and regulating your blood sugar levels,” says nutritionist Mariana Perez-Trejo. Although she cautions that consuming a variety of foods is essential in order to obtain different vitamins and minerals. “It is also important to measure your portions, because if you are consuming large amounts of oatmeal, plus highly caloric toppings such as honey, dried fruit, chocolate or sugar, you may be being counterproductive to your health.”
Naturopathic nutritionist Jessica Shand says that it’s “challenging to accurately predict how eating oats everyday will impact your blood sugar levels because the bottom line is we are all bio-individual and different foods impact us in different ways, something I feel has been slightly lost within the science of it all. You cannot out-science intuitive eating, because what works for one person’s biochemistry make-up might be the opposite of what works for another.”
Shand goes on to explain that the good thing about oats is that they contain a “large amount of soluble fibre called beta-glucan. This type of fibre turns into a gel-like consistency in your gut, which is a good thing because it can increase the growth of good bacteria in the digestive tract, contributing to better gut health. In addition, this thick gel-like substance from the beta-glucan in the oats can delay the emptying of the stomach and absorption of glucose into the blood, helping you feel fuller for longer and actually making them a sensible blood sugar-balancing option for breakfast, and even a recommended food for diabetes management.”
Perez-Trejo notes that oats are a source of complex carbohydrate, so if your goal is to increase your protein intake, porridge isn’t the best choice of breakfast. “If you’re looking for a high-protein food, meat, fish, protein powder, legumes or dairy are better choices.”
Do oats produce glucose spikes?
Pérez-Trejo recommends mixing oatmeal with egg whites. “These will not impart any flavour, but you will be adding protein to your oatmeal to avoid an abrupt glucose spike,” she says. She also suggests adding a topping of nuts, almonds or unsweetened peanut butter. “Adding healthy fats also helps avoid spikes.”
Shand’s toppings of choice? “Add Greek yoghurt for its protein and healthy fat content and stir in some nut butter, chia, hemp, flax seeds, ground almonds and/or crushed nuts for their healthy fat, protein and high fibre content. One of my favourite oat breakfast-boosting hacks is sprinkling in a little ground cinnamon, a traditional medicine and food to add aromatic spice along with antioxidants and extra blood sugar balancing properties.”
Choose cow’s milk, full-fat yoghurt or almond milk that doesn’t contain soy or sugar. As much as possible, avoid honey, traditional table sugar, dates or maple syrup.
Which type of oats should you eat?
Experts recommend cut oat grains instead of instant oatmeal sachets. Shand explains that “the healthiest, most nutrient-dense option when it comes to oats is rolled steel cut version. These are digested more slowly and have more to offer your body than instant oats.”