Why does oatmeal help with high blood pressure?

Nutritionist and diabetes expert Matthias Riedl (60), from Germany, says the ancients already knew that oats were healthy. He has been researching the medicinal effects of oats for decades and has recorded the most important findings in his new book “The Oat Master Plan”.

In addition to vitamins, minerals and proteins, ground grain is particularly effective due to the dietary fiber beta-glucan. According to Riedl, this ensures a healthy gut and helps with cardiovascular disease.

If the cholesterol level is too high due to an unhealthy diet, fatty deposits form on the vessel walls. Beta-glucan plays a very important role in lowering cholesterol, as it binds bile acid, which is then excreted in the feces. To produce new bile acids, the body uses the existing cholesterol in the blood so the value drops,” says Riedl. According to experts, if you eat 70 grams of oatmeal a day, you can lower your cholesterol by up to 15 percent.

Among other things, blood pressure rises when arteries are clogged and blood can no longer flow freely. Beta-glucan lowers cholesterol levels, resulting in less deposits in blood vessels. Added to this is the anti-inflammatory effect of the avenanthramide substance contained in oats and the effect that protects the blood vessels. The high potassium content in oat flakes has an additional positive effect. “The mineral lowers blood pressure and acts as a natural enemy to salt, which increases blood pressure,” says Riedl.

Gas, diarrhea, or constipation often occur when the microbiome in the gut is out of balance. This means that there are more “bad” than “good” bacteria. “Beta-glucan rebalances the relationship,” says Riedl. The roughage stores fluid, swells in the stomach and forms a viscous gel with other food ingredients. It is present in the intestinal mucosa as a preservative and reduces its contact with harmful substances that are excreted faster. As a result, the chair regains its optimum, soft consistency, says Riedl.

Riedl says oats are the ideal grain for people with type 2 diabetes to regulate high blood sugar levels. It contains less than 60 percent carbohydrates per 100 grams, of which only a tiny fraction is sugar. Complex carbohydrates are made up of long chains that only slowly break down into individual glucose molecules. “Blood sugar levels only rise slowly and there is no blood sugar roller coaster,” Riedl says. Also, oats are very filling. In order to keep the positive effect as constant as possible, according to the expert, oats should be integrated into the diet every day.

According to Riedl, between 15 and 30 percent of all adults suffer from fatty liver. “The trigger is a high-sugar diet with little exercise.” Thanks to its high protein content — containing more than 13 grams per 100 grams — Riedl says oats help counteract these fat deposits. Oats also lower blood fat levels, which contributes to less fat storage in the liver.