Research has shown that eating oats may improve blood sugar control.Oatmeal is a healthy food that many people with diabetes can include in their diets.
Plain rolled or steel-cut oats are the best option because they have the lowest GI and no added sugar.
However, there are a few factors you should consider if you have diabetes and are considering adding oatmeal your diet.
First of all, watch your portion size. Although oatmeal has a low GI, eating very large portions can increase what’s known as the glycemic load (GL).
GL is an estimate of how much a certain portion of a particular food will raise your blood sugar levels after you eat it .
For example, a normal portion is around one cup of cooked oatmeal (250 grams). This has a GL of 9, which is low .In a review of 14 studies, eating oats was found to lower fasting blood sugar by 7 mg/dL (0.39 mmol/L) and HbA1c by 0.42%.
It’s thought that this occurs because they contain beta-glucan, a type of soluble fiber .This type of fiber absorbs water in your gut and forms a thick, gel-like paste .
Some studies have shown that this can help slow down the rate at which your body digests and absorbs carbs, resulting in better blood sugar control.
A recent review found that the beta-glucan from oats can reduce fasting blood sugar and improve blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes. It reduced fasting blood sugar by 9.36 mg/dL (0.52 mmol/L) and HbA1c by 0.21%, on average .
Some small studies have also linked eating foods containing beta-glucan with decreased insulin resistance in people with type 2 diabetes .However, the results are mixed. Other studies have found oatmeal to have no effect on insulin resistance .
Overall, studies investigating how oats affect people with type 2 diabetes have found that they improve blood sugar control and insulin response .However, the effects of oats on people with type 1 diabetes have not been studied as much.
Some studies have linked eating oats with lower levels of total cholesterol and “bad” LDL cholesterol. On average, this amounts to a modest reduction of around 9-11 mg/dL (0.25-0.30 mmol/L) .
Researchers have attributed this effect to the high levels of beta-glucans in oats. These are thought to help lower your body’s cholesterol levels in two ways.
First, they’re thought to slow down digestion and reduce the amount of fat and cholesterol you absorb from your gut.
Second, beta-glucans are known to bind to the cholesterol-rich bile acids in your bowel. This prevents your body from reabsorbing and recycling them, so they pass out of your body in your stool .
Since high cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk of heart disease, including oats in your diet may help lower your risk
