Rolled oats, quick cooking, instant: What is the difference?

Until recently, I have been cooking and eating rolled oats for breakfast. I find it helped keep my blood cholesterol level down, even though there seemed to be a genetic tendency toward high cholesterol as seen in my siblings. However, it appeared to me that rolled oats are getting more and more difficult to find. It is much easier to buy quick cooking oats or instant oats.

I have always tried to avoid highly processed food wherever possible. So I took the trouble to contact a market leader oats manufacturer to ask about the difference between rolled oats, quick cooking oats and instant oats. I was told that the only difference is the degree in the size of the oats to which they have been reduced. Instant oats are ground or cut to a much smaller size than quick cooking.

So if that is true, it is only the degree of physical processing that the oats had been subject to. Physical processing like grinding or cutting the oats are not going to change its chemical composition, so it appear pretty harmless to me. With this knowledge, I am now less cautious about buying quick cooking oats or instant oats.

I will check with the other oats manufacturer to see if I get the same answer. If they all tell me the same thing, I will have no hesitation in buying instant cooking oats, for they will be more environmentally friendly as they take less cooking time, thus would be more energy efficient plus they save time.

Benefits of whole grains

What is whole grain

A grain consists of three parts – bran, germ and endosperm, and when they are all present, they are considered as full grain. Often grains are refined by grinding and polishing to appeal to less knowledgeable people. Some people do not like whole grain because they don't look beautifully white and may feel "grainy" when they chew on them. I love whole meal bread not only because I believe they are more healthy, but I like to chew on them, and they don't kind of stick to the gum when I eat them compared with white bread. Many healthful and nutritious ingredients are removed by the grinding and polishing process and become nutritionally deficient. Some have said that they have observed bugs dying when trying to sustain themselves on refined grains in silos.

Benefits of whole grains

Whole grains have more dietary fiber, protein (especially the amino acid lysine which cannot be synthesized by our body and is a building block for proteins plus it plays a crucial role in the production of various enzymes, hormones, and disease-fighting antibodies), dietary minerals like selenium, magnesium, phoosphorus and manganese. Whole grains also contains vitamins like vitamin B6, vitamin E and niacine. Most of the antioxidants and vitamins are found in the germ and the bran of a grain which are removed by refining.

Many believe whole grains help to maintain a healthy heart. The most important benefit of whole grain compared to refined grain is the dietary fiber which is deficient in refined grain. Dietary fiber helps reduce the incidence of digestive system diseases, some forms of cancer, gum disease, coronary heart disease. It is also believed to help reduce the chances of one getting diabetes because carbohydrates from whole grains are digested and retard the entrance of sugar into the bloodstream. And of course it helps one have more frequent and easier bowel movements which is important to have a healthy colon and probably reduces the chances of developing piles because one do not need to strain hard to defaecate.