Hercules VS. Oatmeal, or what kind of oatmeal to cook?

Today in any grocery store you can find bright boxes or small bags of cereals, the heat treatment of which takes no more than 3-5 minutes. To understand whether instant cereals are beneficial or harmful to the body, you need to evaluate their specific characteristics.

The portal “Polzateevo” tried to understand the issue and found that the situation is ambiguous. When using high-quality preparation and its proper processing, you can count on getting a fairly healthy dish. But, unfortunately, this is more the exception than the rule.

How to make instant oats

The process of obtaining instant cereal is lengthy. The grain is collected by a combine, then cleaned of impurities at the elevator. Clean oats go into hulling machines, where the hard shell is removed. Then they are doused with steam and flattened. But these will still only be ordinary flakes that need to be boiled.

Did you know? Oats first appeared in Mongolia. Here it grew like a weed among spelled crops (a type of wheat). But they did not completely destroy it, since they knew about its nutritional value.

To reduce the cooking process to a couple of minutes, the raw materials are cut, scored, passed through the press again and treated with steam. The output is the finest, semi-finished flakes. At the end of the process they are dried, cooled, sifted and packaged. If necessary, various nutritional supplements are added.

Oatmeal and rolled oats: what's the difference?

Many people wonder - are rolled oats and oatmeal the same thing? We used to call it oatmeal

: - whole oatmeal; — instant oatmeal porridge with flavoring additives; — oat flakes “Hercules”; - quick-cooking oat flakes.

What to choose?

Ingredients of instant oatmeal

The composition of instant oatmeal is not much different from regular oatmeal:

Nutritional value 100 g:

Oatmeal bags: benefits and harms

Oatmeal is a healthy food product that is valuable for the body. Their regular use will help keep the body in good shape, improve health and improve appearance. However, this product also has its drawbacks. It is worth understanding in more detail the pros and cons of oatmeal from bags.

Benefit

Oatmeal is famous for its high content of B vitamins, which are necessary for brain function. In addition to them, the following useful substances are perfectly preserved in the flakes:

• Iodine is needed for normal thyroid function.
• Iron - its deficiency provokes the development of anemia.
• Zinc is essential for strengthening the immune system.
• Vitamin E – slows down the aging of the body.
• Magnesium - reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
• Manganese - serves for the normal functioning of the central nervous system.
• Phosphorus is responsible for the strength of bones.

Is it harmful?

However, despite all the undoubted benefits of instant porridge, they also have a number of disadvantages. For example, multi-level production processing of grain practically destroys its coarse fibers. Which, in turn, significantly increases the glycemic index. That is, cereal porridge can affect the increase in blood sugar levels and lead to the development or exacerbation of diabetes.

Flavoring additives, which manufacturers often add to “instant” cereals from bags, contain not only sugar and starch, but also chemical compounds harmful to the body. The results of frequent use of such a product can be excess weight gain, metabolic disorders, and the development of various diseases, including diabetes.

Fact! Portion sachets also have the advantage of being designed for one meal. This is an important fact, because when the leftover “quick” porridge is reheated, it loses almost all its beneficial properties.

What is its use

The benefits of instant oatmeal are less than those of regular cereal. This is due to the duration of industrial processing, during which some of the beneficial substances are lost. But they still contain micro- and macroelements, vitamins that our body needs.

Introducing porridge into the diet allows you to cleanse the body of bad cholesterol, prevent heart attacks and strokes, and improve the functioning of the nervous system. Instant cereal contains some fiber, but a small amount is enough to gradually cleanse the body of toxins.

Important! To benefit from instant cereals, you need to avoid those that contain (additionally) food additives and flavor simulants.

Possible harm from quick porridge

As a result of multi-level processing of grains, the presence of coarse fibers in the product is practically reduced to zero. This leads to the following consequences:

1. High glycemic index. As a result, instant oatmeal is harmful to the human body - the risk of developing diabetes.
2. Presence of gluten. The harm of instant cereals is also associated with the presence of gluten in them - a complex protein that people suffering from celiac disease cannot tolerate. This congenital disease is characterized by impaired intestinal absorption.
3. The content of sugar and unnatural additives provokes the accumulation of extra pounds, the development of diabetes and becomes one of the causes of metabolic disorders.

The harm of Hercules also lies in the high calorie content of the product . Therefore, it is not recommended to have such porridge for breakfast every day.

Harm and contraindications

The main harm from instant cereals lies in the additives. With them, the manufacturer tries to attract the buyer, not caring much about the quality of the final product. Typically, instant porridges are packaged with pieces of fruit added. But processing them correctly is a complex and costly process. It is easier for the manufacturer to replace them with flavors, dyes or other food additives.

Often, instead of “exotic” fruits, apples are used that are processed in a special way (using food chemicals) so that they resemble peaches, apricots, etc. Also, such cereals contain a lot of sugar, which is not at all healthy for the body.

Features of the technology for producing porridge in bags

Processing of grain for porridges is carried out using a special technology. Raw materials undergo the following processes:

• the grain is passed through cleaning machines;
• then flattened using a special press;
• the resulting oat flakes are dried or steamed using steam supplied under high pressure.

To obtain a product that does not require a long cooking time, some manufacturers additionally cut or cut the flakes and use infrared irradiation.

The cereals that have undergone this processing are packaged in boxes or small bags, having previously enriched the oatmeal with various additives:

• sugar;
• salt;
• pieces of dried fruit;
• crushed medicinal plants;
• bran of various cereals.

Manufacturers produce quick oatmeal in convenient portioned bags designed for one-time use. This eliminates the need to reheat the dish, which would result in the loss of the beneficial qualities of the product.

Can I eat it for breakfast?

Instant cereal is suitable for breakfast. But you shouldn’t expect that after eating you won’t feel hungry for long. Due to the low fiber content, the absorption process of the product is rapid.

In addition, it will be useful to eat such food only once or twice a week and in an amount of no more than 200 g. Due to the high calorie content of a daily meal, you can quickly gain several kilograms of excess weight.

Important! It is advisable for diabetics to avoid instant porridge, since rapid absorption may result in sudden surges in blood glucose.

Does quick oatmeal help you lose weight?

The benefits of oatmeal for weight loss have not been fully studied. However, it is noted that with a sufficiently high calorie content of oatmeal, it still promotes weight loss. This is explained by the ability of porridge:

• regulate the process of fat absorption by the body due to the high protein content;
• reduce the feeling of hunger due to the presence of fiber in cereals;
• reduce the number of meals due to the feeling of fullness;
• remove excess fluid from the body.

The low calorie content of instant oatmeal and the absence of sugar and artificial additives in it prevents weight gain, so it is successfully used for weight loss.

The most popular recipe used for this purpose is fasting days with oatmeal. 2 days a week are enough, when the basis of the diet is porridge and oatmeal decoctions.

How to choose the right porridge

First of all, try to look for an “instant” breakfast without additives. Carefully study the composition of the product - there should be a minimum of harmful impurities. Check the expiration date and expiration date, and the integrity of the packaging. Give preference to products from well-known brands - there is a better chance that the information on the packaging is true.

High-quality flakes are white, slightly yellowish with a fresh and soft smell. They don't taste bitter.

Porridge with milk

There is no need to cook porridge with milk; milk is added at the end. I also heard that oatmeal with milk is healthier, but it turns out that this is not true.

It cannot be said that milk porridge is better. Oatmeal is generally healthy, both with and without milk.

Baeva Vera Sergeevna
biochemist, senior Researcher at the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Federal Research Center for Nutrition and Biotechnology" (formerly RAMS)

Instead of regular milk, you can add cream or vegetable milk (soy, coconut, almond)

calorie content - 249 kcal

cereal……………………………40 gr. (140 kcal)

water (for soaking) …………….200 gr. (0 kcal)

milk……………………………200 ml. (109 kcal)

1. Brew the flakes with boiling water or soak overnight.
2. Put on fire, add a little water, salt.
3. Cook for 5-10 minutes.
4. Add milk, cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Rules for preparing healthy porridge

Processed flakes can be used to make healthy oatmeal.

It is enough to follow simple rules:

1. Prepare the dish with low-fat milk or water.
2. Add dried fruits and nuts to it yourself.
3. If possible, exclude sweeteners.
4. When cooking, stir the porridge constantly so that it does not burn.
5. Liquid oatmeal is obtained by combining water and flakes in a ratio of 3:1, semi-viscous - 1:2.5, viscous - 1:2.
6. When ready, add oil and let sit for a couple of minutes.
7. Try to cook the amount that you will consume at a time (it’s less tasty when it’s cooled).

Did you know? In 2021, Russia was the world leader in oat production. Harvest: 4.76 million tons of grain per year.

Secrets of cooking oatmeal

In order to cook oatmeal, you need to pour the flakes into boiling water in a ratio of 1 to 4. Then the porridge is cooked over low heat until the flakes become soft. You can add salt or sugar if desired. However, in this case the dish will no longer be dietary.

There is also a recipe for the lazy. Pour the oatmeal cold and leave overnight. In the morning, you can add berries, pieces of fruit or nuts to your “lazy oatmeal”. This option for preparing porridge is considered the most useful.

Memo

1. For porridge we choose “rolled oats”, which is cooked for 15-20 minutes.
2. Rolled oats cook quickly if you soak them overnight.
3. Oatmeal with water and milk is equally healthy.
4. When choosing cereals or cereals, pay attention to the presence of dietary fiber.
5. We carefully study the packaging, do not believe only the front side.
6. Cereals and flakes are equally healthy.

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