The road to better health is often long and challenging, so the recent news that just two days on an oatmeal-based diet could slash bad cholesterol levels by ten percent is more than welcome news. Better still, benefits were still being observed six week later. These are the findings of a recent clinical study, conducted at the University of Bonn in Germany, that showed how moving to an oatmeal-based diet was able to improve harmful LDL cholesterol levels, provide encouraging weight loss, and even lower blood pressure, all without any additional exercise. “A short-term oat-based diet at regular intervals could be a well-tolerated way to keep the cholesterol level within the normal range and prevent diabetes,” commented Marie-Christine Simon, who is a junior professor at the Institute of Nutritional and Food Science at the University.
How the Oatmeal Diet Study Was Conducted
The benefits of oatmeal have long been lauded by scientists like Carl Von Noorden, who treated diabetes patients with the cereal in the early 1900s, but with the advent of prescription drugs, whole food remedies have fallen in popularity. “Today, effective medications are available to treat patients with diabetes. As a result, this method has been almost completely overlooked in recent decades,” explained Professor Simon. To redress the balance between proper food and prescription drugs, 32 individuals who suffered some type of metabolic syndrome, for example such as obesity or high blood pressure were asked to eat only oatmeal boiled in water, three times per day, along with any fruits or vegetables that they may wish to add. In total, they ate 300g of oats on each of the two-day trial and this led to a calorie consumption of around half their usual intake.
Key Health Benefits Observed in the Study
Those who stuck to the 300g oatmeal-based plan received the greatest benefits. “The level of particularly harmful LDL cholesterol fell by 10 percent for them,” explained Simon. “That is a substantial reduction.” While the professor points out that the drop in bad cholesterol is more pronounced in modern medications, these require a more prolonged period of treatment. Statins can take a couple of weeks to work, and it could be six to eight weeks before they reach a full effect, fore example. But, while more work needs to be done, in order to determine how long and how far an oatmeal-based diet could actually go, it wasn’t just bad cholesterol that fell because of the short-term intervention. “They also lost two kilos in weight, on average, and their blood pressure fell slightly,” confirmed Simon.
Why Lowering LDL Cholesterol Is Critical for Heart Health
Lowering LDL cholesterol is important, because if the blood contains too much, it is deposited in the blood vessel walls, leading to a buildup of plaque, and a narrowing of the vessels. The deposits can also rupture, forming blood clots and completely blocking vessels. Another risk from LDL is that chunks of the plaque can be washed away by the blood, causing a heart attack or stroke. Oatmeal can combat LDL by supercharging gut health, assisting with the production ferulic acid and aiding cholesterol metabolism.
Incredibly, the short-term diet led to lasting results, and the positive effects were still evident six weeks following the trial. Professor Simon says the next step is to repeat the trial after a six-week layoff so that the team can see if this could be a regular intervention, without the need for medication.
