Category Archives: Oats (Avena sativa)

Whole Grains: Not All Created Equally

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Current recommendations are to consume more whole grains in order to prevent lifestyle disease such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Evidence in the nutritional literature has shown a benefit to increased whole grain consumption particularly with regard blood lipid … Continue reading →

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More on Soluble Fibre

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Increasingly, research suggests that both insoluble and soluble fibres are beneficial to long-term health. Soluble fibre has some interesting metabolic effects, with perhaps the most researched and most important being the ability to normalise elevated blood lipid levels. Insoluble fibre … Continue reading →

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Beans and Oats: Cholesterol Lowering Master Class

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Robert Barrington

The statins are a group of drugs that inhibit the rate limiting enzyme (HMG-CoA reductase) in the cholesterol synthesis pathway in humans. The medical establishment claims that statins are effective at lowering elevated plasma lipoprotein levels, particularly low density lipoprotein, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beans, Cardiovascular Disease, Cholesterol, Fibre, HDL, IDL, LDL, Lipoprotein(a), Oats (Avena sativa), VLDL | Comments Off on Beans and Oats: Cholesterol Lowering Master Class

Fibre Does Not Delay Gastric Emptying

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Robert Barrington

Evidence suggests that high fibre diets can lower postprandial glycaemia. This effect is thought to come from a decrease in the rate of absorption of the digestible component of the carbohydrate, which flattens the blood glucose curve and decreases the … Continue reading →

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More on Glycaemic Index

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Robert Barrington

The glycaemic index (GI) is a measure of the rise in blood glucose (area under the curve) caused by a particular carbohydrate food, compared to the standard food, white bread (and expressed as a ratio). High GI foods are increasingly … Continue reading →

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Even More Evidence that Oat Fibre Lowers Cholesterol

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Robert Barrington

Soluble fibre has been shown to have beneficial properties on the lipid profiles of hyperlipidaemic individuals. Soluble fibre is particularly effective at lowering total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, when compared to control diets or diets with equal … Continue reading →

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Oat Gum Lowers Blood Glucose and Insulin

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Robert Barrington

A large body of research has accumulated to show that soluble fibre is beneficial to the health. In particular, because of its water absorbing and bulking action, soluble fibre can slow gastric transit time and decrease the absorption rate of … Continue reading →

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The Importance of Breakfast

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Robert Barrington

Research suggests that there is a negative association between eating breakfast and obesity, although the research is a little contradictory. Increasingly, breakfast is being skipped as a meal but it is unclear as to the effects of this trend. Many … Continue reading →

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Statins Versus Diet

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Robert Barrington

Statins are widely prescribed to lower cholesterol in large numbers of the general population because they have been shown in research to reduce LDL-cholesterol levels. Statins are a group of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors. They can reduce serum cholesterol … Continue reading →

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β-Glucans and Oats

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Robert Barrington

Dietary fibre is of interest to nutritionists because research suggests that it may have health benefits. Dietary fibre is generally classed into two groups based on its solubility in water. Water insoluble fibres tend to provide roughage to foods and … Continue reading →

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