Oatmeal...The Perfect Start to Any Day

Whenever I'm asked "what's your favorite food?" I always say oatmeal or bananas, or the combination of the two. People almost always look at me with some crazy look of astonishment, not about the banana part, but about how oatmeal could possibly be one of my favorite foods. I have my reasons.  

I could argue that oatmeal may be the healthiest food on the planet. Lowly oatmeal? You'd think it'd be beat out by health food powerhouses like salmon, acai, almonds, quinoa, or kale -- just to name a few. Not so fast. In it's natural form (Quaker oats barrel style, not that pre-packed, sugar-laden, processed excuse for oatmeal) oatmeal is as healthy as it gets. Here are a few of the reasons why oatmeal tops my list of go-to foods: 

Health. (We're talking about 100% natural Quaker oats, nothing packaged that has preservatives, additives, or sugar added.)

1. It's a slow-digesting, complex carb that's loaded with fiber. That translates into long-lasting sustained energy and curbed hunger cravings. Oatmeal is literally the perfect breakfast food to start any day. 
• It's also a great pre-workout food
2. The high fiber content promotes digestive health, fights cancer, and cleans out toxins from the body. 
• It reduces LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol)
• Prevents/helps relieve constipation
• The phytochemicals in the oats actively fight cancer
3. It helps regulate blood sugar levels and keeps insulin from spiking. Low insulin levels are the key to losing body fat and sculpting a flat belly. For anyone looking to shred body fat and get cut abdominals, meet your new best friend. 
• This is extremely beneficial for diabetics who are looking to control blood sugar levels.
4. It only has 150 calories per half cup. Oatmeal is extremely filling for a food with so few calories.
5. Good source of protein. Oatmeal alone has 5g of protein, and if you cook it with milk it adds about 6g of protein per half cup. That's 11g of protein for a carb. The milk also adds calcium and vitamin D.
6. It has no sugar or refined carbs. See my bullet point about insulin levels.
7. Helps protect against heart disease
8. Sodium free
9. Good source of vitamin E, zinc, selenium, copper, iron, magnesium, and manganese.
10. It's only ingredient is oats. That means no preservatives, chemicals, added sugar, or artificial sweeteners.

Quick and easy to make. Dump some oatmeal and milk/water in a bowl, pop it in the microwave for 1 minute 45 seconds, add your toppings, and enjoy. It takes all of 2 minutes to make.

Versatility.

I'll admit oatmeal is pretty bland and boring when it's made with water, but the beauty of oatmeal comes from it's versatility. On it's own oatmeal is incredibly healthy, but add a few all-natural toppings and you can step up it's game to an entirely new level. Here are a few ideas to pump up your oatmeal.

1. Add milk to everything.  This is the foundation of oatmeal art. Making oatmeal with milk instead of water makes a world of difference. If you want richer oatmeal use 1 or 2% milk, but skim milk should do the trick just fine.
2. Add cinnamon to everything.Cinnamon is perfect. It adds a great flavor, but also has robust health benefits. Cinnamon is one of the most powerful antioxidants, it regulates blood sugar levels and insulin (back to the fat burning factor), and can actually boost metabolism.
3. Bananas and cinnamon. Ahhhhhh...my go to meal. The bananas add potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, magnesium, and additional fiber. Not to mention they taste delicious. 
4. Apples and cinnamon. Try this If you're a fan of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios. Keep the skin on the apples, you'll triple the fiber intake.
5. If you like sweetness try adding a little bit of raw honey or natural maple syrup. No Aunt Jamima, I'm talking about maple syrup straight out of the tree. Honey in it's raw form is a natural antioxidant that can help ward off disease. Make sure you check ingredient labels and packaging to ensure both of these are all natural with no added sugar or chemicals.
6. Berries. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are all a great source of antioxidants, vitamin K, vitamin C, and fiber. Try out different combinations to find your ideal flavor.
7. Ground Up Flaxseeds. Flaxseeds are an amazing source of omega-3 fatty acids--fat's that improve cholesterol ratios and overall heart health. They're also high in antioxidants to help fight nasty free radicals.
8. Yogurt and fruit. Like strawberries and cream? Yogurt adds a nice sweetness and creaminess to oatmeal. Make sure you're choosing a healthy yogurt brand. Also, using greek yogurt bumps up the protein content significantly
9. Oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins. I'm not a huge fan of raisins because they have unusually high sugar content (dried fruit has more sugar and less nutrients than fresh fruit), but there are so few raisins in this mixture that the added sugar is negligible. Some people swear by cinnamon raisin, try it out.
10. Peanut butter. Contributes loads of healthy fats, and also adds thickness.
11. Nuts. Mixing in peanuts, walnuts, almonds, or cashews adds healthy fats and a nice crunch.
12. Shredded coconut and almonds. Aka "Almond Joy" oatmeal. The almonds add healthy fats. Coconut contains a healthy type of saturated fat called lauric acid which has been shown to boost HDL (good cholesterol), while keeping LDL levels neutral. This is a tasty alternative that's loaded with a variety of healthy fats--key to proper heart health.

If anyone else has any other great oatmeal recipes they'd like to share please post them! Oatmeal is great because you can be so creative with it. Be healthy, and have fun doing it.
 

Trans Fat Fact

Have you ever noticed that the majority of commercially available foods list 0g of trans fat on their nutrition labels? One little known fact is that the FDA (the Food & Drug Administration) allows companies to list 0g of trans fat on a food's nutrition label if it contains .5g or fewer. That's atrocious. You might be asking yourself, is .2563g of trans fat really going to have any negative impact on my health? Yep. If you're eating large quantities of processed foods the fractional content will quickly add up. Even accumulating a total of 1g trans fat over the course of a day will reek havoc on your heart health, circulatory health, and cholesterol levels. It takes just 10 seconds to trans fat-proof your diet. Here's what you can do to become a certified trans fat detective:

1. Check fats section of the nutrition label. If it has any level of trans fat listed, avoid it.
2. Scan the list of ingredients. Look for hydrogenated oils and partially hydrogenated oils. The most common culprit will be partially hydrogenated soybean oil.

One Simple Change That Could Help You Lose 5, 10, 20 Pounds or More Effortlessly

What if I told you that you could lose 5, 10, 20 pounds or more without lifting a single weight, running an inch, or starting a grueling no-carb crash diet. Sounds too easy to be true, right? Although this might seem obvious to some people, cutting out all soda and sugary drinks from your life can have an astronomical effect on your weight, body composition, skin, oral health, and overall health. And yes, that includes nixing all diet soda as well.

Drinks like soda, diet soda, Slurpies, Hawaiian Punch, YooHoo!, Monster/Red Bull/other energy drinks, Arizona Iced Tea, and Gatorade are high up on the list of the worst things you can possibly put into your body. I would even go as far as to say that their negative impact on health compares to that of cigarettes. These drinks are loaded with sugar, chemicals, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners, and completely lack anything close to nutritious. One can of Coca-Cola Classic has 140 calories/40g of sugar, and one can of Hawaiian Punch has 180 calories/45g of sugar...plus both have high fructose corn syrup listed near the top of the ingredients list (ingredients are listed in order of appearance in the product. The first ingredient listed is most prevalent, while the last ingredient is most likely very minor). That's almost more sugar than you should eat in an entire day! And lets be realistic...if you're an avid soda drinker you're probably drinking multiple sodas or sugary drinks per day.


Before I go on a rant about how awful these drinks are for your body, I want you to visualize how much sugar you're actually taking in. Measure out 10 teaspoons of sugar and put it on a plate. That's the amount of sugar you're consuming every time you drink a single Coke! Nasty! It's amazing that a drink would ever need that much sugar to taste good.

So how does all of that sugar effect your body? If you drink one Coke per day, something most people think is pretty harmless, it adds up to 980 calories per week and 51,100 calories per year...that's about 1/3 of a pound per week and 14.6 pounds per year. And that's only drinking one Coke per day. If you drink two Cokes per day that doubles to about 2/3 of a pound per week and 29 pounds per year! Think of all the hard work in the gym it takes to lose that kind of weight. Better yet, think of how much better your results would be--and your body would look--if you cut out these sugary drinks altogether.


Here are a few of the other ways soda and sugary drinks have a negative impact on our overall health:

• They're a leading cause of obesity.
• They have no nutritional value, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, or minerals.
• They take up a part of your daily caloric allowance that could better be spent on nutritious, whole foods.
  
• They stimulate appetite and cause you to eat and drink more. Soda and sugary drinks are empty calories that won't fill you up and will keep you feeling dissatisfied.
• Their high sugar content spikes insulin levels, which causes the body to store excess fat. Additionally, the large HFCS content will cause the body to store even more body fat. Every single soda or sugar-laden drink you gulp down will literally make you fatter. For a more comprehensive explanation of how insulin and HFCS effect body fat levels check out my post at http://bryanfitlife.blogspot.com/2010/03/understanding-insulin-hfcs-and-carbs.html
• Guzzling these drinks often will repeatedly spike your insulin, cause insulin resistance, and eventually lead to Type-II Diabetes. Not fun.
  
• By drinking soda and sugary drinks you end up drinking less water, milk, green tea, or other drinks that can have a positive impact on your health.
• They can cause acne and blemished skin.
• They can cause cavities, tooth decay, and poor oral health.
• Soda causes bone weakening. The phosphorus in soda saps calcium from our bones, making them more frail and prone to injury.

The moral of the story: Cut soda out from your life. It's just making you work harder to achieve the body you want.