How Does Oatmeal Lower Cholesterol?

How Oatmeal Takes Dietary Cholesterol Away

Think of tiny little sponges in your digestive tract soaking up bad cholesterol. Oatmeal contains soluble fiber which gets sticky, almost like paste, when liquid is added. The paste sticks to the bile acids in your intestines and carries them right out of your body as waste. Bile acids are made of cholesterol, so good riddance. Also, because the fiber slows down digestion, your intestines do not absorb the cholesterol in time to keep it from leaving.

Why Oatmeal Helps Your Heart

The reason you do not want to absorb bad cholesterol from your food is because it sticks to the walls of your arteries and becomes plaque, which can cause artherosclerosis. Eating oatmeal moves dietary cholesterol out of your body, so it does not hurt you. Does oatmeal reduce the plaque that is already in your arteries? No, but regular aerobic exercise and a healthy diet do, and oatmeal is part of a healthy diet.

What Does the FDA Say About Eating Oatmeal?

Foods containing enough soluble fiber, when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. In 1997, the FDA approved that health claim for oatmeal, based on the results of research showing that soluble fiber in oats lowers LDL cholesterol.

How You Can Get More Soluble Fiber Into Your Diet

Eating oatmeal is an easy way to increase the soluble fiber in your diet. You'll find it in muesli, porridge, cooked oatmeal and instant oatmeal, and in any recipes using rolled oats. Soluble fiber is also found in beans, peas, barley, psyllium, apples, oranges, carrots and other fruits and vegetables; they all help lower cholesterol levels, however cooked oatmeal is the highest source of soluble fiber of all of those. The average American is eating only 3 to 4 grams of soluble fiber a day, below the recommended amount of 5 to10 grams. So if you eat your oatmeal, have an apple and finish your lima beans, you will be doing your heart a favor.