More Questions About Oats

People outside the BB scene would be shocked at how much we analyze this simple food. I wanted to know if regular Food Lion “Quik Oats” are OK (100% rolled oats). Also, why are oats considered such a good breakfast…what is the GI value?

dermo:

Good question…and the answer is “it depends”, really…

Regrettably, overall health is not an important consideration for most muscleheads…but if it is, “slow” cooking Oats (like McCann’s) are better because of their GLA content (GLA is a precursor of anti-inflammatory eicosinoids…and it’s chronic inflammation that is now being implicated in many disease states). Quick or “Instant” Oats don’t contain GLA…(by the way…slow cooking Oat’s like McCanns have a GREAT “nutty” taste!)

Whether or not you eat them for “breakfast” depends on when that meal falls realtive to your workout…I eat mine as part of my first post workout meal(which happens to be in the evening) as part of flooding my hungry muscles with a healthy carb (after my “Surge”)…

Mufasa

By the way:

The GI of Slow-Cooking Oats is about 70 (with a strong glycemic load), which makes it ideal for post-workout.

Here is a very helpful reference that I keep bookmarked:

http://www.drsears.com/drsearspages/understandcarbs.jsp

Mufasa

Mufasa,

      Sears charts the foods by Glycemic Index rather than by Insulin Index. Is this reliable? For instance, Low-fat milk is listed a glycemic load of 473, which makes it look like it spikes insulin far less than, say, beans. However, I believe that milk is one of many foods that has an II out of proportion to its GI; as most of us can attest, skim milk spikes insulin way higher than some beans. Obviously, the GI index is still useful in some cases: It makes it clear that linguine, for instance, is not the food of choice for your cutting cycle.

Ross:

His charts (like any other chart that involves a calculation) are reliable as a general guide…

The problem with the insulin index is that there just are not enough foods that have been tested…

My suspicion is that Sears Glycemic Load calculations are going to be REALITIVELY accurate…in other words, a food with a high glycemic load will be found to be one with a high insulin index…

Mufasa