There’s something I was reading in an article that I wanted to share with you, because it makes a really good point about something I’ve been saying.
In the article, they were talking about how, first of all, we know that oatmeal is very good for you. It’s high in fiber, it’s a great way to start your morning compared to a traditional American diet, and we do an oatmeal breakfast every single morning. We’ve been doing it for years and we add chia seeds, hemp seeds, and flax seeds.
But, it was mentioning that there’s one type of oatmeal you want to actually steer clear of and be aware of, and that is the instant oatmeal that is already sweetened. You get them in the little packages and you mix them in water. And you want to be careful to actually avoid those, and the reason for that is they’re going to have a lot of extra added sugars in them, as well as other chemicals and ingredients.
So, you want to go with just the natural. Like we just do regular oatmeal that you can either cook on the stove or in the microwave, and it’s really simple and easy to prepare. Just add water to it.
And that brings home a point. One of the things that I mention in my free Whole Food plant-based guide is that you always want to check the nutrition labels.
And the reason for that is products will commonly put almost like misleading advertising on the front, and they’ll talk about the benefits. They’ll say you’re getting x amount of whole grains, etc., but you really need to check that nutrition label to see if there’s any extra added sugars. You need to see if there are any extra added ingredients, certain ingredients that you wouldn’t want. So, just make it a habit to always look at that nutrition label.
And you want to steer clear of the added sugars as much as possible, because obviously that can have a bad effect on you. That can, we’re finding, affect your microbiome. The bad bacteria can kind of feed more on those sugars if you’re getting too much sugar in your diet.
So, that’s something I wanted to make you aware of if you weren’t aware of that yet. So, just be careful. It comes with a lot of processed foods. You’ll find this is common. So, always try to get it in the most natural or whole form.
Otherwise, just be aware and check that nutrition label. And you can add your own flavorings and ingredients to the oatmeal, so you don’t have to get it pre-packaged like that ready to go with the added sugars. You can flavor it to your own liking.
Lance has been passionate about the plant-based diet and we have been following a whole food plant-based diet for over 5 years. We focus on health, natural healing, weight management, animal rights, and the health of the planet and environment by focusing on whole plant-based foods and sustainable practices.
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