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How to Elevate Oatmeal to Superfood

Rating: 4 out of 5
Drink a glass of this with your oatmeal to help elevate your breakfast to superfood status: orange juice.

Why? The nutrients in oatmeal and OJ work synergistically to provide double the benefits you'd expect from simply adding their powers together.

Food Synergy
The phenols in oatmeal and the vitamin C in OJ both help make LDL more stable -- and that's a good thing, because the more stable LDL is, the less likely it is to rupture, stick to artery walls, and cause this. But consume the phenols and vitamin C together and they'll stabilize LDL at twice the level expected from adding their effects together. It's like this: 2 + 2 = 8, not 4, when it comes to phenol + vitamin C benefits. Look up more C sources with this online tool.

Cast a Wide Net
So how can you take advantage of more food synergies? The best way is to eat a varied diet rich in colorful fruits and veggies, healthy fats, different kinds of whole grains, and few or no processed foods. This will give nutrients the best shot at meeting up in your body and reinforcing one another as they guard against disease. (Here's a starter plan for making your diet more varied.) 

Ever wonder what those strange-sounding ingredients in processed foods are? Here's a chart that breaks it down for you.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet that is low in calories and high in nutrients can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger.

References Published on 01/28/2008.
Avenanthramides and phenolic acids from oats are bioavailable and act synergistically with vitamin C to enhance hamster and human LDL resistance to oxidation. Chen, C. Y., Milbury, P. E., Kwak, H. K., Collins, F. W., Samuel, P., Blumberg, J. B., Journal of Nutrition 2004 Jun;134(6):1459-1466.

Vegetables, fruits and phytoestrogens in the prevention of diseases. Heber, D., Journal of Postgraduate Medicine 2004 Apr-Jun;50(2):145-149.

Nutrients, foods, and dietary patterns as exposures in research: a framework for food synergy. Jacobs, D. R. Jr., Steffen, L. M., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2003 Sep;78(3):508S-513S.

EDITOR'S PICK
Organic Oatmeal


Our January 21st tip featured a neat little juicer to get your OJ flowing. This week, pair it with oatmeal. Not the instant stuff, but the real slow-cooked thing. No time to stand and stir in the morning? Use this great cooker. No burning; it’s perfect every time!

For more recommendations,
check out our RealAge Marketplace!

 
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meadowlander
3 of 3 people found this helpful.
6/29/2009 6:38:23 AM

I have been eating raw, thick rolled oats for over 3 years now. I usually have a 1/3 cup in the morning with water, and another 1/3 cup for [Show More]
Shuttergirl59
1 of 1 people found this helpful.
6/29/2009 6:06:54 AM

The tastiest oatmeal is the Irish steel-cut kind. Cook up a batch, keep it in the fridge and heat the amount you want to eat. Good with home [Show More]
DeeDeeMcGee
4 of 4 people found this helpful.
6/26/2009 10:48:34 AM

If you don't like hot oatmeal in the summer, switch to oatmeal based granola.
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