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Rolled oats

Avena sativa

Also known as Old-fashioned oats, Porridge oats, Oatmeal

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Whole oat groats that have been steamed and pressed flat so they hydrate quickly. The USDA reference entry is for the dry flake; porridge takes up roughly two to three times its dry weight in water, so per-100 g figures for cooked oatmeal are correspondingly lower.

Heart HealthWeight ManagementBlood Sugar & Metabolic Health

Potential health benefits

Best supported: Moderate

Ordered by how well the human research supports them — strongest first. A rating describes the state of the evidence, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Blood lipid profile

Heart Health
Moderate evidence

Research consistently shows that oat beta-glucan lowers LDL cholesterol, with meta-analyses agreeing on the direction and roughly on the size of the effect. This is one of the few food-component relationships regulators in both the US and EU have accepted.

What may be going on: Viscous beta-glucan traps bile acids in the small intestine and increases their loss in stool, so the liver draws on circulating cholesterol to replace them.

Moderate evidence. Several human studies point the same way, with real caveats.

1 source

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Satiety and appetite

Weight Management
Moderate evidence

May support fullness within a meal: several crossover trials find oat porridge rated more satiating than equal-calorie breakfast cereals, with smaller and less consistent effects on what people eat later in the day.

Moderate evidence. Several human studies point the same way, with real caveats.

1 source

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Blood glucose response

Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health
Insufficient evidence

Some trials report that oats blunt the glucose rise after a meal and modestly improve fasting glucose and HbA1c in people with type 2 diabetes, though trials are short and vary in the oat form used.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated insufficient by default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Healthy blood pressure

Heart Health
Insufficient evidence

Evidence is limited for a blood-pressure effect. A handful of small trials report modest systolic reductions, but the body of work is thin and results are inconsistent.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated insufficient by default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Ask about Rolled oats

Ask about Rolled oats

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories389 kcal19%
Protein16.9 g34%
Total fat6.9 g9%
Carbohydrate66.3 g24%
Fibre10.6 g38%
Water8.22 g—
Fats
Saturated fat1.22 g6%
Monounsaturated fat2.18 g—
Polyunsaturated fat2.54 g—
Cholesterol0 mg0%
Linoleic acid (omega-6)2.42 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A0 µg0%
Vitamin C0 mg0%
Vitamin D0 µg0%
Thiamin (B1)0.763 mg64%
Riboflavin (B2)0.139 mg11%
Niacin (B3)0.961 mg6%
Pantothenic acid (B5)1.35 mg27%
Vitamin B60.119 mg7%
Folate56 µg14%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Minerals
Calcium54 mg4%
Iron4.72 mg26%
Magnesium177 mg42%
Phosphorus523 mg42%
Potassium429 mg9%
Sodium2 mg0%
Zinc3.97 mg36%
Copper0.626 mg70%
Manganese4.92 mg214%
Other measured compounds
Ash1.72 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Oats (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 169705).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • soakedReduces phytate

    Soaking oats overnight, particularly in slightly acidic liquid, allows native phytase to act and modestly lowers phytate content, which improves iron and zinc availability from the meal.

  • cookedReduces beta-glucan viscosity

    Heavy processing into instant flakes, and very prolonged cooking, lower the molecular weight of beta-glucan. Since the cholesterol effect tracks viscosity rather than total fibre, less processed oats are the form most trials have used.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Avoid

    Gluten cross-contamination

    Oats contain avenin rather than gluten, but most commercial oats are grown, transported and milled alongside wheat and barley, so ordinary oats routinely carry gluten above the coeliac threshold. People with coeliac disease need oats certified gluten-free, and a small minority still react to avenin itself.

  • Worth knowing

    Fermentable fibre and bloating

    Beta-glucan is fermented in the colon. Going from little fibre to a large daily bowl of porridge often causes gas and bloating for a week or two; increasing the amount gradually reduces that.

  • Worth knowing

    Phytate and mineral absorption

    Like all whole seeds, oats carry phytate, which binds iron and zinc in the same meal and lowers how much is absorbed. This matters mainly for people relying on plant foods for those minerals rather than for occasional eaters.