Table of Contents
There is lot of curiosity out there to know the benefits of raw oats as oppose to cooked oats and this article explores the same (and why not know the comprehensive benefits of oatmeal in the first place) .
Cooking as we know has been the essense of food prepration as it enables richer blending of ingredients and brings in much needed taste to it.
However research conducted in last few decades has shown the ill effects of cooking on nutritional value of the food we eat.
Cooking alters the structure of the ingredients and hence in most cases reduce its nutritious value.
Raw Oats Vs Cooked Oats Comparison
We only have data available for 100 grams of each cooked and raw oat bran.
As the cooked oatmeal have significant amount of water in it, it skews the comparison proportionately.
The difference is such that cooked oatmeal food displays lower numbers for every element as water contributes to make up good chunk of 100 grams of sample being considered.
Below comparison hence should be taken into consideration with this point in mind.
The comparison has been broken down by type of elements i.e. proximates, minerals and vitamins.
Prioximates
| Element | Unit | Cooked Oat Bran | Raw Oat Bran |
| Energy | kcal | 40 | 246 |
| Carbohydrate | g | 11.4 | 66.2 |
| Protein | g | 3.21 | 17.3 |
| Fiber | g | 2.6 | 15.4 |
| Fat | g | 0.86 | 7.03 |
Minerals
| Element | Unit | Cooked Oat Bran | Uncooked Oat Bran |
| Calcium | mg | 10 | 58 |
| Iron | mg | 0.88 | 5.41 |
| Phosphorus | mg | 119 | 734 |
| Potassium | mg | 92 | 566 |
| Magnesium | mg | 40 | 235 |
Vitamins
| Element | Unit | Cooked Oat Bran | Uncooked Oat Bran |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | mg | 0.16 | 1.17 |
| Riboflavin | mg | 0.034 | 0.22 |
| Niacin | mg | 0.144 | 0.934 |
| Vitamin B-6 | mg | 0.025 | 0.165 |
| Vitamin E | mg | 0.0 | 1.01 |
Verdict
Though this comparison easily gives an impression that raw oatmeal is the way to go as it has higher portion of every nutrient.
For example, there is around 50% reduction in fibre and protein content of oat bran which is really bad.
The effect of cooking is not limited to oat bran but to most grains and food items.
Having said that, eating raw grains is not for everyone but the bottom line is we should avoid cooking food as much as possible.
We can certainly help ourselves by using other means to make grains digestable like soaking or steam cooking instead of cooking or worse pressure cooking it.
The real challenge most of us face is that we find it hard to compromise with taste even when there is huge health benefits.
Those of us who can over come this challenge can find it easier to be healthy.