Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level • Hacker News Board

Re: Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level

#91

Post by julianz » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 8:40 AM UTC

throwaway173738 wrote: post #34

roxolotl wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea it’s on the oatmeal boxes even. Part of what’s interesting about this study though is they claim this two day intensive(300g per day) oatmeal diet showed microbiome changes which persist for months.

Yeah for reference 54 grams is about 200 kcal, so this is 1200 kcal or so of just oats. That leaves 600-800 kcal for other food if you’re targeting 1800-2000 kcal/day which is a reasonable calorie restriction. So this isn’t really a sustainable diet in the long term.

Two days isn't long term though.

Re: Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level

#92

Post by zhivota » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 8:40 AM UTC

LowLevelKernel wrote: post #78

Aren’t Oats given to horses to fatten them up in winter? I might be wrong. Just asking . .

Given that horses regularly eat grass and hay, oats are comparatively one of the most calorie dense foods they eat.

Re: Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level

#93

Post by xhcuvuvyc » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 8:47 AM UTC

dzhiurgis wrote: post #84

bob1029 wrote: post #69

Oatmeal is amazing at stabilizing blood sugar levels. It's like adding inertia to the power grid. If you are eating any kind of snack cracker or refined wheat product, I would suggest replacing with oats and then reporting back on results after one week. I think the beneficial effects are strong enough to completely offset the impact of things like occasional bowl of ice cream and package of nerds gummy clusters. Thi…

How do you reconcile this with fact that oatmeal has higher glycemic index than ice cream?

Pretty sure this whole thread is an ad.

Re: Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level

#94

Post by askvictor » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 8:58 AM UTC

mikestorrent wrote: post #41

wwwtyro wrote: post #32

My understanding is that: 1. When someone consumes fat, bile is released into the gut. 2. Oatmeal (and other soluble fibers like psyllium husk) capture this bile and it is excreted in stool. 3. In order to create the bile, the liver needs LDL. Because the LDL it used to create the bile was lost when it was captured, it exposes more LDL receptors and pulls LDL out of the bloodstream, thereby lowering LDL levels. It se…

So, me putting butter on my oatmeal is not gross and decadent, but actually the new health food craze?

I make steel cut oats in the pressure cooker; you need to put some fat in there to stop it bubbling while it's cooking, so butter has a physical purpose there too. And also tastes delicious.

Re: Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level

#95

Post by globular-toast » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 8:59 AM UTC

postalrat wrote: post #24

wewewedxfgdf wrote: post #19

Oatmeal is food of the gods - BUT only if you don't pollute is with all sorts of add ons. Oatmeal and milk, nothing more. No fruit no nuts no sugar no honey no sprinkles of whatever. Perfect.

If you are taking out the sugar you might as well go all the way and take out the milk.

Full fat milk is probably better because a) it will taste better and b) the fat will slow the energy release.

Re: Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level

#96

Post by Klonoar » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 8:59 AM UTC

wewewedxfgdf wrote: post #19

Oatmeal is food of the gods - BUT only if you don't pollute is with all sorts of add ons. Oatmeal and milk, nothing more. No fruit no nuts no sugar no honey no sprinkles of whatever. Perfect.

Savory oatmeal is the way to go.

It is a shame that most people's associations with oatmeal is either "bland" or "I've added in so much sugar that I may as well ignore the benefits of oats entirely".

Re: Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level

#97

Post by askvictor » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 9:01 AM UTC

blinded wrote: post #39

Been trying to get into overnight oats (home made) for breakfast but its been hard to hit protein numbers, even with protein powder.

How much protein do you actually need though? If you're not using it immediately (i.e. shortly after exercise) it's wasted.

Re: Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level

#98

Post by globular-toast » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 9:03 AM UTC

Marsymars wrote: post #59

0xbadcafebee wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The great thing about oatmeal is you can change the taste easily. Savory, sweet, spiced, aromatic, creamy, chewy, whatever you want. My go-to is oatmeal with milk and pepper, but some days I want some aged cheddar, or smoked cheddar (mmmm!). Frozen wild blueberries/wineberries for a winter treat. Tumeric, ginger, cinnamon and honey if I'm getting sick. A fried egg and hot sauce if it's a lazy sunday.

Savoury oatmeal might be my wife's top-rated thing that I brought to the relationship.

Indians are great at this kind of thing. They don't really eat sweet dishes like we do. Upma is usually a wheat porridge but can be made with oats.

Re: Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level

#99

Post by tonyedgecombe » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 9:06 AM UTC

postalrat wrote: post #24

wewewedxfgdf wrote: post #19

Oatmeal is food of the gods - BUT only if you don't pollute is with all sorts of add ons. Oatmeal and milk, nothing more. No fruit no nuts no sugar no honey no sprinkles of whatever. Perfect.

If you are taking out the sugar you might as well go all the way and take out the milk.

That's what I do, my son often comments that I eat gruel for breakfast.

What a lot of people don't realise is that the creamy texture comes from the oats rather than the milk.

Re: Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level

#100

Post by bronkic » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 9:10 AM UTC

jimnotgym wrote: post #73

Porridge? Is Oatmeal what some people call Porridge?

"Oatmeal" is a very confusing word to me because it's not actually "meal" (meaning "flour" in this case). There is actually a flour made out of oats, but it's not what you would make porridge out of.