Instant Oatmeal Vs. Old Fashioned Oatmeal - Which is Best & What are the Health Benefits?

Oatmeal Health Benefits

Not every goofy dietary rumor is backed by extensive scientific research and government approval, but oatmeal’s famed health benefits have been rigorously studied. It’s as healthy as you think — all of it.

A decade ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the big heart on the front of oatmeal cartons. Quaker and other oatmeal companies can claim that oatmeal helps reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol without a fine-print caveat saying they are making it all up.

Other scientific research suggests oatmeal cuts the risk of elevated blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes. It can also help you lose weight and even changes the remaining LDL cholesterol particles to make them healthier.

Perhaps more surprising is the fact that nearly all oatmeal provides these benefits. The Quaker Oats website suggests there is no nutritional difference between their varieties, and that’s not quite true.

There are some advantages to the unprocessed whole grains in slow-cooking oatmeal, but the instant stuff is healthier than you might think. Don’t buy the myth that instant oatmeal is stripped of all the health benefits.

Having said that, here are the main types of oatmeal listed from best to worst, and some of the reasons.

Woo hoo: Steel-cut oatmeal

Steel-cut oats, also known as Irish oats or Scottish oats, are basically whole, raw oats cut into smaller pieces. They are a whole, unprocessed grain. In general, more whole grains and less processing are considered healthier.

There are also more quantifiable nutritional advantages. Compared to Bob’s Red Mill regular rolled oats, 40 grams of Bob’s steel cut oats has the same amount of fiber, but fewer calories and less fat.

The main drawback of steel-cut oatmeal is time. They take 30 minutes to cook on the stove (and who has an extra half-hour in the morning?), though some recipes promise perfect oatmeal with just six minutes in the microwave.

Yeah: Old-fashioned oatmeal

Rolled oats are packaged by Quaker and other popular brands as Old-Fashioned Oatmeal. They cook faster than steel-cut oatmeal but retain most of the nutrition. Again, these are closer to whole grains, so they are considered more healthy than instant oatmeal, but the advantages are largely unquantified. The oats have been rolled into thinner flakes and typically are baked or pressure-cooked.

There is slightly more fiber in rolled oats. They have a better texture than the instant stuff, but that’s obviously subjective. Still, for this reason alone, I spend the extra minute to microwave rolled oats. Seriously, the rolled oats take three minutes, vs. two minutes for the quick-cook variety.

Ho hum: Quick-cook oatmeal

Quick-cook oatmeal, obviously is the fastest way to a healthy breakfast, but you’ll lose some of the taste and texture of the slower-cooking varieties. It has also been processed and cooked, which possibly breaks down the phytonutrients and other good stuff.

Boo: Instant flavored oatmeal

The oats are basically the same as the larger cartons of quick oatmeal, though they can often be “cooked” by simply adding hot water. They have already been heavily processed and largely pre-cooked. The instant stuff is also full of extra sugar, additives and other “natural and artificial flavors.”

Instant oatmeal also gets a fail on the environmental front with wasteful individual packets.

Now that you’re convinced to get some oatmeal, here are some creative suggestions for using oatmeal.