Healthy Way to Start Your Day- By Ashley W. Pettit

Starting your day off with a breakfast of steel-cut oats is a great way to warm the tummy in winter, stay satiated longer, and get a bowl full of nutrients.  The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recommends at least 3 servings of whole grains should be eaten daily as they help prevent obesity and obesity-related diseases.
Steel-Cut Oats Vs. Rolled Oats:
Although these oats are relatively the same from a nutrition perspective since they stem from the same grain, steel-cut oats are the less processed version of oats.  
This makes steel-cut oats different in 4 main ways:

• Longer cooking time (about 30 minutes)
• More cholesterol lowering soluble fiber than other oatmeal forms
• Takes longer to digest so you stay fuller longer (higher satiety level)
• Chopped with steel blades resulting in a "chewier" oatmeal (slight variation in texture/taste)

Health Benefits of Steel-Cut Oats: 

1. A study conducted by Tufts University that was published in the Journal of Nutritionfound that: "...antioxidant compounds unique to oats, called avenanthramides, help prevent free radicals from damaging LDL cholesterol, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease."
2. The fiber content in steel-cut oats helps lower cholesterol. Oats, oat bran, and oatmeal contain a specific type of fiber known as beta-glucan. Since 1963, numerous studies has proven the beneficial effects of this type of fiber on cholesterol levels. 
3. Heart disease is a major killer in the U.S.  A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine confirms that eating high fiber foods, such as oats, helps prevent heart disease.
4. The unique fiber in oats, beta-glucan, also helps stabilize blood sugar.  This is beneficial to everyone, but also the many people suffering from Type 2 Diabetes.  
5. Beta-glucan also helps the immune system fight bacterial infections by aiding neutrophils (the most abundant type of non-specific immune cell) navigate to the site of an infection more quickly, it also enhances their ability to eliminate the bacteria they find there.
6. Selenium is an antioxidant found in oatmeal that has many benefits, including: decreasing asthma symptoms, preventing heart disease, aid in DNA repair, and is also known to help reduce the risk for cancer, especially colon cancer.
7. Oats also have a great deal of manganese, which helps maintain healthy bone structure and bone metabolism.  Manganese is also involved in: forming connective tissues, absorption of calcium, proper functioning of thyroid, sex hormones, regulating blood sugar level, and metabolism of fats and carbohydrates.