Oatmeal and absorption

[Nicademus]

I like to blend my oatmeal into a powder and mix w/ my protein shakes.  I do it more for convenience.

Oats being a slow digesting carb. Does it lose it's ability to 'gel' in the stomach once it is made into a powder?  I'm curious.  

[WOOO]

I like to blend my oatmeal into a powder and mix w/ my protein shakes.  I do it more for convenience.

Oats being a slow digesting carb. Does it lose it's ability to 'gel' in the stomach once it is made into a powder?  I'm curious.  

are you eating steel cut oats? they are the 'healthiest'

eating them raw actually has benefits (as they have already been partially cooked during processing) in terms of the bioavailability of nutrients

[Montague]

I like to blend my oatmeal into a powder and mix w/ my protein shakes.  I do it more for convenience.

Oats being a slow digesting carb. Does it lose it's ability to 'gel' in the stomach once it is made into a powder?  I'm curious.  

I doubt it loses any "gelling" ability since grinding it is a physical change as opposed to chemical.
I would sometimes do this with my oats and shakes.

[njflex]

i like grinding up in shakes as well,,,wooo i need to try steel cut i keep passing it and forgeting to get it ,,sometimes i cooks oats and protein powder mixed its like warm pudding lol,,,,i am pretty tight on my diet all yr so i like good healthy carbs and mix it up wk to wk,,,

[Princess L]

Good luck getting steel cut into a powder.  You'll end up with a bunch of hard little nubs in the bottom of your shake.  The only reason they're considered 'healthier' is because they're less processed, so pulverizing them would negate that.  There's some benefit to raw, but there's also benefits to cooked.  Raw does hinder the absorption of some other nutrients. 

[njflex]

Good luck getting steel cut into a powder.  You'll end up with a bunch of hard little nubs in the bottom of your shake.  The only reason they're considered 'healthier' is because they're less processed, so pulverizing them would negate that.  There's some benefit to raw, but there's also benefits to cooked.  Raw does hinder the absorption of some other nutrients. 

thanks,,,i'll try them cooked for sure,,,grinding quick oats is easy,,,

[Nicademus]

Good luck getting steel cut into a powder.  You'll end up with a bunch of hard little nubs in the bottom of your shake.  The only reason they're considered 'healthier' is because they're less processed, so pulverizing them would negate that.  There's some benefit to raw, but there's also benefits to cooked.  Raw does hinder the absorption of some other nutrients. 

Exactly.  The 'nubs' do go to the bottom of the shake.  I cook oats as well only because it seems to curb my hunger better than pulverizing them.  I just don't have the stomach to eat most mornings.

[Princess L]

thanks,,,i'll try them cooked for sure,,,grinding quick oats is easy,,,

Ultimately that's just oat flour.  Quick digestion.

[Rudee]

Oats ground into a powder defeat the purpose of eating oats.  You're better off eating them in their natural form where your body has to slowly break them down.

[Nicademus]

Given the choice between drinking them and not using them at all.  I would rather drink them.

I figure you sacrifice some of the benefits by turning them into a powder.

[WOOO]

Oats ground into a powder defeat the purpose of eating oats.  You're better off eating them in their natural form where your body has to slowly break them down.

i don't understand your point... powdering something does not make it digest slower or faster... it's still the same thing ultimately...

food combining (e.g. adding fat like heavy cream to the shake) will slow absorption and adding a simple sugar like maltodextrin will speed absorption... but even in those cases the change is marginal

the human organism is an incredibly complex system

[Nicademus]

i don't understand your point... powdering something does not make it digest slower or faster... it's still the same thing ultimately...

Is that a fact?  Because that was the basis of my question. 

In relation to liquid egg whites and cooked egg whites-I get the whole, your body doesn't know or care how it got there, it just wants the nutrients.

But w/ oats it just 'seems' like it would matter.

[WOOO]

Is that a fact?  Because that was the basis of my question. 

In relation to liquid egg whites and cooked egg whites-I get the whole, your body doesn't know or care how it got there, it just wants the nutrients.

But w/ oats it just 'seems' like it would matter.

if you get 2 differently processed oats like instant vs steel cut then you have a point, but it you just powder the steel cut then you don't....

not trying to be a dick here... am i making sense?

[Rudee]

i don't understand your point... powdering something does not make it digest slower or faster... it's still the same thing ultimately...

food combining (e.g. adding fat like heavy cream to the shake) will slow absorption and adding a simple sugar like maltodextrin will speed absorption... but even in those cases the change is marginal

the human organism is an incredibly complex system

Size and consistency of what is ingested affects rate of digestion.  i.e. Liquids digest quicker than solids.  A equal weight of ground beef digests quicker than an equal serving of steak. The GI index changes accordingly as well.  i.e. The GI index of powdered oats would be higher than that of oat flakes, as the faster rate of digestion of the powdered oats means that the carbohydrate is converted to glucose more quickly, which leads to an increase in blood glucose levels.  You can likely get away with eating a pound of hamburger then going for a run an hour afterwards, but doing such a thing with a pound of steak in your stomach is different experience all together.  Same thing with oats and powdered oats.  Your body is going to digest the powdered oats faster than the oat flakes, without a doubt.

[WOOO]

Size and consistency of what is ingested affects rate of digestion.  i.e. Liquids digest quicker than solids.  A equal weight of ground beef digests quicker than an equal serving of steak. The GI index changes accordingly as well.  i.e. The GI index of powdered oats would be higher than that of oat flakes, as the faster rate of digestion of the powdered oats means that the carbohydrate is converted to glucose more quickly, which leads to an increase in blood glucose levels.  You can likely get away with eating a pound of hamburger then going for a run an hour afterwards, but doing such a thing with a pound of steak in your stomach is different experience all together.  Same thing with oats and powdered oats.  Your body is going to digest the powdered oats faster than the oat flakes, without a doubt.

can you provide a source to confirm? my understanding  of digestion is that there are a lot more factors at play

[tbombz]

WOO- your right. there are more factors at play.

Although Rudee is right about consistency playing a large part in determing rate of digestion.

other factors - amount of chewing (if you chew up your steak, itll digest just as quick as ground beef - all other factors being equal), total quantity and types of food consumed before, during, and after intake (if youve just eaten a big meal beforehand, then what you eat will be slowed down in digesting),  frequency of consuming the particular food (if you eat red meat on a daily basis you digestive system will be geared towards breaking it down quickly and efficiently, while if you rarely ever eat red meat you wont be as "prepared" for it and it will take longer to digest... [enzymes and such])

etc etc

 meat proteins tend to digest around 5 grams per hour on average..
 starchy carbs will digest in entirety within 1-2 hours  pretty much no matter how much you eat of them
 fats.. depends.. oils on aan empty stomach can be digested completely within the hour..  saturated fats eaten with a large meal can take a full day or more.. 

fiber content can slow down digestion a bit... so can combining foods (carbs with protein digest slower than carbs alone)

 

[Nicademus]

But.......does making a powder out of oatmeal turn a otherwise slow digesting carb source into a fast(er) acting carb, in turn negating it's benefits for a bodybuilder?

[WOOO]

But.......does making a powder out of oatmeal turn a otherwise slow digesting carb source into a fast(er) acting carb, in turn negating it's benefits for a bodybuilder?

i can't find a double blind study that tested this...

[Montague]

But.......does making a powder out of oatmeal turn a otherwise slow digesting carb source into a fast(er) acting carb, in turn negating it's benefits for a bodybuilder?

I don't know that any studies have been done on what you're asking, specifically, but we can reason it out.
Grinding oatmeal decreases the surface area of the oats.

Will this change digestion time?
Yes.

Will the new, faster absorption rate equate to that of simple carbs?
Probably not.
Grinding is a physical change, not a chemical change. You're not altering the molecular properties of the oats, and I doubt you will need to worry about negating its effects. Grinding simply produces a powdered form of complex carbohydrate.


In regards to other posts above, chewing produces both a physical and chemical change. During mastication, the teeth pulverize food, as well the mouth secretes saliva, which contains digestive enzymes, adding them to the food before swallowing. Chewing is the first step in digestion, and a very important one for the reasons mentioned. But, even with chewing, your body will not process oatmeal as fast as it would, say, a candy bar.

[tbombz]

nice post montague 



(depending on the candy bar's fat, fiber, and protein content.. it might digest pretty slowly! )

[WOOO]

nice post montague 



(depending on the candy bar's fat, fiber, and protein content.. it might digest pretty slowly! )

a snickers bar is actually low on the glycemic index