About Hodgson Mill

Steel-Cut Oats - The Best of the Best

     When it comes to the highly-nutritious oats, most of us are familiar with rolled oats – but oats actually come in several kinds.  All are fiber-packed and able to boost our body’s cholesterol-fighting means.  Oats are hulled after harvesting, but this process does not strip away their bran (outer covering of the grain) and germ (innermost part), allowing them to retain a concentrated part of their fiber and nutrients.  Here’s a quick look at the different types of oats available in the market today:

Instant oats are very thin pre-cooked oats that are convenient because they need only to be mixed with a hot liquid.  Oat groats are minimally processed– only the outer hull is removed – making it very nutritious and chewy, but needing to be soaked and cooked a long time.  Rolled oats or old-fashioned oats are groats that are steamed, rolled, flaked and toasted so that they cook more quickly.  This additional processing of rolled oats leads to some loss of the oats’ natural nutty flavor and chewy texture, but they are still highly nutritious and very popular as a hot cereal or addition to cookie recipes as well as granola or muesli mixes.  Quick oats are processed like rolled oats, but they are cut finely before rolling or flatting to shorten cooking time.

Steel-cut oats – Hodgson Mill’s featured product of the month -- are unrefined whole-grain groats that are never steamed but simply dried and cut by steel disks.  Because they are subjected to almost no heat during processing, they retain most of their B vitamins that benefit the body in a whole host of processes and functions. 

Hodgson Mill’s Steel-Cut Oats are all-natural and offers 100% whole-grain nutrition, and are made from premium oat grains grown in North America.  They are uniformly cross-cut for a unique texture and a delicious hearty, whole grain taste, with a bit more chewy texture and a nuttier taste than rolled oats.  Hodgson Mill’s Steel-Cut Oats also create a more full-bodied effect that prevents early hunger cravings.  Like other oat preparations, steel-cut oats help boost and sustain the body’s energy supply.  Army and athletic camps with intensive and high-endurance training often use oats as staples because of their ability to fend off fatigue. The complex carbohydrates and fiber encourage slow digestion, stabilizes blood-glucose levels, and distributes oxygen more evenly throughout the body.  Oats may also help maintain muscle function during exercise. 

Steel-cut oats maximize the already-familiar cardiovascular benefits of regular oats because of their higher nutrient contents.  Hodgson Mill’s Steel-Cut Oats are rich in soluble fiber known as beta-glucan that helps lower cholesterol levels by transporting cholesterol out of the body, when otherwise they would end up in the bloodstream.  New research also suggests another cardio-vascular protection mechanism of oats: avenanthramides.  These are antioxidants unique to oats that prevent free radicals from oxidizing the low-density cholesterol (LDL, the “bad” cholesterol) and being absorbed more quickly in the body.  They also suppress the production of several types of molecules involved in the attachment of monocytes (immune cells in the bloodstream) to the arterial wall – the first step in the development of atherosclerosis, or hardening of arterial walls.

With our Steel-Cut Oats, Hodgson Mill continues to bring you wholesome foods to help safeguard your health and that of your loved ones.

References:
Anderson JW. Whole grains and coronary heart disease: the whole kernel of truth. Am J Clin Nutr.     2004 Dec; 80(6):1459-60. PMID:15585755.
 “The Food Pharmacy” by Jean Carper, Publisher Positive Paperbacks