Cholesterol anyone ?

@Dechi Look for "The Nature of Things" with David Suzuki on YouTube, and look for their story on cholesterol. I watched it this afternoon and it's very interesting. Doctors should be more concerned about inflammation and 'C-reactive Protein'.

 

Thank you, I will !

 

You had me curious so I looked it up. It’s complicated for my hurting ME brain tonight, but it seems oatmeal is a type of porridge. Porridge can be made of a variety of grains.

https://www.foodsforbetterhealth.com/porridge-vs-oatmeal-33248

 

What we call oatmeal in North America is what they call porridge in the UK. Technically, I think that porridge is any type of hot cereal.

 

Oatmeal is a type of cereal and porridge could be made of another type of cereal and still be called oatmeal, whereas we would call it something else. That’s what I understood. Also you’re right, porridge is always hot.

 

You can buy oatmeal in Waitrose :

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/mornflake-stoneground-oatmeal-medium/580533-674502-674503

It is different to porridge oats. I used to use it for making stuffing for poultry. In Scotland you can buy fine oatmeal, medium oatmeal and coarse oatmeal. In England I've only ever seen medium oatmeal.

There is a famous quote by Samuel Johnson on the subject of oats :

 

Yeah, it looks like what most people call porridge is the same as oatmeal, so long as made with oats: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mn...whats-difference-between-oatmeal-and-porridge.

Porridge can sometimes be made with things other than oats, in which case it isn't oatmeal, but I'm specifically talking about porridge oats.

 

A long time ago (1980’s/early 90’s) I did work on b-glucan research and it’s cholesterol lowering properties.

It’s this part of oats that is the cholesterol lowering molecule ....it’s a polysaccharide and it works by forming a barrier to absorbing fat/cholesterol In the gut

You can get the benefit from many foods containing oats or b-glucan

Porridge
Granola
Oat breakfast biscuits
Oat pancakes
Oat based snack bars
Baked goods

I’ve pretty much subbed wheat for oats as my main carbohydrate source just by way of a preventative measure. You need to consume a reasonable amount (3-4 portions a day). Some packs now tell you how much b-Glucan they contain. You need 3g of b-glucan daily to get a cholesterol lowering effect. For context that is one and a half cups of oatmeal.

Other cereals such as barley also contain it but at lower levels than oats.

Here is a bit more about it

https://www.eufic.org/en/healthy-li...larly-helps-maintain-normal-blood-cholesterol

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3236515/

 

Now I feel I know so much more about porridge and oats. Thank you everyone !

 

An anecdote :

Several years ago I increased the amount of soluble fibre I ingested by taking psyllium seed husk powder in lots and lots of water every day. I did this for a few years. I found that it lowered my high cholesterol by a substantial amount, although it wasn't my cholesterol that made me try the psyllium seed husk in the first place, it was gut/bowel problems. After a few years it was discovered that I had what was described as a giant polyp in my colon, and it was bleeding. I don't know why, but ever since the polyp was removed I've never been able to tolerate psyllium seed husk again. I have wondered whether the psyllium seed husk was actually the cause of the polyp I got. Fibre can scratch the surface of the bowel, and if it happens repeatedly I think it is possible it encourages polyps to grow, but I can't prove this. Nobody else in my family has or had a history of colon polyps or bowel cancer, and none of them ever took fibre supplements that I'm aware of.

 

B-glucan is soluble fibre so like pectin and gums ...so nice and smooth with no scratching In a beaker it looks a bit like runny wallpaper paste...obviously oats have insoluble fibre as well. I always thought physyllium husk looked a bit like hops ...what does it taste like?

 

A bit like I imagine wallpaper paste to taste, to be honest. I used to flavour it with weak Ribena or blackcurrant and apple squash just to make it palatable enough to get down.

 

Shepherd’s pie sounds delicious, but we’re not shepherds anymore. It has a pie crust, right? If so, I’d put that to not more than four times per year if you’re serious about battling this condition.

OK that sounds harsh when I read it back to myself, but what I mean is not “oh, you lazy somaticizing faker, just hit the gym and eat right like me!”. More like “we’re up against an unforgiving condition, and in some cases severe, austere measure are required.” I miss satisfying, comforting foods but I like dumping a huuge blob of deadly stomach fat more. I still have after-effects from it, I’m not letting that thing back into my life again.

 

Shepherd's pie has no pie crust.

It is basically a thick stew topped with mashed potatoes.

 

...made with minced lamb (hence the shepherd bit). If it contains minced beef, it's cottage pie.

Can you tell that my mother was a school cook?

 

I have bought pinhead (coarse) oatmeal in wholefood shops in England. It's good for making porridge in a slow cooker set on 'low' overnight.

 

The way we make shepard’s pie around here is very simple : ground beef at the bottom, 1 can of corn + 1 can of cream-style corn in the middle and 1 row of mashed potatoes on top. Put that in the oven for 30-45 minutes and you’re done ! I buy it (homemade) at the grocery store. I almost never eat crust. Maybe twice a year.

 

@Dechi un pâté chinois.

 

Well it does sound tasty. It's hard to go wrong with lamb!

 

There's also fisherman's pie, which has fish in a cheesy sauce with peas and other veg, again topped by mashed potato.

We're a creative bunch, culinary-wise, we Brits.