Healthy Food Chart

Q. I have been eating instant oatmeal almost daily for a couple of years now. A friend recently told me I have been wasting my time if I thought I was eating it for nutritional reasons. Is instant oatmeal less effective than the regular stuff?

A. Actually, the nutritional differences between regular and instant or quick-cooking oatmeal are so insignificant that the Nutrient Data Laboratory for the USDA has just one analysis which applies to all three kinds of oatmeal.  All three contain the same amount of fiber and the same amount of cholesterol-lowering compounds.

The biggest difference is in taste and texture.  Regular oatmeal contains larger pieces of rolled oat grains and is a little chewier than the instant and quick-cooking varieties. (Ironically, it really doesn't take much longer to cook regular oatmeal than it does to make instant.)

Of course, I'm only talking about plain oatmeal. If the instant oatmeal that you're eating is flavored, then you're also getting a big helping of sugar with your oats. While that doesn't take anything away from the oatmeal, it may add undesirable (empty) calories. Also the little packets of instant oatmeal usually contain a slightly smaller serving than the standard serving of regular oatmeal--so you're getting a slightly smaller helping of fiber.

But rest assured that a serving of plain instant oatmeal is just as nutritious as the same amount of plain regular oatmeal.