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Nutritionists warn: oatmeal can be hazardous to your health
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Australian scientists have reported that daily consumption of oatmeal can cause dangerous diseases. Oatmeal is considered one of the healthiest cereals, but despite this, nutritionists advise limiting its consumption. For several months, gastroenterologists from Australia have been studying the properties of oatmeal and at the moment, most of them are of the opinion that people who are used to having only porridge for breakfast should diversify their morning diet.
The main useful property of oatmeal is that the product "envelops" the mucous membrane of the stomach, which normalizes acidity and stabilizes its work. Healthy eating enthusiasts consider oatmeal to be the best breakfast, and people who want to lose weight also necessarily include oatmeal in their diet. Many nutritionists recommend eating oatmeal for several weeks in order to stabilize weight and tone the body after an illness. Oatmeal is especially useful for the digestive system: oatmeal stabilizes the stomach and intestines, eliminates the possibility of viral diseases, strengthens the body and increases resistance to infections, promotes weight loss and can even prevent the occurrence of malignant cancerous tumors.
Recent studies by Australian scientists have shown that daily consumption of oatmeal can be dangerous due to its high phytic acid content. Phytic acid, or myo-inositol hexaphosphoric acid as it is also called, is a chemical compound that can affect the bioavailability (ability to be absorbed) of such useful substances as phosphorus, calcium, zinc and other minerals. It can be said that high levels of this acid prevent useful substances necessary for human health from being normally absorbed and assimilated. Moreover, some scientists believe that oatmeal can contribute to the “washing out” of vitamins that a person needs.
Phytic acid is found not only in oatmeal, but also in other cereals, grains, and legumes. Nutritionists focus on oatmeal because its consumption has increased significantly recently. Healthy eating is considered unthinkable without a daily breakfast of oatmeal, so experts advise limiting the consumption of the popular porridge. Nutritionists in no case advise completely giving up oatmeal, since its beneficial properties cannot be replaced by another product. The main advice is to reasonably limit the consumption of porridge.
Scientists from Australia also reported that phytic acid can cause the main harm to the musculoskeletal system. The substance contributes to the deterioration of the bioavailability of calcium and magnesium, which negatively affects the health of bone tissue. Moreover, too many products that contain phytic acid contribute to the leaching of calcium from bone tissue and its destruction.
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