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Choosing oats in the morning as part of a healthy, balanced diet may be one of the best options to help ‘stave off disease’.

Many breakfast cereals pride themselves on their rich nutritional content, and it has become common for these cereals to be fortified with important nutrients, such as folic acid and iron.

Oats have properties that make them one of the best breakfast choices, according to a health researcher and biologist at the vegetarian charity Viva.

Veronica Chervatova explains how eating porridge oats in the morning can help stave off disease, saying that this carbohydrate source is low in fat and high in protein, and is packed with key nutrients.

“It has a good range of vitamins and minerals too – many B vitamins, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese. All of these nutrients contribute to a strong immune system,” she added.

Charvatova also emphasized that oats contain a group of chemicals called avenanthramides. “These are powerful antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties and can soothe irritation and itching. So eating oats can help with a number of inflammatory conditions,” she explained.

Studies have shown that oats, when eaten as part of a healthy lifestyle, can reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Oats may also be beneficial in your anti-aging beauty regimen, due to the anti-inflammatory role of avenanthramides in oats, which are chemicals that have the effect of soothing irritation and itching.