Oats

Avena sativa · Grass family (Poaceae)

Hi, I'm Oats! I'm a grass seed that makes warm, cosy porridge for breakfast!

Oats
Image: Yonygg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

What does it help with?

  • Heart & blood vessels

    A special fiber The chewy part of plants that helps your tummy and poop move well. in oats helps lower bad cholesterol A kind of fat in the blood. Too much can block blood tubes.. That is good for your heart.

    🟢 Scientists are sure

  • Vitamins & good food

    Oats give you energy that lasts, plus fiber The chewy part of plants that helps your tummy and poop move well., iron A mineral that helps your blood carry air (oxygen) around your body. and protein Building blocks your body uses to grow muscles and fix itself..

    🟢 Scientists are sure

  • Skin

    An oatmeal bath is an old trick to calm itchy, sore skin.

    🔵 Grandma's wisdom

What do the colored dots mean?
  • 🟢 Scientists are sure Strong evidence (several good human trials)
  • 🟡 Scientists think so Some evidence (small human studies)
  • 🟠 Still being studied Early evidence (lab or animal studies only)
  • 🔵 Grandma's wisdom Traditional use (not scientifically confirmed)

How we grade evidence

Careful if…

For kids OK in normal food Pills, powders & oils: ask a grown-up first

Oat porridge is a great breakfast for kids. Babies can start with smooth, well-cooked oat cereal.

  • Coeliac disease (gluten)

    ⚠️ Ask a doctor first

    Oats often get mixed with wheat on farms and in factories. People with coeliac disease should only eat oats marked “gluten-free”.

If you have too much…

  • Oat creams can rarely give a rash to people with eczema.

Natural does not always mean safe. Always ask a grown-up before trying something new, and a doctor or pharmacist before taking any supplement. Try the safety check →

What is it?

Oats are the seeds of a tall grass. Farmers grow them in fields, just like wheat and barley.

The seeds are rolled flat to make oat flakes. You can cook them with milk to make porridge, or bake them into cookies. Oats are a whole grain, so they keep all their fiber The chewy part of plants that helps your tummy and poop move well..

How people use it

In the kitchen

  • Cooked into porridge with milk and fruit.
  • Baked into cookies, bread and granola.
  • Blended with water into oat milk.

On skin & body

  • Finely ground oats are added to baths and creams for itchy skin.

Fun facts

  1. Horses love oats too!

  2. Oat milk is made by blending oats with water.

  3. A bath with finely ground oats is an old trick to calm itchy skin.

Grow it yourself

  • Easy
  • Lots of sun
  • Regular water
  • Grows in a pot
  • About 3 to 4 months after sowing
  1. Sprinkle oat seeds on a pot of soil.
  2. Cover them with a thin layer of soil and water them.
  3. Watch the green grass come up in a few days!
  4. When the seed heads turn gold and dry, cut them and rub out the grains.

💡 You can also grow oat grass indoors for a pet cat to nibble.

Quiz time!

Answer 3 questions. Get 2 right to win this plant’s badge for your garden!

  1. What kind of plant are oats?

  2. What in oats helps lower bad cholesterol?

  3. Which animal loves eating oats?

Your plant card

Print it, cut it out and collect them all!

Oats

Avena sativa

Superpowers
Heart & blood vessels Vitamins & good food Skin
Careful
Coeliac disease (gluten)
Growing
⭐

🤩 Horses love oats too!

supplementsmorocco.com

For grown-ups: science, amounts & safety

Tap to open

General information, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before using any herbal supplement — especially during pregnancy or breastfeeding, for children, before surgery, or if you take medicines. Medical disclaimer

What the research says

Use Evidence Details
Heart & blood vessels 🟢 Strong evidence (several good human trials) A meta-analysis of 58 randomised trials (3,974 people) found a median 3.5 g a day of oat beta-glucan lowered LDL cholesterol by about 0.19 mmol/L, along with non-HDL cholesterol and apoB[2].
Vitamins & good food 🟢 Strong evidence (several good human trials) Per 100 g, dry rolled oats provide 379 kcal, 10.1 g fibre, 13.2 g protein, 4.3 mg iron and 138 mg magnesium[1].
Skin 🔵 Traditional use (not scientifically confirmed) The EU herbal committee recognises oat fruit (oat flour in the bath, or colloidal oatmeal in skin products) as a traditional use for minor skin inflammation such as sunburn and to help minor wounds heal, with no age restriction[3].

Who should be careful & interactions

  • ⚠️ Ask a doctor first Coeliac disease (gluten): Most people with coeliac disease can safely eat moderate amounts of oats, but cross-contact with gluten-containing grains is common, so they should choose oats labelled gluten-free and check with their health care team first[4].

Possible side effects

  • Mild Skin reactions may occur in people with atopic skin or contact dermatitis[3].

Nutrition (per 100 g of dry rolled oats (a little more than 1 cup))[1]

Energy 379 kcal
Carbohydrates 67.7 g
Fiber 10.1 g
Protein 13.2 g
Fat 6.5 g
Iron 4.3 mg
Magnesium 138 mg
Zinc 3.6 mg
Potassium 362 mg

Names & identifiers

Scientific name
Avena sativa
Also called
Oatmeal, Rolled oats, Porridge oats
Wikidata
Q12104

Sources

  1. Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry (FDC ID 173904) USDA FoodData Central · Database
  2. The effect of oat β-glucan on LDL-cholesterol, non-HDL-cholesterol and apoB for CVD risk reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials British Journal of Nutrition · 2016 · Research review · PubMed
  3. Avenae fructus – herbal medicinal product (oat fruit) European Medicines Agency, HMPC · Official monograph
  4. Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for Celiac Disease National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), NIH · Guideline

✅ Reviewed by sm_owner on September 26, 2026.

Last updated September 26, 2026. How we write and check our pages

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