Health Benefits of Avena: From Skincare to Heart Enrichment

What Is Avena?

Avena sativa, generally called an Avena, is a plant belonging to the grass family with the highly valuable cereals oats. Eating oats can simply gain the health benefits of the plant Avena.

The plant contains leaves, stems, bran, and seeds, all of which have unique health benefits. Nevertheless, the seed is a significant dietary fiber source that is consumed worldwide as flour and seeds. This makes up the oatmeal.

What Are the Parts of Avena?

Avena sativa, as a whole, is an incredible nutrient possessing numerous benefits. Nevertheless, each part of the plant Avena constitutes nutrients of high value. This is an exception for the outer husk, as this is not easily digestible. The parts of the Avena and their nutrients are listed below.

• Fresh Seed: Fresh seeds are the milky form of oats that are cultivated in early means in the time of the milky stage. These early harvested oats possess high-value nutrients such as magnesium and potassium.

• Mature Seed: The mature ones are oatmeal. Oatmeal that people take daily is a nutrient-rich food. It contains calcium, phosphorous, zinc, manganese, and silicon. In addition, it constitutes vitamins such as B1, B2, A, and E.

• Oat Straw: Oat straws are known for the stem, leaves, and branches of the plant Avena. They even contain iron of high value. They also contain a certain concentration of manganese and zinc.

• Groats: Whole grains are known as groats. They embrace nutrients in higher values, including proteins, vitamins, minerals, unsaturated fatty acids, and fibers.

• Oat Beta-Glucan: It is a soluble fiber showing good effects on cholesterol concentration and heart health.

• Oat Bran: Oat bran encompasses nutrition that is available as a whole-grain product and pharmaceutical product.

What Are the Health Benefits of Avena?

Avena, in distinct forms, shows a wide range of health benefits. The most significant benefits are discussed below.

• Digestion: Beta-glucan, a soluble dietary fiber, is a primary and significant constituent of the plant Avena. So, it helps the digestive system with the absorption of liquid from the digestive tract and exerts stool consistency. It helps in regulating the digestive mechanism so that digestion is neither too fast nor too slow. As a result, it prevents diarrhea and constipation. Beta-glucan is a prebiotic that fuel the good bacterias present in the gut, sustaining a good gut microenvironment. It also helps get rid of urgencies in case of diarrhea by augmenting the stool through the absorption of the liquids. Finally, yet importantly, beta-glucan helps absorb the nutrients for other foods as well.

• Heart Health: The beta-glucan in Avena diminishes the overall fat content in the blood. In addition, the oatmeal as a whole and oat bran containing fiber proteins markedly reduced the lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and total cholesterol concentrations. So, by reducing the levels of lipoprotein (fats and lipids in the blood) and cholesterol, Avena reduces the risk of heart disease. In another way, it helps improve blood circulation by means of dilating the blood vessels through nitric oxide production. So, Avena helps in heart health as impaired blood circulation causes heart conditions and stroke. Moreover, studies show that Avena contains avenanthramides, a distinctive antioxidant that possesses the effects of improving heart health. Certain clinical trial studies show that Avena helped in maintaining a healthy heart when compared with the placebo.

• Diabetic Effects: Research studies say that whole-grain meals like oatmeal help reduce the risk of chronic conditions, including diabetes. However, the research does not provide a conclusive statement that Avena or oatmeal shows benefits to diabetes health. Another set of the study shows that the beta-glucan factor of oats is beneficial for several metabolic conditions, such as heart illness and diabetes.

• Immune Function: Research states that Avena presents antibacterial effects against the varieties of E.coli and S.aureus. In another way, the beta-glucan of the Avena enhances the immune system function by elevating the antibodies (immunoglobulins). Therefore, it is concluded that beta-glucan helps in reducing the occurrence of infections, cancer, and other parasitic diseases by means of antimicrobial and optimistic immune function effects.

• Skin Care: The research studies address that oatmeal in the form of emollients, baths, and colloid extracts helps treat skin ailments. It helps treat inflammatory forms of skin conditions that include acne, eczema, pruritus, and dermatitis (skin inflammation).

• Brain Function: The oat straw extract of Avena helps enhance brain function in older adults. So, clinical studies show that oat straw addresses attention, memory, and concentration in older adults with impaired brain function. In addition, it enhanced accuracy, focus, and multi-tasking ability. Moreover, the beta-glucan of Avena benefits the gut-brain axis, a link between the gut and the central nervous system.

• Mental Health: The oat extract of Avena is known to improve mood through the action of inhibition of the enzyme called phosphodiesterase type 4. So, this action can help relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. In another way, Avena helps in depression and certain psychotic conditions by reducing the proinflammatory cytokines in the system.

• Anti-Inflammation: Avena contains avenanthramide that presents anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. So, it helps repair the muscles and cartilage. The anti-inflammatory action is evident in clinical studies on the blood samples of individuals with acute infections.

• Weight Loss: Avenais beneficial for weight loss. The clinical trials comparing the oatmeal and placebo showed weight reduction with the oatmeal than the placebo. In addition, it decreased the body fat and waist-to-hip ratio.

What Are the Adverse Effects of Avena?

The Avena has numerous health benefits. However, it can also cause certain adverse reactions with high doses at times. So one should take it out with caution and seek professional help in cases of experiencing any adverse effects. The possible adverse effects of Avena include the following.

• Gas (flatulence).

• Bloating.

• Headaches.

• Sleeplessness.

• Restlessness.

• Increased heart rate in rare incidences.

• Skin irritation when used topically.

Conclusion

Avena is nothing other than the source of our easy-taking meal, the oatmeal. As we all apprehend, it possesses positive and numerous health benefits when taken on long-term. It is a whole-grain food that many of us cook and ingest as the primary meal. Avena and its parts are considered safe and healthy to take as they help relieve many physical and mental conditions. But caution is to be taken with any adverse reactions of Avena.