January 29, 2026
Oatmeal vs Ice Cream: FIGHT!
Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level
Internet split on ‘oat cure’: miracle breakfast or meh diet? Ice cream guy heckles
TLDR: A short University of Bonn trial found two oatmeal-only days lowered “bad” cholesterol by about 10% with small weight loss. Comments split between “old news,” fiber-not-magic arguments, and a jokey ice-cream-only flex—sparking a debate over simple diet tweaks versus hype and gimmicks.
Scientists in Bonn say two days of oatmeal-only meals—300 grams of plain oats boiled in water, with a little fruit/veg—cut “bad” LDL cholesterol by 10%, plus about 2 kilos lost and a small dip in blood pressure. And the comment section? Absolute breakfast brawl. One camp scoffs, with ProAm rolling in like, “This isn’t news,” while carbocation shrugs at the 10% drop: basically nothing but oats, and that’s all you get? Meanwhile, sublinear shows up as the resident explainer: oats help because of soluble fiber and gut bacteria, not because they’re magic—so you could get similar results with other high-fiber foods. They also rant about grocery “oat” junk that’s more sugar than grain. Pogue plays link lifeguard with a working link, earning quiet hero points. The researchers say the gut’s “good bugs” feast on oats and make helpful compounds (like ferulic acid) that can nudge cholesterol down, while other microbes mop up stuff tied to insulin resistance. But the vibe is equal parts science and stand‑up. Renewiltord crashes in bragging about an ice cream‑only diet (Halo Top supremacy!), turning the thread into a fiber-versus-fad faceoff. Call it oats vs “hold my spoon.”
Key Points
- •A University of Bonn study tested a two-day, high-oat diet in adults with metabolic syndrome.
- •Participants consuming 300 g of oatmeal per day (three meals, boiled in water) had about a 10% drop in LDL cholesterol.
- •The oat group lost an average of 2 kg and saw slight reductions in blood pressure, outperforming a calorie-restricted control without oats.
- •Microbiome analysis indicated increased gut bacteria that produce phenolic compounds (e.g., ferulic acid) linked to improved cholesterol metabolism.
- •Other microbes degraded histidine, potentially reducing formation of a molecule suspected to promote insulin resistance.