Can I Eat Porridge?

It’s not sensible to make recommendations on foods in isolation. You can only do so when looked at in the context of the broader diet.

So, it depends

Porridge was a staple breakfast in my very Scottish Gran’s house. Made with whole milk and served with eggs if she was feeling up for it. Although with twenty odd grand kids it was usually porridge with porridge.

It was a good breakfast as I remember it. It provided a seriously filling feed that gave us carbs, protein and fat. A balanced meal you could argue.

So what’s with the modern day disdain for this breakfast institution?

Some people will very assertively point the finger at the carbs. Why would you want serotonin inducing carbs for breakfast? Carbs are bad. The insulin spike will make you fat.

Others will insist that it’s the gluten cross-contamination issue.

You know, the factory that made the gluten-free oats might be producing gluten-based products and someone forgot to wash their hands, which renders your oats bad.

Others still will talk to you about the acidic affect of certain foods, porridge being one of them.

I’m not even going to go there.

Really?

BUT…

What if I those carbs fit into my requirements?
Is the insulin thing a bit overplayed?
What if I don’t have an issue with gluten?
Won’t my body work to regulate my pH levels?
I’m going to drink my greens drink anyway, so presumably that cancels it out right?

So does that mean one can have porridge?

Sure, if it fits with your requirements.

I do, served with whey powder and cashew nut butter stirred into it if you’re asking.

I like it, and it fits with my requirements.

How so?

I consume between 200-300g of carbs daily depending on my training load. And my breakfast consists of 100g of oats (dry weight), a scoop of whey protein and a teaspoon of nut butter.

The oats give me broadly 60g of carbohydrate. This fits well within my nutritional framework and helps me meet my broader requirements. So it works for me.

Would it work the same for someone on a very low carbohydrate nutritional programme? No. They’d likely be eating their entire carbohydrate quota for the day at breakfast, which is probably not ideal.

Does that make porridge bad for them?

No.

It just doesn’t fit with their requirements.

I reiterate, you can’t look at foods in isolation and label them good and bad. You can only make recommendations or give advice in the context of the broader diet.

We help our members with a nutritional programme that works for them, if you’re struggling, give us a shout at our personal training gym in Vauxhall and we’ll help you work out a plan that suits you.