Nourish your heart with heart-healthy grains
Blog: Thursday 24 April 2025
Looking after your heart starts with everyday choices like the foods you eat.
What you eat can influence your weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels – which are all risk factors for heart disease. Because of this, a balanced eating pattern rich in heart-healthy foods can make a real difference.
The Heart Foundation recommends following our heart-healthy eating pattern which includes a variety of whole foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains such as oats, healthy fats, and lean proteins.
Partnering to help people in Australia make heart-healthy choices
That’s why the Heart Foundation has partnered with UNCLE TOBYS to encourage more people in Australia to enjoy oats as part of their heart-healthy eating pattern. Together, we’re making it easier for people to choose foods that support heart health and help manage cholesterol.
Supporting heart health with whole grains
An eating pattern rich in whole grains is linked to better heart health. While all whole grains are good, oats are particularly good at helping to keep your cholesterol levels in check. Whole grain oats contain beta-glucan, a special type of fibre that can influence the way your body (specifically your gut and liver) processes cholesterol.
In fact, multiple studies have confirmed that including oats in your diet can reduce your total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, sometimes called the ‘bad’ cholesterol.
How much beta-glucan is needed to lower cholesterol?
Eating as little as 3 g of beta-glucan a day, as part of a diet low in saturated fat, can help lower cholesterol. A simple way to reach this target is by enjoying oat-based meals as part of a heart-healthy eating pattern which is naturally low in saturated fat. For example, a ½ cup or 40 g serving of UNCLE TOBYS oats contains 1.6 g of beta-glucan. This means that with two servings of UNCLE TOBYS oats each day, you can get the cholesterol lowering benefits of beta-glucan.
To help you reach that goal, the Heart Foundation, in partnership with UNCLE TOBYS, have developed a recipe e-book with a couple of our favourite oat-filled recipes, including:
While you’re at it, visit the Heart Foundation website for more recipe inspiration! A few of our favourites are:
Looking after your heart for a healthier future
Every step towards a heart-healthy lifestyle makes a difference. By choosing nourishing foods, like whole grain oats, and adopting a heart-healthy eating pattern, you can support your heart health today and into the future.
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Our partners
The Heart Foundation collaborates with organisations focused on chronic conditions, as well as with community, consumer, and corporate partners committed to our cause.
Eat well, live well.
Download your free recipe book. Full of heart-healthy meals.
Wholegrains and heart health
You might have heard that wholegrains are part of a healthy diet, but what are they? And why are they essential to your health? And if wholegrains are healthy, what about low carb diets?