Secret natural substance in oats ancient medicine for skin disorders, beauty
By Sari Huhtala
Despite being used for skin diseases since 2000 BC, oats weren’t considered medicine until the 1980s when scientists realized this anti-fungal, anti-itch, anti-inflammatory, high-antioxidant plant is more than just a tummy-soothing breakfast grub. It’s an effective natural treatment for skin disorders.
If you or your family members have ever had chickenpox, or poison ivy, you may have found soothing relief in a colloidal oatmeal bath, and for good reason. Oatmeal is age-old medicine for the skin. Making your own colloidal oatmeal is a cinch.
A one-pound bag of organic colloidal oatmeal is around $35. It’s much more cost-effective to make your own. Colloidal oatmeal is simply made by grinding raw oats into a very fine powder. You’ll know when it’s ground fine enough because when mixed into water it turns milky. Toss the ground oats into a sealed jar future use. For immediate use, and to bring out more of the beneficial starches, add ¼ cup ground oats to ½ cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for a few minutes, then cool before using it directly on skin, much like a poultice. Alternatively, add the oatmeal to a warm bath to soothe skin. Or, use homemade colloidal oatmeal as a face mask by combining it with water and spreading it on your face, allowing it to dry before rinsing off, to exfoliate and nourish skin.
Organic is best, since much of the conventional oats on the market are contaminated with glyphosate weed killer.
The colloidal oats do not need to be boiled, but doing so will extra more of the beneficial starches.
The unique compound found specifically in oats, avenanthramides, a type of polyphenol, provides the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory power to soothe skin, with beneficial effects on skin disorders like psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, according to a 2021 study in Frontiers in Nutrition – Effects of Oats (Avena sativa L.) on Inflammation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
(This information is not intended to replace medical advice and treatment from a health care practitioner).
Sari Huhtala is the creator, publisher and editor of Alive and Fit Magazine, which was created in 2007. She has over 25 years of experience in journalism and over 15 years of experience as a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor, and is a holistic chef, offering holistic cooking and edible wilds workshop, and My Farmacy workshops. She is an organic farmer, wild-crafter and grandmother, who has spent over 20 plus years navigating a holistic, healthy path for her family. Reach her at friends@thelaughingforest.ca
Photo credit: ©mady70 via Canva.com
