Eating oatmeal has many proven health benefits. Not surprising since it’s considered to be one of the healthiest grains on the planet.
Filled with vital vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber, oatmeal and oats, in general, can lower blood sugar levels, aid in effective weight loss, and even decrease people’s risk of developing heart disease.
But the superfood has numerous other surprising benefits. Health-concerned mothers would be pleased to know that oats can also be useful in making soothing baths for their little ones, and sometimes, when they have the time, even for themselves.
Using Oatmeal For Baths
Basically, oats can be used in bathing by soaking them in water. To make an oatmeal bath without ending up clogging your bathtub’s drains, consider using oatmeal flour instead of whole rolled oats.
The flour can be made by simply pulverizing oats in a blender for a couple of pulses until they have a powder-like texture.
Mixed with warm water, a cup of oat flour creates a milky bath that’s excellent for calming a baby’s irritated skin which may have resulted from diaper rashes or different allergies.
Oat flour that’s been suspended in a liquid is also known as colloidal oatmeal and is a popular home remedy for simple skin issues like diaper rashes to soothing the skin due to more serious ailments like eczema or chickenpox.
Ancient Origins
The practice of using oats, specifically Avena sativa or wild oats, on the skin isn’t new at all. In fact, it’s been done by people all over the world since ancient times. For example, ancient Egyptians were known to make wild oat baths for burns, eczema and even to calm down anxiety thousands of years ago further proof of their advanced civilization.
So, why were oats preferred for these alternative uses instead of other similar grains like quinoa or wheat? According to experts, oatmeal has a compound with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties known as avenanthramide.
What more, the Food and Drug Administration has even classified colloidal oatmeal as a skin protectant.
Present Benefits
Oatmeal baths can also help adults with skin issues. Because they have plenty of starches, oats are excellent in soothing regular rashes and other skin irritations, according to the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology. Even better, these starches actually help the skin maintain moisture better.
Colloidal oatmeal-infused water can also be helpful in washing off poison ivy oils in clothes and the affected area of the skin. Experts remind people though to not skip slathering on some calamine lotion after the bath for better results.
And because oats are naturally rich in the antioxidant vitamin E, which can protect the skin from sunburn inducing ultraviolet B (UV-B) rays, oatmeal baths can facilitate the skin’s healing after a day out in the glare of the summer sun.