by Gail Kavanagh

Created on: March 10, 2009

If William Wallace hadn't fallen foul of the English, he might have lived to a ripe old age. The Scots were a hardy bunch and it's not hard to see why stronger and tougher than their southern rivals, they had a powerful secret weapon growing in their fields.

It was oats that gave the Scots their indefatigable strength. They used oats in everything from drinks to main meals. For milk they drank water in which oats had been steeped. On the battlefield, or in the fields, they snacked on dry oatcakes bursting with goodness.

Dr Samuel Johnson, in his 1755 dictionary, described oats as ``a grain which in England is generally given to horses, but which in Scotland supports the people." Now we know why the Scots fought like warrior poets.

Everywhere else oats are served they are regarded simply as a breakfast food, way down below sugary cereals and McDonalds bacon and egg muffins in tastiness.

But the Scots have a way with oats that the rest of us would do well to emulate.

Back in the 80s, research into oats revealed that this simple grain helps lower cholesterol. It had a brief run in popularity, being added to everything in the Scots manner, then went underground again until 1998, when the FDA allowed a health claim for foods containing soluble fiber. Oats are a chief supplier of this heart healthy component.

The Scots didn't know this of course, but they did know their diet kept them regular. Furthermore, it gave them the energy to fight the English, and assuaged hunger. The reason for that is the high protein content of oats, twice that of brown rice. Like soy protein, oats are almost equal to meat, milk and eggs in protein. It is this protein that allows oats to become milky when soaked in water.

As well as soluble fiber and protein, oats have significant levels of selenium, thiamin, phosphorus and manganese, as well as copper, folate, vitamin E and zinc. Oats are a good low GL grain for diabetics.

Four different types of oats are grown in the US, the most popular being the familiar white oats which are sold in supermarkets across the country. Oats also come in red, grey and black, but all possess the same nutritional value.

The less processed the grain, the better it is for you. Discarded oat bran is added to other foods like cereals to make them healthier.

It's easy to introduce more oats into your diet just do what the Scots do, and put it in everything.

It's a prime ingredient in Haggis, but you may not want to go this far. Instead, use rolled oats as filler for hamburgers

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