Oats/Oat Straw (Yan Mai)

Botanical Name: Avena sativa

There are oats you drink and oats you eat and oats for medicinal purposes too! In Spring, you can gently squeeze the seed pods to discover a milky fluid that is delicious.

Watch a short video, from Ann Christensen, Founder and Creator of White Rabbit Institute of Healing™ – The Secret Power of Oat and Oat Straw.

Below is an overview of oats/oat straw, combining the best of Western Science, Oriental Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Shamanism, Folklore, and a wide range of healing modalities. Gain a balanced and thorough understanding of the healing properties of oats/oat straw.

Parts Most Frequently Used: Grass, Oats, Oat Bran

Flavors/Temps: Neutral, Sweet, Warm, Moist

Caution: Oats are considered safe with no known negative drug interactions.

Key Constituents: Fiber, Beta-glucans, Protein, Minerals (including Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Copper, Iron, Zinc, Calcium, Potassium), B-complex Vitamins, Saponins, Flavonoids, Alkaloids, Steroidal compounds, Vitamin B1, B2, D, and E, Carotene, Linoleic acid Avenanthramides, Ferulic acid, Avenalin

History/Folklore: The mature seeds of Avena sativa are what become the oats you buy, oat straw is made from the grasses stems and leaves. The young milky oats are generally believed to work more more quickly in an acute situation whereas oat straw offers support over time.

Saint Hildegard of Bingen, an herbalist nun born in 1098, considered oats to be a favorite “happiness” herb.

The first oat factory for bread making was created in England in 1899. Oats are considered a mainstay in the Scottish diet. Some consider oats to be indigenous to the British Isles. The phrase, “sowing your oats” comes from oats used for horses to energize them and encourage them to be sexually active. They have sometimes been used by women in baths to soften hard water.

Oats are a whole-grain, gluten-free food. Oat groats are the most intact and whole form of oats and take the longest to cook. Most people prefer the faster cooking rolled, crushed, or steel-cut oats for this reason. Steel-cut oats are considered to have the highest protein, iron and fiber content. Instant (or quick) oats are the most highly processed variety. They cook the fastest but can be the mushiest. Oats are often included in breads, muffins, cookies, and other baked goods. Oats are also used to brew beer in England. Oat straw is green oat grass. It is culled from the tops of oats in the milky stage before mature oats form a head.

Oats are high in a variety of powerful antioxidants that especially support heart health, including avenanthramides, which are known for lowering blood pressure, dilating blood vessels, and improving blood flow. Oats are also high in ferulic acid, another powerful antioxidant, along with beta-glucans that are a solubel fiber that reduce LDL and cholesterol, reduce blood sugar levels, and promote healthy bacteria growth in the digestive system.

Oat straw extract suppresses inflammatory cytokines by inhibiting nuclear factor kB activation. Cytokines are implicated in a number of brain disorders including major depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, oats are used for balancing hormones, increasing libido, stabilizing mood swings, and providing powerful nutrition to your body to support heart health, proper digestion, and build stamina.

As a symbol, oats represent kindness, health, wellness, and treasures. It is said if you dream of a pile of oats, there is soem type of hidden treasure awaiting you.