Some evidence from research in support of the claim made in sentence 1:
We aimed to compare the effect of a 10-min walk immediately after glucose ingestion (10-min walk condition) on glycemic control to that of a 30-min walk, 30 min postingestion (30-min walk condition). In a randomized, crossover, counterbalanced trial with three (control, 10-min walk, 30-min walk) conditions, twelve healthy young adults (6 females) walked at a comfortable speed during the walking conditions (control condition = rest) after glucose ingestion (75 g). The walking conditions yielded significantly lower 2-hour glucose areas under the curve (10-min walk = 15607 ± 702, 30- min walk = 15732 ± 731, control = 16605 ± 745 mg·min/dL) and mean blood glucose levels (10-min walk = 127.9 ± 19.4, 30-min walk = 128.9 ± 5, control = 135.8 ± 20.5 mg/dL) than did the control condition (p < 0.05, d = 0.712-0.898). The 10-min walk condition (164.3 ± 8.9 mg/dL) resulted in a significantly lower peak glucose level than the control condition did (181.9 ± 8.4 mg/dL, p = 0.028, d = 0.731) despite no significant difference between the 30-min walk (175.8 ± 9.6 mg/dL) and control (p = 0.184, d = 0.410) conditions. A brief 10-min walk immediately after a meal appears to be an effective and feasible approach for the management of hyperglycemia.
(from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-07312-y; emphasis added)
Scrolling over HackerNews (HN) two weeks ago, I came across a post entitled “Two days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level”. The HN comments included stories from users about how their lives have changed for the better (e.g., fixed cholesterol problem, determined preference for soybeans), as a consequence of consuming oats.
The linked study Cholesterol-lowering effects of oats induced by microbially produced phenolic metabolites in metabolic syndrome: a randomized controlled trial, looked the effects on cholesterol, the gut microbiome, and other related factors of having non-diabetics with metabolic markers indicating increased risks for diabetes eat 300g oats + (optional) fruit/vegetables for several weeks. Finding from Abstract:
The “headline” finding was that 2 days of exclusive oat consumption reduced LDL cholesterol by ~10%.
Upon seeing both the HN discussion and reading over the paper, I decided to (1) restart my oat consumption, which had ceased for several years, due to a fairly consistent feeling of lethargy and tiredness from eating the oats that would take several hours to overcome (I ate oats alone, with blueberries, or with honey) and (2) to see what I would happen if I replicated to some degree the conditions of the study, i.e. I only ate oats for an entire two days.
Regarding (2), I made it up until dinner on the second day before breaking from the 2-day oat diet. I found that (a) I developed a lot of gas, (b) I was surprised with how satiated I felt, (c) I felt that there was a lessened latency with my movements, in the sense of not being weighted down by digestion, (d) I consistently, over the 2 days, felt mildly tired or inhibited. I ate 3 cups of steel cut oats on day 1 and 2 cups on day 2.
Regarding (1), 2 weeks since making this decision, I have consumed 1 cup of oats on average every 2 days. There is still some gas, but not nearly as much as on the initial 2 days involving a total 5 cups of oats. I reserve the oat consumption for evenings, since my work is less compromised then by the feelings of lethargy and lowered motivation engendered on occasion by the oats.
Using Perplexity to examine why I might feel lethargy as a result of eating oats: