> Probably eating the oatmeal that made his cholesterol get higher.

I... don't think so

https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/research-were-wa...

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161007085247.h...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5885279/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080108102225.h...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5394769/

> There are now tons of research coming out about how cereals (wheat and corn specially) are basically the culprit of a lot of diseases

Care to share more on what you are referring to?

(not op) for reference, 39g of oats contains 28g of carbohydrates.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you...

  - The biggest influence on blood cholesterol level is the mix of fats and carbohydrates in your diet—not the amount of cholesterol you eat from food.
  - Although it remains important to limit the amount of cholesterol you eat, especially if you have diabetes, for most people dietary cholesterol is not as problematic as once believed.

What’s up with the conflicting info on carbohydrates? Should I skip the bowl of oatmeal every morning?

This seems to be a thing for pretty much every food/nutritional category. I've decided for myself to just "ignore" the science since the definition of "healthy" seems to change so often. Instead I try to use common sense for picking my meals.

any nutrition advice that makes sweeping statements about entire macronutrients (protein/fat/carbohydrates) should be ignored and is mostly used to sell fad diets. "Carbohydrates" could be HFCS or leafy greens. "Fats" could be shortening or avocado. The nutrition of the individual food is much more important than the macronutrients.

dietary cholesterol has a negligible effect on blood cholesterol levels. Almost all cholesterol in the body is endogenously created

There's a U-shaped curve for all cause mortality with cholesterol levels, just like anything else. Cholesterol is not bad, it's literally the building block of steroid hormones, vitamin D, etc.

Similarly, there's a good argument to be made that most people actually eat too little salt. If you compare most sodium guidelines to data of sodium intake versus all cause mortality, you're more at risk of death following the guidelines.