22 replies to this topic

[culpusa]

Is it correct that oatmeal, irrespective of how it is milled and or that it may be kept free of other grains residues as contaminants, has been discovered to be a source of harmful gliaden proteins that are antagonistic to intestinal villi of persons with celiac sprue disorder ?

What is the supporting scientific finding(s) on this? What citation ?

Jim Culp,
GatorCity
Florida

[RJARED]

I don't know that ALL oats contain gliadin in the gluten. I'm extremely sensitive - have 2 of 2 genes for Celiac. I eat McCann's Irish Oats and they don't give me any trouble at all. I buy them in WA state at Tidyman's - a regular grocery chain. They're more than $3.00 per box, but they're good.

[angel_jd1]

I am also extremely sensitive to gluten, and McCains's oats DO bother me terribly. I have the rumbley tummy and pain and diarrhea just shortly after eating them.

So I think it's really a thing that you personally have to try for yourself to see if you have a reaction or not. Research lately has said that Oats are ok for SOME Celiacs. You have to see if you are one of them. (I'm not!)

-Jessica

[mysterypain]

I just wanted to ask you guys if you eat oatmeal? I read that it was alright for celiacs but it made me feel a little ill. I also had a bad attack the other night and was shocked because I had been really good all day.....thought I had avoided gluten. The only thing that I might have ate to cause it was salsa. It had tomato paste but I thought that was o.k. I'm learning, but when I get sick I am very frustrated over not knowing what is safe. It is a real learning process! Wow. Also do you find that it takes a long time for the effects of a gluten incident to wear off. I am angry at myself because I was feeling so good and now I am suffering and don't know what to put the blame on.

[judy04]

mysterypain,

I have been gluten-free for three months and I cannot eat oatmeal, nor dairy.
I usually use goat milk for cooking. Not all tomato products are
gluten - free, but I think Contadina products are. I also reacted to
Pace Picante (which I love) and am now avoiding any tomatoes
right now because I must be allergic to them also.
I try not to eat too many things at one time so that I can find out
which foods I can tolerate. I usually get a bad taste in my mouth,
followed by... diarrhea! Hope this helps.

[tarnalberry]

After reading as much of the research on oats as I could, I came to the conclusion that the answer to the question "Are oats safe for celiacs?" is answered only by "it depends."

Assuming you find a source of uncontaminated oats (which limits your selection of brands to - from my understanding - pretty much just McCann's), it appears that some people react to oats, and some don't. Just that simple. Some celiacs are sensitive enough to a wide enough range of peptide sequences that avenin (the oat gluten) is close enough to gliandin and horedin (the wheat and barley proteins) to cause a reaction.

I still haven't tested myself to see if I'm sensitive, but given the state of medical testing, I think the only way to find out _your_ answer, is to try uncontaminated oats and see how you respond.

[kejohe]

As far as I have read and researched oats are okay, as long as they come from an uncontaminated source... and tarnalberry is correct, that's pretty much McCann's and that's about it. There are a few here on this site who say that they still have probalems with oats, but I think there are even more who enjoy them on a regualr basis with no problems. I feed them to my 3 y/o who is very sensitive nad he has no problems.

As far as the tomatoes go, some products if not made in the US can be processed with citric acid that can contain gluten, but that's generally only foriegn products. I wouldn't jump to conclusions about being allergic to other things, even after three months, because many celiac take several months, up to a year even to heal the gut and in that time it can be very difficult to digest certain foods, such as dairy. Tomatoes may be another one because of the high amount of acid in them, so you might try to let your gut heal for a bit longer and then re-introduce them slowly, if you are still having problems, then you can assume that you are allergic, but it would be a bummer to cut them out so soon (especially something you love) if it's simply a matter of giving your gut a little more time to heal up. Just a suggestion of course.

[Lily]

Mystery,
Oats give me a terrible stomach ache and any type of tomatoes make me feel like I drank a poison. The acid kills my intestines. I'm hoping once I heal more that I can re-introduce them and just not overdo it.

Hope this helps.

Lily

[KellyR]

Now that they are saying oatmeal is safe would you give your child Maple and brown sugar Quaker oatmeal? How about HealthValley Maple and Brown sugar granola bars? Because my daughter is symptom free I never know if her body is having a reaction to these............Kelly

[GFdoc]

Kelly, I've been eating a combo of maple and brown sugar and plain Quaker oatmeal daily for the last month or so, and I've been just fine! It makes me happy, and no bad reactions.
Sara

[Kim]

I would strongly advise against this. Even if you choose to give your child oatmeal, it should be Irish Oatmeal that has not been cross-contaminated. (I think McCann's is the brand - white canister with green print). Quaker and HealthValley would not be.

Kim.

[gf4life]

Kelly,
I've only been gluten-free for a little over 6 weeks, and when I first went gluten-free I was eating oatmeal. I didn't notice an obvious reaction to McCann's oats, and I was also eating some of Barbara's Puffin's cereal that contained some oat flour. I did have a few other gluten accidents, so I really can't say if I had a reaction then or not, at least not for sure. So I haven't had any gluten or any oatmeal/oatflour for the past two weeks. Yesterday I had a bowl of the Puffin's cereal and within half an hour I had some pretty severe brain fog and have been very tired ever since and also quite grumpy. These are my usual early signs of gluten cantamination, so I am sure now that I shouldn't eat oats. I would be careful if I were you. Your daughter may not be able to tell you about obscure symptoms(especially if she doesn't usually react to gluten with symptoms), but the damage may still be happening. It seems everyones reaction to oats is different and some don't appear to have a reaction at all. I am now of the opinion that I would rather be safe than sorry.

God bless,
Mariann

[GFdoc]

Mariann, elsewhere on this board (I think under cold cereals section?) there are several reports of people having reactions to Puffins cereal - they are puffed in a factory where nonGF stuff is also puffed and there's tons of wheat "dust" in the air - a probable contaminant...so it may not be the oats...it may be the contamination in the factory....(check under forum for gluten-free foods, medications, shopping, etc.)
I don't eat any oats except from a company that makes only oatmeal in the factory (Quaker is OK for me)

[kejohe]

I read a study not too long ago... I think on celiac.com, that gave a percentage of gluten contamination for different brands of oats. The only two I reemember are the ones that are most common in my town:

Percentage of gluten contamination of oats:

Quaker Oats 0.006%
McCanns 0%

Don't take this to mean that you will not have a reaction, some people still do, but I think there are even more who don't have any problems at all with oats. I feed them to my 3 y/o son with out any problems at all.

[gf4life]

there are several reports of people having reactions to Puffins cereal - they are puffed in a factory where nonGF stuff is also puffed and there's tons of wheat "dust" in the air - a probable contaminant...so it may not be the oats...it may be the contamination in the factory....

I can eat the Puffin's Honey Rice (gluten-free-no oat flour) without a reaction. So I think it might be the oats. I can try again with the McCann's oats and see, it also might be that the oat flour they use is contaminated. But the fact remains that the jury is still out on whether oats are safe for Celiacs and I can live without oats. There are enough other foods out there....

Thanks for the input though. I don't eat a lot of other cold cereals that are labeled gluten free for the same cross-contamination issue, so it's rates about the same for me with oats. They are often contiminated in the fields by wheat growing right next to the oats and some wheat gets harvested with the oats. There is no way for them to remove all of the wheat. But that is pretty much a risk we take with almost everything we eat. There is no way to guarantee 100% that it is gluten-free, unless we grow it, harvest it, and prepare the food ourselves.

Sorry if I sound like I have a bad attitude, I'm pretty down today, and not feeling very good.

God bless,
Mariann