Oats, Are They Ok To Eat?

[nobeer4me]

Hi everyone,

I was reading here at the forum recently, where studies were conducted on Celiacs to determine if oats

could be included in the diet. From what I read, oats (uncontaminated)were not harmful, and were recomended for the Celiac diet. Is this true? I have been avoiding oats the same as wheat, rye & barley.

It would be great to have an oatmeal cookie, or a bowl of oatmeal! By uncontaminated, I assume they mean not mixed with wheat or other forbidden flours.

[KaitiUSA]

Oats in the US are contaminated with wheat so are not ok.

Pure oats-meaning ones that are grow separately, transported separately, and in a facility of their own are tolerated by some celiacs but a small portion do react to the protein called avenin.

I stay away from oats and would not recommend them at all.

[nobeer4me]

Wow, What a bummer! I was so encouraged by those articles.

Seems like everything is contaminated by wheat!

I guess the un-contaminated oats can be found at the healthfood store for $500. a bag, right?

I suppose I could try some and see if I have a reaction.

Thanks for your reply,

Mike.

[Felidae]

The contamination issue is that oats are grown on the same fields as wheat, cultivated with the same machines and transported in the same containers. So, it's not that you can get some expensive uncontaminated oats at the health food store. Apparently there is one supplier of uncontaminated oats in the UK. I think that's where they were from.

[nobeer4me]

OH Great! $1000. a bag!

[RiceGuy]

I've been wondering whether to try oats or not too. I know about the cross-contamination issue, which is why I haven't tried yet.

I was just thinking, that suppose there is a way to "neutralize" the problematic gluten protein before consumption? Like the immune system tries to do when you eat it. The proteins are broken down into other harmless substences, right? Isn't that done with various foods using enzymes? Hmmm...an antidote...

[jenvan]

I second Kaiti. US oats are not really safe, and even if they were, you may or may not react to them. Personally, I'm not interested in finding out and taking the risk. Have you ever tried cream of rice..similar to cream of wheat? That is my hot breakfast substitute. I think it is really good with brown sugar, some fruit if you like...yum!

[Felidae]

What brand of cream of rice do you use?

[tarnalberry]

What brand of cream of rice do you use?

I like Lungberg Farms Cream of Rice, but the Nabisco (or whoever makes Cream of Wheat) kind you can find almost everywhere is good too. Bob's Red Mill's has more texture (coarser cut), if you prefer that.

[skbird]

I like Quinoa Flakes, by Ancient Harvest. They are really good and have a lower glycemic index than cream of rice.

There is another kind I found at the health food store, an "instant" quinoa ceral in a chai flavor, but I wasn't that impressed - they seemed too sweet and too little substance. Also very small portion and $$$.

Stephanie

[Felidae]

Thanks for the brands. I was hoping they weren't Bob's because I have been having problems with that brand.

[nobeer4me]

I second Kaiti. US oats are not really safe, and even if they were, you may or may not react to them. Personally, I'm not interested in finding out and taking the risk. Have you ever tried cream of rice..similar to cream of wheat? That is my hot breakfast substitute. I think it is really good with brown sugar, some fruit if you like...yum!

Hey, thats a great idea. I never thought of cream of rice. I guess I can add that to the safe list of things to eat. Thanks.

[jerseyangel]

I really like Cream of Rice and have it frequently. I like it with pure maple syrup, raisins and walnuts. I, personally, won't be eating oats--any type.

[RiceGuy]

I just suggested some other cereals in Open Original Shared Link. I haven't tried them all yet, but I plan to eventually.

[tarnalberry]

I find, in substitute for oats, I need to mix a number of hot cereals together. I prefer to mix millet grits (Bob's, on their gluten-free line), with Cream of Rice, flax meal, and quinoa flakes, sometimes adding cream of buckwheat (also Bob's gluten-free line), made with vanilla almond milk, a bit of agave, and cinnamon. Adding chopped apples while cooking it (microwave, I'm lazy) is a nice touch as well. :-)