THOSE SNEAKY CELIAC INVADERS

[Yvonne (Vonnie) Mostat, RN]

Let's start with Oats. "The challenge has been extensively investigated by Health Canada and has reviewed the clinical evidence from numerous international studies. It has concluded that the consumption of oats uncontaminated with gluten from wheat, rye, or barley is safe for the vast majority of patients with celiac disease. The challenge with oats in gluten-free eating is the contamination and many commercial facilities is oats that are processed, and the nature of gluten intolerance is that even a trace amount of gluten can cause severe discomfort. According to the National Institute of health 88% of commercial oats in Canada are contaminated with gluten containing grains, With cross contamination in the field, in the transport of the grain, in the storage of the grain and in the milling and packaging facilities can often leave oats at more than the 22ppm advised by Health Canada. In Canada (and I am sure in the U.S.A.) specially produced pure uncontaminated oats have been available in the market place for several years.  They say they are accurately tested for their gluten content to be under the 20 ppm. However, some individuals with a gluten intolerance may still find themselves sensitive to even pure oats. Also, again , according to the Canadian Celiac Association Professional Advisory Council, "the fibre content of an oat gluten free diet is often higher than the typical gluten free diet. When adding oats to the diet, the individual should be stabilized on the gluten free diet, and their celiac antibody levels should have normalized. This process may take 6 - 18 months, although there is considerable variation among individuals. 

[Scott Adams]

Thank you for the update on oats, and we've got lots of articles on oats here for anyone who wants to dive into this further:

https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/oats-and-celiac-disease-are-they-gluten-free/