Gluten Free Oats?

[brandonsmom]

Ok, so I am part of a gluten free/celiac support group...and there has been lots of excitement regarding gluten free oats. Now I've read two sides to the gluten free oats. Some of the information I've read says that oats themselves are naturally gluten free, and that it is the processing that poses the problem. I've read several articles stating that there IS a problem with the oats, and that some people with celiac have a problem with the protein in oats.

So my question is- has anyone actually tried the gluten free oats? If you have what were your results with them? I would love love love to be able to have oatmeal, or make oatmeal cookies! Any information would be greatly appreciated!

[Lisa]

I have used McCains Irish Oats in cookies without an issue. There has been reference from those before on some of the posts. They do not have a cross-contamination issues that US oat do, according to what I understand.

The issue is not necessarily with the oats itself, but in the grown process as farmers rotate their fields with oats and wheat. Therefore, there is strong evidence of cross contamination in the processing. There may be others that have a sensitivity to oats as well as wheat.

I am sure that others will post with more information for you.

And Welcome

[brandonsmom]

Thank you very much for your reply. I really do appreciate it!

[tarnalberry]

All commercial, widely available oats, including McCanns (long thought to be the safest brand) have been tested as having gluten at levels higher than 200ppm in at least some batches. All the companies, including McCanns, note that there is room for contamination in their processes. There are a few small farms (two in the US, one in Canada, I believe) that offer 'gluten free' oats that are grown, processed, milled, and shipped, specifically with celiac disease in mind.

That said, approximately 10% of celiacs react to the protein in oats with intestinal villi damage and tTg antibodies that are classic markers for celiac disease - this does not appear to be an oat allergy issue, but rather a lack of specificity issue. Avenin, the oat protein, is very similar, chemically, to gliandin, the wheat protein, and for some people, similar enough to cause a reaction. There is no test, ahead of time, to do that can determine if you are one of these 10%. Additionally, symptoms may be subtle enough that you don't get outward signs of intestinal damage from the oats even if you are one of these 10%. It's a personal call that everyone has to make.

[brandonsmom]

Wow..thank you so much for the valuable information. This is really helps clarify things. My son and I are both very sensitive...and I didn't want to chance it, I wanted to research the topic a little more. Thank you so much!

[chrissy]

my girls eat gluten free oats without a problem. i have recently found gluten free oats in a catalogue for Azure Standard.

[Nantzie]

I've had a shipment from glutenfreeoats.com in a box in my kitchen cabinet for over a month now and I still haven't gotten up the nerve to try them. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had the time to schedule a possible 3-5 day reaction. Cowboy cookies (choc chip with oats added) have been sounding pretty good lately though so I might have to give that a shot.

It's so odd. Once you go from feeling horrible for years to feeling great, it's hard to make yourself take risks that might even take just a few days to recover from. Every hour of every day is valuable now.

I agree with everyone else though. It's really something you have to determine on your own. I think that if you're wanting to know if uncontaminated oats are a problem for you specifically, it's worth buying them at least once from a dedicated facility just to determine if you are part of the 10% that is intolerant to avenin.

Nancy

[sparkles]

there is a gluten-free bakery near me. Recently I went there and asked about the Ranger Cookies that they had for sale. the baker and owner, I believe, gave me a sheet explaining that their oats were gluten-free. They are produced on a farm in Canada where the oats are NOT rotated with wheat. I was really skeptical but tried the cookies anyway. Lucky me.... I guess that I am in that 10% that is sensitive to oats... even gluten-free ones. They tasted mighty good going down but let's just say that coming out was a whole different story. It helped remind me why I try to stay gluten-free. Like everything, from buffets to eating those unknowns, it is a personal choice. Good Luck.... if you choose to try them, let us know how things come out! (celiac humor.... in poor taste, I admit... but it is 2:20 in the am)

[miles2go]

Oats.

*sigh*

I love oats, unfortunately, oats don't love me. Back in the day, I would eat them a lot but they were one of the ingredients that really, really told me that I needed to go gluten-free. I miss them more than wheat, barley, rye and corn combined.

My most excellent award-winning cookbook "The Food Substitutions Bible" by David Joachim recommends a whole lot of other oat products, but also nuts as a good sub.

But it will never be oats.

Maybe almonds, for that sweet flavor? And also alternative grains for porridge.

[mamaw]

there are several old post regarding the gluten-free oat issue. I've been eating them for over a year now. But the one word to remember is caution. Go very slowly at first. 1/4 c to begin with.Again everyone will react differently. My daughter who is full- blown celiac never had a problem that she could feel or see with any oats, but we didn't know if anything was happening that she didn't feel or see.

Now she eats the gluten-free oats once a week...& appears to be okay.

So my opinion is if you love oats go slowly & try them..

I like the gluten-free oats from Canada better than the US ones.

mamaw

[tarnalberry]

I would also encourage any questionably symptomatic celiac who opts to try oats, to have followup tests after a year of eating oats, since there might not be any other way for you to know if you're reacting to them if you're generally asymptomatic.

[Carriefaith]

All commercial, widely available oats, including McCanns (long thought to be the safest brand) have been tested as having gluten at levels higher than 200ppm in at least some batches. All the companies, including McCanns, note that there is room for contamination in their processes. There are a few small farms (two in the US, one in Canada, I believe) that offer 'gluten free' oats that are grown, processed, milled, and shipped, specifically with celiac disease in mind.

That said, approximately 10% of celiacs react to the protein in oats with intestinal villi damage and tTg antibodies that are classic markers for celiac disease - this does not appear to be an oat allergy issue, but rather a lack of specificity issue. Avenin, the oat protein, is very similar, chemically, to gliandin, the wheat protein, and for some people, similar enough to cause a reaction. There is no test, ahead of time, to do that can determine if you are one of these 10%. Additionally, symptoms may be subtle enough that you don't get outward signs of intestinal damage from the oats even if you are one of these 10%. It's a personal call that everyone has to make.

Well said Tiffany!

I have never tried safe oats because I would be afraid that I would be one of the people that reacted to the protein. For example, my body started getting mad at milk around the same time that I got external symptoms with celiac disease and I have read that the milk protein is similar in structure to the gluten protein.

[tarnalberry]

For example, my body started getting mad at milk around the same time that I got external symptoms with celiac disease and I have read that the milk protein is similar in structure to the gluten protein.

While I haven't seen any specific studies noting the similarities between casein and gliandin, I've heard references to such. If it is true that they are similarly structured, I wonder if what we really have is two types of celiac - for lack of a better term, specific and non-specific.

That is, in the first case, specific celiacs would *only* react to gliandin, horedin, and secalin, because the chemical reaction in their intestines is very structurally/compositionally specific. In the latter case, non-specific celiacs would also react to similarly structured/compositioned proteins, like avenin and possibly casein, as the reagents in their intestines would be slightly different, and less specific for the exact structure and composition of the offending protein. In that case, the non-specific celiacs may likely react to both oats and dairly, while the specific ones do fine with both.

[Carriefaith]

That's very interesting, I never thought of it that way. Like you, I don't think if what I read was a study on the two proteins (It was just mentioned), but it would be interesting to see if there are studies done on this.