Gluten Free Oats

[rsm]

I was at the health food store and saw gluten free oats. Are they really safe? That seems dangerous to me.

[gdobson]

RSM,

I have seen them, too. I don't know about anyone else, but I would be scared to death to eat them myself. And I sure wouldn't give them to my son. I'ld be curious to know if anyone else has tried or would try -

[Gonbad]

I have tried them and also regular oats. I have had no reactions. However I will not vouch that you will not. There is a continous debate about oats on this board and in the research community. The trend has been that oats do not contain the gluten protien chain that causes the reaction in Celiacs. The problem lies more with the issues that oats are grown in fields that have been rotated with wheat and are often processed in the same facilities as wheat. This creates a significant possibility of cross contamination. So if you are a very sensitive celiac I would think long and hard before trying it. I would contact the company on the box and talk with them about what their opinion on what constitutes gluten-free. Be an educated consumer and take charge of what you eat. I have been reading every label and have now written hundreds of e-mails and letters to companies either complaining about their labels or praising them for being very clear.

We have to give up so much with this diet. I researched this issue and decided to keep oats in my diet. Prior to being confirmed Celiac I ate oatmeal almost every morning. I enjoy eating it and really didn't want to give it up.

I am not highly sensitive. I can use the same toaster and other kitchen pieces without fear of getting sick. I don't react quickly to being glutened and the reactions are mild compared to what many on this board report having.

[Phyllis28]

RSM,

I have seen them, too. I don't know about anyone else, but I would be scared to death to eat them myself. And I sure wouldn't give them to my son. I'ld be curious to know if anyone else has tried or would try -

Yep, I have seen the Gluten Free Oats in the store. I have yet to get the courage to try them.

[rsm]

Thanks for the replies, this particular brand claims to be grown and processed free of any gluten grains. I also am not as sensitive as some. I may find the courage to try these, I will do more research first.

[eleep]

I've switched to the Creamhill Estates oats with absolutely no problem and I think I'm relatively sensitive -- although I haven't exactly tested that very much. I had been eating the McCann's for a while and I think I occasionally felt a little over-fatigued and such sometimes with them (but there's been a lot of on-off stressful change in my life over the past year -- so it's hard to tell). I can't say that I "reacted" concretely to the McCann's, but I'm not going back, in any case.

Creamhill Estates was either founded by a celiac or someone with celiac in the family and they package the oats with a survey on gluten-free eating, reactions, etc.....

[terridavis11]

my daughter and I have added oats to our gluten free diets without any problems. We did it slowly and with a lot of courage, we both have severe reactions to gluten. We don't seem to be bothered with cross contamination issues but if we have the slightest amount of wheat it is bad!!! Adding oats to our diets has added many new foods and we haven't had any issues.... but the research does say it varies individual to individual

[mamaw]

We eat gluten-free oats daily for about a year now. I would not recommend eating them if you are new to the gluten-free way of eating. I think one should be on the gluten-free diet for at least two years before adding oats (gluten-free). I think Cream Hill Estates is the best....

No one can really say if you will have a reaction--- I've had reactions to foods no one else has or ever had a problem with. It is our own chemistry so we all react in differnet ways... I still only eat a 1/2cup serving at a time or about two oatmeal cookies at a time.

If you are going to try them I suggest you start out VERY slowly with a 1/4 to 1/2 c. once a week then build it up one more day & so on......

good luck

mamaw

[burdee]

I have only tried 2 brands of certified gluten free oats. The 'Gift of Nature' oats are certified at lesss than 12 parts per million. I get painful gut cramps and bloating every time I eat them. (I just reacted again today.) However the 'Gluten Free Oats' brand was certified at less than 3 parts per million. I ate that brand several times and never had any reaction problems. Other people may be less sensitive than I am. Besides gluten intolerance, I have 4 other food allergies. So I probably am more sensitive to gluten. The only way you will know whether you tolerate gluten-free oats is to try them.

BURDEE

[sparkles]

Funny you should be asking about this. I bought some gluten-free monster cookies from my favorite gluten-free bakery and the oats are gluten-free. The first time I tried them I got stomach pains and bloating and a trip to the bathroom, etc.... I tried them a second time and the same thing happened. They gave me a brochure at the bakery about the gluten-free oats.... at the bottom, it did say that a small percentage of celiacs react to gluten-free oats but for most celiacs, they are safe. I guess that I am in that small percentage. Good luck.....

[cruelshoes]

We have tried them. I seem to be able to tolerate them, but my son cannot.

[jaten]

In addition to the cc issue of most brands of oats, there is the additional concern of a protein in oats called avenin. Some celiacs react to avenin similar to gluten.

Please google for more information before making a decision either way. There is also an article here at celiac.com that provides a useful starting point in your decision-making.

https://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodid=1051

[Rusla]

Cream Hill Estates aka Lara's rolled oats are safe. The explanation why they are is this; in normal places that have oats can often put them in bins where wheat has been, it takes more than 20 years to get wheat our of the bins. The Cream Hill Estates Oats have their own bins which were brand new and as the only thing they raise is oats, that is all that goes in them.

I am very highly sensitive to gluten and I can attest that they are safe. I have never had a problem with them yet.

[ENF]

I also stated having Cream Hill Estates/Laras Rolled Oats just recently, twice or three times per week, and have had no problems. On the alternate days, for breakfast, I have Pocono Cream of Buckwheat. Eating the natural foods our great great grandparents ate is healthier than the processed stuff of today. I bet their oats were gluten-free, as well.

[Sweetfudge]

I've switched to the Creamhill Estates oats with absolutely no problem and I think I'm relatively sensitive -- although I haven't exactly tested that very much. I had been eating the McCann's for a while and I think I occasionally felt a little over-fatigued and such sometimes with them (but there's been a lot of on-off stressful change in my life over the past year -- so it's hard to tell). I can't say that I "reacted" concretely to the McCann's, but I'm not going back, in any case.

Creamhill Estates was either founded by a celiac or someone with celiac in the family and they package the oats with a survey on gluten-free eating, reactions, etc.....

I've had good success w/ the cream hill oats as well. wanting to try making some oatmeal cookies