Hi~ I'm new to this forum. My son (12) was diagnosed with Celiac two weeks ago. This is on top of Type 1 diabetes which he's had for a year now. He has an edoscopy scheduled for Monday and then we start eliminating wheat/gluten from his diet. The food list posted was fantastic...thank you! My question is about oats and oat flour. I've read differing viewpoints about oats and am not sure what to believe and/or adhere to. Our GI doctor didn't have an answer for us and said wait to talk to the nutritionist, but he followed that comment with: but you'll probably know more than the nutritionist by the time you meet with her. So I don't know if oats and/or oat flour are okay or not. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks, and I'm happy to have found this group. I can alread tell it will be a big help.

Misa

I was about to ask the same question What was told to me is that if they are from Ireland they are ok because there is little risk of contamination?? Is that right? I'd rather be cautious at this point though and have cut it out for the time being.

From what I've read, the protein in oats is similar enough to wheat gluten that some celiacs will react, but some won't. And that's not just feeling sick, it's that some do get damage and some don't. I choose not to eat oats (I haven't actually tested myself), but some do successfully. The problem is that most oats are contaminated - manufactured on the same equipment as wheat so you have to make sure they are labeled gluten-free. Part of the reason why I've never tried oats is because all the mainstream ones will be contaminated so I can't eat granola bars, etc. It would just be me buying oatmeal to make hot cereal and I never liked hot oatmeal before diagnosis so I see no reason to start eating it now!

I think if I wanted to eat oats, I'd wait 3-6 months after diagnosis to make sure I'm completely healed and then do an oat challenge. If you keep eating oats right after diagnosis and you are one who reacts, you'll never heal and will probably have trouble knowing if it's the oats or if you're just a slow healer.

So that would be true for oat flours, too? There are cereals that are made with rice and oat flours and no other evident gluten. I don't know if they'll be okay or not. So I should look for that gluten free label, I guess.

Oats are controversial. It is now believed that most celiacs can tolerate some pure, uncomtaminated oats. Oats contain the protein avenin, which is technically different from the gluten in wheat, barley and rye. It is the gliadin in the wheat, the horedin in the barley, and the secalin in the rye that are the real culprits for celiacs. Avenin in oats causes some celiacs problems, but not all. There is a small subset of celiacs that cannot tolerate oats in any form, gluten-free or not.

I would never consume any commercially available oats (even the ones from Ireland - I have read online studies of them that calculates their contamination level as quite high) besides the ones that have been certified gluten-free. At this point there are 2 manufacturers of gluten-free oats, Creamhill Estates and Gluten Free Oats. At least one of those companies makes oat flour.

You should not consider oats until you have been dianosed for a year and have had your followup bloodwork done (according to my GI). Your antibodies should be in the negative range before you even try, and you should definitely discuss it with your doctor first. My GI doctor reccommends trying them out for 3 months and getting your antibodies checked to make sure you are not reacting. Many celiacs will not even chance it, and I totally respect their decision.

Any product like cereal or granola bars that is made from oats or oat flour is most likely (almost certainly) made from mainstream oats, not the certified gluten-free ones. Unless they have been tested and found to be gluten-free, I would not chance it. I do not know of any pre-packaged ceral or bar that is made from certified gluten-free oats, but if someone else does, I'm sure they will chime in. I do eat the certified gluten-free oats occasionally and seem to do fine with them. My 8-year-old does not seem to be able to tolerate them.

Hope this helps.

Virtually all mainstream oats, and I imagine oat flour as well, are contaminated with gluten. This occurs during growing, storage, and manufacturing. Oats are distinct from wheat, barley and rye, but they are almost always contaminated. There are certified gluten free oats, but there are mixed opinions about them. It is estimated that about 10% of people with celiac disease react to uncontaminated oats. If you decide to introduce them into your son's diet, you should wait at least 6 months so that his intestines can heal. There are only a couple brands of certified gluten free oats available, so any oats that you can find in a mainstream grocery store are likely contaminated.

Thanks to everyone for your replies. The information is really helpful. I was wondering why cereals with oat flour weren't on the ok list, and now I understand. We haven't even started the gluten free diet, and already it's so overwhelming. The doc said to wait until after the endoscopy, so we have just a few more days to figure out the basics.

Thanks again.

Misa

My wife is a celiac, and is very sensitive to gluten. However, she eats a boxed organic granola cereal by Cascadian Farms. In this cereal is organic rolled oats and oat flour. I called the manufacturer and they said they can not guarantee the oats are gluten-free. I kind of wished that I had not called now
Anyways my wife eats that boxed cereal A-Ok (for now at least)
Another boxed cereal that is fine for here is Cheerios.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Cheerios is not a safe food for celiacs. Not only does it have mainstream oats in it, it has wheat starch. Here is the general mills website with the ingredient panel. http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/bran...p;groupID=19412

You can buy gluten free oats. They're not cheap though. And they may or may not work for you. Daughter is not celiac but has a gluten allergy. She can eat them.