CoeliacsMatter | Oats in a gluten-free diet
The issue of whether oats can be included safely in the coeliac diet remains controversial. Alex Gazzola examines the current evidence and recommendations.
The humble oat is a species of cereal grown for its seed – a ‘cousin’ to the wheat, barley and rye ‘siblings’ – and which is consumed as oatmeal, rolled oats or as oat flour. The controversy concerning its inclusion in the gluten-free diet (GFD) has been rumbling for several decades, albeit perhaps less so in recent years, during which time a number of studies have shown oats to be safe – at least in moderate portions for the large majority of those with coeliac disease.
Australian gastroenterologist Dr Robert Anderson – a coeliac researcher known especially for his work on the coeliac vaccine – believes the figure of oat-sensitive coeliacs is closer to 20% than 5%.This is based on studies with his colleagues at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Victoria, that found T-cell activation by avenin in 5 out of 23 individuals consuming a considerable 100g oats per day. But this would be in line with the theory of a ‘sliding scale’ of tolerance thresholds among coeliacs with increased oat intake – that approaching 100% can tolerate 2g, that 95% can tolerate 50g, and that Anderson’s 80% can tolerate 100g.
The issue of whether oats can be included safely in the coeliac diet remains controversial. Alex Gazzola examines the current evidence and recommendations.
The humble oat is a species of cereal grown for its seed – a ‘cousin’ to the wheat, barley and rye ‘siblings’ – and which is consumed as oatmeal, rolled oats or as oat flour. The controversy concerning its inclusion in the gluten-free diet (GFD) has been rumbling for several decades, albeit perhaps less so in recent years, during which time a number of studies have shown oats to be safe – at least in moderate portions for the large majority of those with coeliac disease.
Australian gastroenterologist Dr Robert Anderson – a coeliac researcher known especially for his work on the coeliac vaccine – believes the figure of oat-sensitive coeliacs is closer to 20% than 5%.This is based on studies with his colleagues at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Victoria, that found T-cell activation by avenin in 5 out of 23 individuals consuming a considerable 100g oats per day. But this would be in line with the theory of a ‘sliding scale’ of tolerance thresholds among coeliacs with increased oat intake – that approaching 100% can tolerate 2g, that 95% can tolerate 50g, and that Anderson’s 80% can tolerate 100g.
