<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Dear Friends,

Many interesting replies have come in. This first one quotes Dr. Joseph
Murray, so that really got my attention because I have a lot of respect for
his work.  I will post more as they come in, if they seem helpful beyond the
general representation here.

#1 I went to a lecture last year by Dr. Joseph Murray of the Mayo Clinic,
one of the nation's leading experts on Celiac Disease, and he said he
did not recommend that anyone on a GF diet eat oats as there is still
not definitive proof that they are not damaging and because there are no
good standards currently in place for assessing contamination. He
advises his Celiac patients NOT to consume oats at all.
-Sima R., Minneapolis

#2 I get sick from oats, but it's nothing like a gluten reaction.  The
reaction I get from oats is a belly ache & fatigue that hits me about 20
hours after ingestion & the whole reaction only last about 2 or 3 hours.
Wheat gluten will make me ill for days.

#3 Thanks for posting about oats...The thing is that oats are NOT
recommended for celiacs because there is, apparently - and despite claims of
listees, no possibility of finding oats without cross-contamination. I
believed the posters who claimed they researched McCann's and that they are
strictly GF - my son really missed oats, so I bought some - and, of course,
he did react to them - then someone started posting about how McCann's
admits on their website that they are not really GF (I felt like such an
idiot since I know better than to trust what people post - always check with
the company yourself!). I think people really confuse "no gluten added" with
gluten free. And I also think that you are right that possibly there is a
subset of celiacs that do react to oats (I think they may have true GF oats
for some of those studies; man was I flamed when I posted my concerns about
how small one of those studies was, and that they had not tested the folks
who dropped out with stomach distress - people just wanted to believe that
oats are fine and were all raving about the new "proof", which I saw as very
flawed, so they wanted to shoot the messenger...
Take Care.
Hilary

#4 Did you take into account the source of the oats? My daughter and I both
get
sick from oats grown in the US like Quaker but are fine on Oats grown in
Ireland where its not grown with wheat. Something to consider...
Heather

#5 Thank you for this very valuable post Mary.
Best Wishes,
Ron Hoggan
co-author of Dangerous Grains

#6 All my arthritis symptoms disappeared when I stopped eating oats.  Helen
RN

#7 Thank you very much for your summary. I printed it and plan to take it to
our next support group meeting. Somehow I just never did feel comfortable
trying oats. Also, the price  of McCann's or other oats from Europe was too
high for me. I didn't want them that much.
Best Regards,
Gladys W.

#8 Hey I eat oats all of the time. I have no problem. So go easy on us who
can enjoy oats.

#9 Dear Mary-
   Your message couldn't have come at a better time.  My son is 11 1/2 and
was diagnosed when he was 9 1/2; he was a big cereal eater prior to his
diagnosis (he could eat Life cereal 7 out of 7 days, and not get sick of
it).  So the other day, I got excited when on a gluten-free mainstream
product list, it listed Quaker Oats; honeycomb and alpha bits;  I spent the
last 2 days questioning whether we should let him eat this or not, because
of the cross contamination with the oat/wheat cycle in the fields.  The 2
physicians told me to stay clear of them, it is better to be safe, than
sorry, and then your letter came up on the listserve and I really made my
decision based on it.  Thank You!!!!  My son has short stature, but I think
he has grown quite a bit since the diagnosis (He is still 48# lighter and at
least 5" shorter than his younger brother (16 months difference)
         Take care, and thanks again,
          L. S.

#10 Dear Mary K,
       I just wanted to let you know.  At a talk in Bloomington Illinois,
Dr. Guandalini from the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Program Spoke.
He is Head of the Children's Celiac Disease program up there.  He said that
Old Fashion Oats by Quaker foods (5 min. cooking) is the only Oats that
should be consumed on a Gluten Free diet.  I have been on a gluten free diet
for 11 years.  He said that he had spoken to Quaker Oats himself and was
told that the instant oats are contaminated with wheat.  The Old Fashion
Oats are milled separately and are OK for us to consume.  Some of the people
in our group have had reaction to the Old Fashion oats too.  He said that he
checked the antibodies on the children eating oats and there antibody levels
did not go up on the oats.  Dr. Guandalini is good to get back to you if you
would want to e-mail him with questions.  His e-mail address is
[log in to unmask]
Just thought I would add this information. Hope it helps.         Tammy


#11 I have never believed that oats were good for celiacs.
One of my symptoms, before diagnosis was that I felt
unwell after eating oats, and I was raised on oatmeal
for breakfast ... love it in fact, but it does not love me.  Valerie


#12 Hi Mary,  I can only say I was undiagnosed for 5 years and have been in
recovery for 2 more.  Anytime I eat the "wrong thing"  I get stomach
pain. My understanding about oats is that in the USA it is harvested
with wheat.  It was told to me that it was not the oats but the growing
method that was at fault.  I began McCann Irish oats with no trouble and
have been able to eat it for about a year several times a week.  I
cannot vouch for any scientific data, but I know that they do not
harvest it with wheat.  Margaret

#13 The old rule was that only rice and corn were safe grains.  Oats have
always been on the no-no list.

#14 Thank you for posting about oats.  I've been diagnosed for about a year
and
early on tried some McCann's oatmeal.  The side effects reminded me too much
of how I felt when I was still eating gluten and so I've avoided oats
altogether.  Articles you pointed to reinforce my decision. Becky

#15 Hi. I missed the first post but it has been my experience that true
celiacs
should not eat any oats at all. I cannot eat oats at all. If I do it goes
right to diarrhea in me. I tried McCann's, which is claimed by some to be
the most gluten free of all the commercial oats products, and even that was
bad and caused diarrhea in me. In fact if you check McCann's web site and
their packaging they say right on them both that their oats should not be
considered GF because they think it is impossible to produce a commercial GF
oat product... (also went on to say that wheat and oats and barley grains
look very similar)

So, there you have it! A genuine hot topic!

Blessings to all...We are all in this together, oats or not! Take care.

Sincerely,
Mary Kretzmann
Nevada City, CA

*Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the CELIAC List*