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Dear All,

I think it would be a good idea to call for a bit of
caution on the oats question.  My understanding is that
some coeliacs can eat oats safely but there are many like
my wife who cannot eat any at all  (we have even
demonstrated this "double blind"). From the discussions on
this list and talking with local coeliacs, there seems to
be a correlation between the severity of the disease and
oat sensitivity (but I am ready to be corrected on this).
My observations suggest that people with very sensitive
responses (my wife will respond to a few 10s of milligrams
and possibly even less) are much less likely to be able to
tolerate oats.

I have been fascinated as I have read the posts on this
list, as it now seems obvious to me that there are several
different forms of coeliac.  This would mean that each form
will have somewhat different responses and we must be
careful to always make sure that too much isn't claimed
by coeliacs of one type due to a misunderstanding of this fact.

A typical problem which has arisen from this oats question
is that a Scottish company is now marketing oat cakes as
"gluten-free".  I have written to them and received a
letter back which suggests that these sort of attitudes
from consultants (who be it noted do not have to live with
coeliac, it's not even a major part of their working day,
as several posts recently have made clear) have muddied the
water so badly that it may not be possible to get them to
remove this statement from the pack without a court case.
(They also gave the impression that they thought the whole
thing a joke!)

Have a wonderful (and totally gluten-free) Christmas.  All
the best for the New Year.

David

David J Walland
University of Bristol Radiation Protection Adviser
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Tel +44 (0)117 928 8323
Fax +44 (0)117 929 1209