<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Here are 2 new articles on oats and GF wheat starch sure to evoke debate. (Be sure to paste the web addresses together on one line to access the sites.): ------------------------------------------------- J Am Diet Assoc 2003 Mar;103(3):376-9 Full Text (Free): http://www.adajournal.org/scripts/om.dll/serve? retrieve=/pii/S0002822302000809&nav=full Oats and the gluten-free diet Thompson T T. Thompson is a nutrition consultant in Manchester, MA. Whether oats should be included in a gluten-free diet has been debated for half a century. In 1995, the largest and most scientifically rigorous study on the safety of oats was published. Investigators concluded that the consumption of oats was safe for adults with celiac disease. Since 1995, several additional studies have been published. Without exception, these investigations found no adverse effects associated with the regular consumption of moderate amounts of oats. However, there are concerns among some authorities on celiac disease that even if oats themselves are safe, they nonetheless may be contaminated with wheat, rye, or barley. Unfortunately, the extent to which contamination of commercial oat products occurs is not known. Ideally, if a patient appears likely to use oats, they should be advised to consume only those products tested and found to be free of contamination. ------------------------------------------------- Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2003 Feb;17(4):587-94 Abstract (Full Text requires subscription or fee): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi? cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12622768&dopt=Abstract Wheat-starch-based gluten-free products in the treatment of newly detected coeliac disease: prospective and randomized study Peraaho M; Kaukinen K; Paasikivi K; Sievanen H; Lohiniemi S; Maki M; Collin P Departments of Medicine and Paediatrics, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere (also Medical School, University of Tampere), Bone Research Group, UKK Institute, Tampere, and Finnish Coeliac Society, Tampere, Finland. BACKGROUND: The safety of wheat-starch-based gluten-free products in the treatment of coeliac disease is debatable. Prospective studies are lacking. AIM: To compare the clinical, histological and serological response to a wheat-starch-based or natural gluten-free diet in patients with newly detected coeliac disease. METHODS: Fifty-seven consecutive adults with untreated coeliac disease were randomized to a wheat-starch-based or natural gluten-free diet. Clinical response, small bowel mucosal morphology, CD3+, alphabeta+ and gammadelta+ intra-epithelial lymphocytes, mucosal human leucocyte antigen-DR expression and serum endomysial, transglutaminase and gliadin antibodies were investigated before and 12 months after the introduction of the gluten-free diet. Quality of life measurements were performed by standardized questionnaires and the bone mineral density was analysed. RESULTS: In both groups, abdominal symptoms were alleviated equally by a strict diet. There were no differences between the groups in mucosal morphology, the density of intra-epithelial lymphocytes, serum antibodies, bone mineral density or quality of life tests at the end of the study. Four patients on a natural gluten-free diet and two on a wheat-starch-based gluten-free diet had dietary lapses; as a result, inadequate mucosal, serological and clinical recovery was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The dietary response to a wheat-starch-based gluten-free diet was as good as that to a natural gluten-free diet in patients with newly detected coeliac disease. * All posts for product information must include the applicable country *