<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Aimee- My 3yr old daughter was diagnosed with CD on Dec 10, 1998. Her pediatric GI and her nutritionist have both told us (my wife and I) that oats are OK and do not contain gluten. I am no expert but I have cited two research papers that make oats look safe. There is a research paper on the topic titled `Absence of oats toxicity in adult coeliac disease' at http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/313/7068/1300 Here are the final 3 paragraphs: This study shows the safety of adding oats to the gluten-free diet of 10 patients with coeliac disease. Seven of the patients have continued to take the same quantity of oats for more than 12 months without adverse effect. These findings are in agreement with a recently published study.2 In that study, however, the authors stated that they excluded coeliac patients with "severe" disease. No such policy was adopted in our study, and two of our patients were subsequently shown to be exquisitely sensitive when given a gluten micro-challenge. A third patient was also shown to be very sensitive to trace quantities of gluten taken inadvertently. Activation of the immune system by cereal protein is likely to be centrally involved in the pathogenesis of coeliac disease,3 and evidence of immunological stimulation is a sensitive marker of disease activation. Such evidence includes lymphocyte infiltration of the surface epithelium4 and the production of antibodies to endomysium and gliadin. Oats challenge caused no change in these parameters whereas in the patients given a gluten microchallenge, abnormalities were observed. Our results suggest that oats cereal is neither toxic nor immunogenic in coeliac disease. This has important implications for the coeliac population since the inclusion of oats would substantially improve the fibre and nutrient content of their gluten-free diet.5 The knowledge that oats are not toxic may help to define the toxic moiety in other cereals. The paper cited above cites a 1995 paper titled `A comparison of diets with and without oats in adults with celiac disease.' at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?db=m&form=6&uid=7675045&Dopt=r This paper says: BACKGROUND. Wheat, rye, and barley damage the small-intestinal mucosa of patients with celiac disease; maize and rice are harmless. The effects of a diet containing oats are uncertain. METHODS. In a randomized trial, we compared the effects of gluten-free diets without oats and with oats (with a goal of 50 to 70 g per day from three sources: two types of wheat-starch flour mixed with an equal amount of oats, muesli containing 60 percent oats, and rolled-oat breakfast cereal). Fifty-two adults with celiac disease in remission were followed for 6 months and 40 with newly diagnosed disease for 12 months. Endoscopy with duodenal biopsy was performed at the beginning and end of the study. RESULTS. The mean (+/- SD) oat intake in the oat group was 49.9 +/- 14.7 g per day at 6 months for patients in remission and 46.6 +/- 13.3 g per day at 12 months for patients with newly diagnosed disease. The oat and control groups did not differ significantly in nutritional status, symptoms, or laboratory measures. Patients in remission, regardless of diet, did not have worsening architecture of the duodenal villi or increased mononuclear-cell infiltration. All the patients with new diagnoses were in remission at one year, except for one in the control group. Six patients in the oat groups and five in the control group withdrew from the study. CONCLUSIONS. Moderate amounts of oats can be included in a gluten-free diet for most adult patients with celiac disease without adverse effects. Quentin Fennessy (father of a 3yr old daughter with CD)