There is a lot controversy and debate as to whether oats can be eaten when you have celiac disease. Some countries allow for oats to be eaten and others do not. There are differing recommendations regarding oats and varying opinions as to whether they are gluten free. Should oats be classified as containing gluten or not. Are oats a suitable product to be eaten when you are on a gluten free diet? With all this controversy it is no wonder people are confused.
There are several reasons for this. Avenin is undetectable by current analytical techniques used to detect gluten, and the level is very low anyhow. The other is that oats are often contaminated with gluten from other grains during processing. So it is often debated whether non-contaminated oats should be considered to be gluten free.
In my previous blog I wrote about "What is Gluten?" To summarize, gluten is a collective term used to describe the grain storage proteins known as prolamin and glutelin. Gluten proteins are found in wheat, rye, barley and oats.
It is well acknowledged that the gluten from wheat, barley and rye cause celiac disease and other gluten related diseases, i.e. they are toxic to people with celiac disease. In people with celiac disease, ingestion of these prolamin-glutelin complexes results in an immune reaction which results in celiac disease.
However, researchers are not so sure whether the gluten found in oats causes the same immune response. There have been several clinical studies done which suggest that it is safe for a person with celiac disease to eat uncontaminated oats. Most people with celiac disease, it seems, may be able to tolerate oats but this fact is still yet to be verified. Health professionals seem to have differing views on this. For example, those in New Zealand believe that small amounts of oats and malt in the diet can be safely consumed by individuals with celiac disease. However health professionals in other countries such as Australia believe that sensitive celiac patients react to these two products as well and that they should not be eaten, nor be considered as part of the gluten free diet.
There is no reliable test for gluten in oats. The current tests for gluten in food can measure the gluten found in wheat, barley and rye but cannot detect the gluten found in oats because it is a slightly different protein and found in much lower levels.
Accordingly, the Australian Food Standards Code prohibits the use of a ‘gluten free’ claim on oat containing products. The Australian food standard differs to the regulations in NZ, Europe and the USA, where oats can be marketed as ‘gluten free’. More accurately, these ‘gluten free’ oats are the equivalent of oats labelled ‘wheat free’ in Australia, i.e. there is no measurable contamination with wheat, rye or barley.
Oats which are labelled gluten free must contain less than 20 mg/kg (ppm) of gluten which is a very low almost undetectable level. Companies who produce gluten free oats usually process them on a separate line so cross contamination cannot occur. The reason people want to eat gluten free oats is because they are a cheaper alternative to some of the other gluten free grains.
Can I have uncontaminated gluten free oats on a gluten free diet?
Evidence shows that uncontaminated oats are well tolerated by most people with coeliac disease. However, in some people with celiac disease, oat consumption can trigger a potentially harmful immune response. Please note that the absence of symptoms when consuming oats does not necessarily indicate they are safe – bowel damage can still occur despite the absence of symptoms. It is recommended that individuals who wish to consume oats as part of their gluten free diet do so under medical supervision to ensure appropriate review and safety. Undertaking a gastroscopy and small bowel biopsy before and after 3 months of regular uncontaminated oat consumption can help guide whether an individual with celiac disease can safely consume oats.
I personally recommend that you err on the side of caution and exclude oats from your diet until research has fully clarified this issue. Oats are not yet definitively proven to be gluten free. Find out more about how to achieve a 100% gluten free diet. Click here
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