I Was A Bad Boy This Morning!

Post by **tex** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:17 pm

Hi All,

Yep, I finally succumbed to the siren song of oats, and tried a "batch". In the interest of science, I ate a purely neolithic breakfast, and so far, (12 hours later), nothing adverse has happened, (that I can detect). The product that I tried, is known as OATIOS, and is distributed by U. S. Mills, of Needham, Massachusetts, but the oats used, are certified organic by an Oregon organization, known as Oregon Tilth.

Ingredients are:

Organic Whole Oat Flour
Organic Brown Rice Flour
Organic Evaporated Cane Juice
Organic Oat Bran
Sea Salt
Natural Vitamin E, (To Preserve Freshness)

It is labeled:

Low Fat
Low Sodium
Wheat Free
Good Source Of Fiber

With numerous prestigious celiac centers now advocating that "stable", (IOW symptom free), celiacs should consider adding oats to their diets, (Harvard University, Columbia University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Canadian Celiac Association, for example), it doesn't seem nearly as risky, as it once did. The big trick is finding safe oats. Note that most of the oats used in commercial breakfast cereals is not dependably gluten free. This article discusses the "Oats for celiacs" issue, and contains a lot of very interesting information, of a practical nature.

http://www.glutenfreeindy.com/contamination/oats.htm

Incidentally, there are some very excellent articles on topics such as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, etc., which can be accessed by clicking on the "Gluten-Free and Not Well" tab, at the top of the page.

I took a chance on this brand, because I figured that the organic certification would mean that it would be kept out of regular grain elevators, which would cut the chances of cross-contamination down to a tiny risk. As you can see in the article referenced above, even oats from the commercial grain elevators usually have a gluten level below, or in some cases, slightly above, the current world standard for gluten-free certification, (at 200 ppm). Of course, this may be too high for some individuals, who are super sensitive to gluten. And, of course, there are a few individuals who have been proven to be intolerant of oats.

Love,
Tex

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 6:32 am

Bravo for the Brave Man.

Glad to hear that so far no adverse reactions and it has been stated many times that oats are on the fringe and hopefully this brand is so. I miss oats more than any of the other grains and would really love to be able to give them a shot.

Thanks for the link.

Love, Maggie

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 6:45 am

Mornin' O Brave One!

Good for you! The only way to know is to try, right? Of course, you probably wouldn't have a problem the first time, since you would not yet have any antibodies built up. Please keep us posted on your progress.

Coincidentally, I picked up the latest issue of "Living Without" yesterday, In a little blurb about oats, it mentions that many experts now think that oats are OK for celiacs, but the problem is that they are cross contaminated, as we know.

However, a company called Gifts of Nature, Inc. is charting new territroy by producing the first certified gluten-free rolled oats. These oats are grown on clean, dedicated ground and harvested and transported using GF equipment. Each batch is Elisa-tested for purity and processed/packaged in a GF facility, eliminating cross contamination issues. The oats are approved by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization, which inspects and tests before certifying a product.

Now we don't have to guess about the purity of oats! Here is the info:

www.giftsofnature.net

phone-888-275-0003

Thanks for being our guinea pig! Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm.........oatmeal-raisin cookies, oatmeal, etc.

Love,

Polly

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 8:30 am

Morning Polly,

I am going to check out the ones you noted. And I was thinking just like you, YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!! Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies. Oh, for cookies that are great.

Love, Maggie

Post by **tex** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 8:50 am

Polly,

Thanks for the information. I had the same thought - that I'm going to have to continue to eat them, to give the antibodies a chance to build up, (if they do indeed build up). My copy of LW magazine hasn't arrived yet, but that's certainly a timely article.

Thanks for link. The cereal I bought is of limited value for most of us, since cereal isn't very appealing without milk, and cereal is the only oat products they list on the box. It's good to know that there is a source of other GF oat products, since even McCann's oats, (previously touted as GF), have been found to contain gluten, (as noted in the article that I cited).

Love,
Tex

CAMary · Post by **CAMary** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:04 am

I agree this would be an awesome find

I'm not a fan of hot cereal (it's a texture thing!) but to be able to add oats into the mix for cookies, baking (oat flour etc..) would be wonderful!! I do miss the rich textures life pre-GF had to offer. I was wistfully watching my kids eat granola bars the other day...

I *did* have them in a cookie made by the Bittersweet Bakery in MN. I figured they are a certified GF facility, run by celiacs, so they must have a source for uncontaminated oats...They make a fabulous monster cookie with oats, raisins, chocolate chips etc....it is THE best GF cookie I have ever eaten!

I, for one am glad significant research in this area continues!

Mary

kate_ce1995 · Post by **kate_ce1995** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:30 am

I've always been game for an oatmeal cookie! I also love no-bake cookies (peanut butter, oatmeal, and chocolate, and milk...sorry CF folks). Not that I need cookies. I've lost 15 pounds since my stress/anxiety issues resurfaced. I have been hoping it might have been from being really good and gf since September too. We'll see. I'm also reluctant to loose too much weight because I have a very nice wedding dress on order in my current size! Of course they say they can take them in up to 2 sizes and still have it look right, and I haven't even dropped a size yet.

Katy

mle_ii · Post by **mle_ii** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 12:48 pm

There are a few GF oat sources, though I don't know them off the top of my head. One can only be bought through a specfic website the other one(s) were purchasable at other stores, though I've only seen them at online stores.

I also sent a message off to Bob's Red Mill and they said they were looking into it as well.

I have yet to try oats, but I've been wanting to.

As far as to reacting to oats in general, I'd say there's so many variables as to why one would react or not react. The biggest being a leaky gut, second being gut flora and there are many other factors that I've mentioned previously. Also, if you had at any time in the past reacted specfically to oats then it wouldn't take long for a reaction to occur. Probably the only reaction one might see for most after not eating oats for a long time (depending on the processing of oats) would be gas/bloat due to the increase of fiber.

Mike

Post by **tex** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 1:07 pm

Mike,

The most widely touted source of GF oats was traditionally the Irish brand, McCann's, which, as you can see by the article I cited, been found to actually contain gluten, and in some samples, significant amounts, (like 700+ ppm). It turns out that a lot of sources that are claimed to be GF, are, in fact, not.

Tex

mle_ii · Post by **mle_ii** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 1:53 pm

tex wrote:Mike,

The most widely touted source of GF oats was traditionally the Irish brand, McCann's, which, as you can see by the article I cited, been found to actually contain gluten, and in some samples, significant amounts, (like 700+ ppm). It turns out that a lot of sources that are claimed to be GF, are, in fact, not.

Tex

Actually McCann's wasn't one of the few that I remember reading about. I really should look this up when I'm done ranting and raving about bacteria. :D

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Wed Jan 31, 2007 3:02 pm

HI Tex,

From visiting the UK to see the family, their standards for gluten-free on a number of items are more lax than ours. I watch very closely the brands I buy when I am there.

Love, Maggie

artteacher · Post by **artteacher** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 6:51 am

Thank you, thank you, Tex, for volunteering as guinea pig. Please keep us posted on how you do. Have you thought about that system of eating an "allergen", waiting 3 days, then trying it again, when it's likely your system would react (if it's going to)? Or are you just going to bomb your body with oats for a couple days?

Crossing my fingers for you, Marsha

Post by **tex** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 9:04 am

Marsha,

I'm going to try it twice a week for a couple of weeks, and if I can't detect any problems, then I'ill probably try it every day for a while.

So far, so good.

Tex

mle_ii · Post by **mle_ii** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 11:33 am

Here's one source of GF oats:
http://www.glutenfreeoats.com/

Not sure if it's the same product, but here's another source:
http://giftsofnature.net/Merchant2/merc ... _Code=CGFO

And here's another one:
http://creamhillestates.com/en_home.php

Post by **tex** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 1:54 pm

Hi All,

Okay, here's my assessment of yesterday's dose of oats:

I had a very minor headache, off and on during the afternoon, which could have been caused by work conditions. Otherwise, no noticeable effects last night, or today, so far.

Last weeks nocturnal aches and pains, may have been a fluke. It's lookin' up this week.

Tex