Oats or not?

[MikeR]

Kind people I have a question?

I love oats. In an attempt to go gluten free I have dispensed with these favourites of mine as I'd read that they can cause problems for Hashi sufferers. Personal experience or words of wisdom would be valued.

I am nervous about trying them as I have made some progress with my existing regime. I have also read you need to find a 'gluten free oat' i.e. one that hasn't shared it's production in a facility that processes wheat et al.

Many thanks for your anticipated responses.

[spongecat]

I buy Neal's Yard gluten free oats. They are widely available, I get mine from Holland & Barrett.

Many gluten free products have the caveat "may contain elements of soya, grains etc" if production equipment is shared (ie. oats rolled one day are normal oats, another day gluten free oats are processed after cleaning equipment) they cannot guarantee that every miniscule piece of normal oat is cleared for those who may have life threatening allergies.

The Neal's Yard Oats suit me fine and cook up in a pan (I don't have a microwave) with water or milk just fine. A short soak and 3 minutes later.....yum with blueberries!

[MikeR in reply to spongecat]

Thank you spongecat. Mmm that's one thing I totally miss: porridge and frozen berries. Gluten free corn flakes just don't cut it either from a taste perspective or a sense of feeling fuller for longer! Are you hashi too?

[spongecat in reply to MikeR]

I don't know if I'm hashi because doc will not test me for it.... I will have to have the test privately if I want to find out.

However I have for a long time had issues with blowing up like a balloon and getting a trifle errr...windy after eating wheaty stuff and some packet sauces.

Lot better now since I have made my own gravies and what have you with corn starch as a thickener and eating gluten-free multiseed bread which is OK,... quite sweet but nutty from the Tesco "Free From" range.

Coeliac tests come out negative. Maybe I'm just a bit "sensitive"!

[Jazzw]

I found I was sensitive to oats at first but after a few months of avoiding wheat bread found I could tolerate them again. Wouldn't eat them every day as I think I personally would be asking for trouble. The gluten free brand I eat is Nairns - again fairly widely available, definitely available in Waitrose.

[MikeR in reply to Jazzw]

Thank you jazzw. That is a fairly valid point. Moderation (which I'm not too good at), is the key here? I guess it's a steep curve using diet as a recovery tool. Metaphorically speaking I guess the further in the rear view mirror the 'old unthinking' diet is and the further one has ventured up the foothills of a dietary fix the better chance we have of tolerating some of the things that we vex about consuming right now! In the first few weeks of changing to GF and feeling dreadful my dietary variety was very poor. Grabbing several pots of Chicken and sweetcorn soup, which I sense triggered some form of protest from Hashi. After chicken and sweetcorn restbite I have tried it again to see if it does rattle old Hashi...time will tell.

[Hidden]

I eat any brand gluten free oats and am fine on them.

Mike, you can always have a private blood test to see what you are intolerant to. I used Cyrex Laboratories Array 4 Gluten Associated Cross Reactive Foods and Food Sensitivity.

flower

[MikeR in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, Flower007. Do you have to fast for these tests ?

[Hidden in reply to MikeR]

No. I didn't.

F

[Justiina]

Unfortunately for some oat might be issue too as the protein in oat is so similar to wheat that body might consider it as gluten. Same with banana, protein is similar to gluten in wheat.

So with oat it is trial and error me thinks go gluten free and try pure oats. Skip oats if symptoms continue and re-introduce it after few months to see if you could tolerate it later on.

[MikeR in reply to Justiina]

Thank you Justina. Now that is interesting before I became ill, I would eat 3 bananas a day, a huge bowl of homemade muesli oats, flax seed, wheatgerm, bran, oatmeal, pumpkin seeds, suflower seeds and raisins. God I miss that breakfast! I could reserrect it in part minus the wheatgerm and bran however I'm going to leave it out as things are a tad better and I reluctant to tamper with something that appears to providing some resbite from Hashi.

[Angel_of_the_North]

Some people are fine with oats; some aren't. I've always had sneezing fits and come out in a rash if I handle (let alone eat) oats.