Coeliac disease and oats

• a review concerning the use of oats in coeliac disease concluded that, "...provided that safe oat products are available, the majority of coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis patients prefer to consume oats; it is well tolerated and patients believe that this increment diversifies the diet "(1)
• oats are tolerated by almost all coeliac disease sufferers, although oat intolerance has been described (2)
  • a Swedish study enrolled 116 children at the time of diagnosis, which were randomised to a standard gluten-free diet with or without oats in a double blind design. The study found that no signs of toxicity was found, although 7 children in the control group and 16 in the oats group were withdrawn from the study (3)
  • however data has been published suggesting that it is possible that at least a small subset of adult patients with coeliac disease is intolerant to oats (4)
  • note that it must also be kept in mind that many commercial oat products generally available are contaminated with wheat, rye or barley, and are therefore unsuitable for patients with coeliac disease (2)

Reference:

1. J Am Diet Assoc. 2004 Jul;104(7):1148-50
2. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2005 Jun;19(3):359-7
3. Gut 2004;53: 649–654.
4. Gut 2003;52:1649–1652.