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Patients with coeliac disease can safely eat moderate amounts of oats

February 08, 2002

People with the painful gut disorder coeliac disease are advised to stick to a gluten free diet, with no wheat or rye. Oats are usually discouraged as well, because the protein they contain is similar to gluten. But new research in Gut suggests that coeliac patients can safely eat moderate amounts of oats, and for several years.

In coeliac disease, also known as celiac sprue, food nutrients are poorly absorbed through the small intestine because of an allergic response to gluten, a protein found in wheat and related grains.

Sixty three people with coeliac disease were monitored for five years. Twenty eight people ate an entirely gluten free diet while 35 ate moderate amounts of oats in an otherwise gluten free diet. Intake averaged around 34 g a day. Twenty of them ate oats at least twice a week; just under 10 per cent ate them once a week or only occasionally, but always in large quantities. After five years, tissue samples from their small intestines were compared.

The researchers found that the gut tissues of both groups had improved equally in terms of allergic response, inflammation, or other tissue abnormalities, irrespective of diet. And they conclude that coeliac patients can safely eat moderate amounts of oats. Compliance with a gluten free diet is often hard, they add, particularly in younger patients, so being able to add oats may help, they say.

British Medical Journal (BMJ)