The Continuing Oats Question

A recent study of oat intolerance in nine patients with celiac disease (1) has resulted in considerable controversy. Most critics point to the small number of subjects studied. However, the primary message of this study was to determine whether villous inflammation and atrophy could result in celiac patients who were consuming oats but otherwise strictly gluten-free. One third of the patients studied demonstrated the typical, gluten-induced, celiac intestinal lesion by Marsh criteria. Further, the study identified T cell lines that react to avenin, the storage protein found in oats that corresponds with the disease causing gluten proteins found in wheat, rye, and barley. Clearly, past claims of the safety of oats for celiac patients may not apply to a significant number of these individuals.

1. Arentz-Hansen H, Fleckenstein B, Molberg O, Scott H, Koning F, Jung G, Roepstorff P, Lundin KE, Sollid LM. The Molecular Basis for Oat Intolerance in Patients with Celiac Disease. PLoS Med. 2004 Oct;1(1):e1. Epub 2004 Oct 19.