Oats, celiac disease dermatitis herpetiformis

TABLE 6.1 Pivotal in vivo clinical studies of the effects of oats in patients with celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis... 

Janatuinen et al. (1995) were the first to evaluate the possible toxicity of oats in a large controlled study. Since then, a number of studies (Table 6.1) have assessed the safety of oats consumption by individuals diagnosed with celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis. Most studies were conducted on adults, with a smaller number of studies performed on children. 

Available scientific data evaluating the introduction of pure oats in the gluten-free diet of patients with celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis indicates that moderate amounts of pure oats are well tolerated by the majority of these individuals who are either in remission or newly diagnosed. The term "pure oats" is used to indicate oats uncontaminated with gluten from other cereal grains, like wheat, barley, and rye, as detected by current test methods. Based on pivotal clinical trials in the published literature, the amount of pure oats considered within safe limits is 50-70 g/day for adults and 20-25 g/day for children. 

Peraaho, M., Collin, P., Kaukinen, K., Kekkonen, L., Miettinen, S., and Maki, M. (2004a). Oats can diversify a gluten-free diet in celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 104,1148-1150. 

In patients with celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis, no adverse effects were seen after ingestion of 2.5 g of the protein avenin daily (equivalent to 300 g of oats, or about 10 bowls of oatmeal) for 5 days. Biopsies of the small intestines indicated that that avenin did not change the ratio of the villous height to the crypt depth, the height of enterocytes, or intraepithelial lymphocyte counts (Hardman et al. 1999). 

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