Oats

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For most people, oats greatly improves health. We are talking about Quaker Oats brand or some health food brand. The flavored, instant oatmeals don't have the same health advantages. Some countries feed oats to their animals to keep them healthy.

Wheat allergies are common, but oats allergies do exist. To test for oat allergies, stop eating any type of oats for at least three weeks. Allergy sypmptom are intestinal-gastric problems, skin rashes, respiratory difficulties, and possibly (itchy rash, hives, lip swelling, throat swelling, and low blood pressure which causes a fast heart rate).

Oats Health Benefits
Anti-Cancer

Blood Pressure

Blood Sugar

Cholesterol

Heart

Weight Control

The health benefits of oats has peek recent interest. Daily consumption of a bowl of oatmeal can lower blood cholesterol, because of its soluble fiber content.[1] After it was reported that oats can help lower cholesterol, an "oat bran craze"[2][3] swept the U.S. in the late 1980s, peaking in 1989. The food craze was short-lived and faded by the early 1990s. The popularity of oatmeal and other oat products increased again after the January 1997 decision by the Food and Drug Administration that food with a lot of oat bran or rolled oats can carry a label claiming it may reduce the risk of heart disease when combined with a low-fat diet. This is because of the beta-glucan in the oats. Rolled oats have long been a staple of many athletes' diets, especially weight trainers; given oatmeal's high content of complex carbohydrates and water-soluble fiber that encourages slow digestion and stabilizes blood-glucose levels. Oatmeal porridge also contains more B vitamins and calories than other kinds of porridges.[4]

More Oats Health Information
Oats are generally considered "healthful", or a health food, being touted commercially as nutritious. The discovery of the healthy cholesterol-lowering properties has led to wider appreciation of oats as human food. Soluble fiber: Oat bran is the outer casing of the oat. Its consumption is believed to lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol, and possibly to reduce the risk of heart disease. Oats contain more soluble fiber than any other grain, resulting in slower digestion and an extended sensation of fullness. One type of soluble fiber, beta-glucans, has proven to help lower cholesterol. After reports of research finding that dietary oats can help lower cholesterol,[2] an "oat bran craze" swept the U.S. in the late 1980s, peaking in 1989, when potato chips with added oat bran were marketed. The food fad was short-lived and faded by the early 1990s. The popularity of oatmeal and other oat products again increased after a January 1998 decision by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), when it issued a final rule that allows food companies to make a health claim on labels of foods that contain soluble fiber from whole oats (oat bran, oat flour and rolled oats), noting that 3.00 grams of soluble fiber daily from these foods may reduce the risk of heart disease. To qualify for the health claim, the whole oat-containing food must provide at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per serving. The soluble fiber in whole oats comprises a class of polysaccharides known as beta-D-glucans. Beta-D-glucans, usually referred to as beta-glucans, comprise a class of indigestible polysaccharides widely found in nature in sources such as grains, barley, yeast, bacteria, algae and mushrooms. In oats, barley and other cereal grains, they are located primarily in the endosperm cell wall. Oat beta-glucan is a soluble fiber. It is a viscous polysaccharide made up of units of the monosaccharide D-glucose. Oat beta-glucan is composed of mixed-linkage polysaccharides. This means the bonds between the D-glucose or D-glucopyranosyl units are either beta-1, 3 linkages or beta-1, 4 linkages. This type of beta-glucan is also referred to as a mixed-linkage (1→3), (1→4)-beta-D-glucan. The (1→3)-linkages break up the uniform structure of the beta-D-glucan molecule and make it soluble and flexible. In comparison, the indigestible polysaccharide cellulose is also a beta-glucan, but is not soluble. The reason it is insoluble is that cellulose consists only of (1→4)-beta-D-linkages. The percentages of beta-glucan in the various whole oat products are: oat bran, greater than 5.5% and up to 23.0%; rolled oats, about 4%; and whole oat flour about 4%. Lipids: Oats, after corn (maize), have the highest lipid content of any cereal, e.g., greater than 10% for oats and as high as 17% for some maize cultivars compared to about two to three percent for wheat and most other cereals. The polar lipid content of oats (about 8–17% glycolipid and 10–20% phospholipid or a total of about 33%) is greater than that of other cereals, since much of the lipid fraction is contained within the endosperm. Protein: Oats are the only cereal containing a globulin or legume-like protein, avenalin, as the major (80%) storage protein.[3] Globulins are characterised by solubility in dilute saline. The more typical cereal proteins, such as gluten and zein, are prolamines (prolamins). The minor protein of oat is a prolamine, avenin. Oat protein is nearly equivalent in quality to soy protein, which World Health Organization research has shown is equal to meat, milk, and egg protein.[4] The protein content of the hull-less oat kernel (groat) ranges from 12 to 24%, the highest among cereals. Celiac disease is often associated with the ingestion of wheat, or more specifically, a group of proteins labelled prolamines, or more commonly, gluten. Oats lack many of the prolamines found in wheat; however, oats do contain avenin.[5] Avenin is a prolamine that is toxic to the intestinal mucosa of avenin-sensitive individuals, and can trigger a reaction in these coeliacs.[6] The most recent research indicates that some cultivars of oat can be a safe part of a gluten-free diet, because different varieties of oat have different levels of toxicity.[7] Although oats do contain avenin, there are several studies suggesting that this may not be problematic for all celiacs. The first such study was published in 1995.[8] A follow-up study indicated it is safe to use oats even in a longer period.[9] Additionally, oats are frequently processed near wheat, barley and other grains, such that they become contaminated with other glutens. Because of this, the FAO's Codex Alimentarius Commission officially lists them as a gluten-containing crop. Oats from Ireland and Scotland, where less wheat is grown, are less likely to be contaminated in this way. Oats are part of a gluten-free diet in countries like Finland and Sweden. Suppliers in both those countries offer "pure oat" products.

Personal Story
John is allergic to wheat. He went off all grains because his family was helping a child with auto-immune learn to follow a grain free diet. Later, he decided to have some oatmeal. He developed severe diarrhea. At that point, he realized that he is allergic to oats as well. After reading this article, it may be that the particular brand is contaminated by wheat. Still, John won't eat oatmeal because he had such a harsh reaction.