Oats, avenin — could it be that you’re not so healthy after all?

Some believe that consuming “Gluten-Free” oats is safe for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. However, the truth is that its consumption is not recommended for anyone, as it contributes to the development of leaky gut syndrome.

Your intestine houses 70% of your immune system, thanks to its large length of almost 2 meters and a surface area equivalent to that of a small studio apartment within your body. This means your intestine is the largest contact surface with the outside world — since the food you eat at least three times a day must pass through it and be broken down into nutrients to be absorbed.

Symptoms Related to Oat Consumption

• Gastrointestinal symptoms
• Malabsorption
• Changes in mucous membranes
• Serological responses
• Decreased quality of life in people with celiac disease

Oats contain a relatively lower portion of storage proteins (prolamins), called avenin, compared to wheat gliadins. However, avenins have significant genetic variability, resulting in gluten-like peptides with different levels of activity that affect the gastrointestinal system.

Various clinical studies have shown the immunoreactivity of oats used in the food industry. It has been found that avenin composition can trigger a reaction similar to anti-gliadin antibody production.

The reality is that both the protein composition of oats and our individual genetics play a crucial role in symptom manifestation. However, it is a fact that this food — often recommended in diets for its fiber content — can contribute to intestinal permeability.

Gut Health and the Immune System

Over the last decade, it has been discovered that the intestinal microbiota and immune system have a bidirectional interaction. Your gut microbiota can change — and in turn, modulate your immune system — depending on the foods you provide it.

The Standard American Diet (SAD), high in refined sugars, cereals, processed foods, and genetically modified products, alters your microbiota profile, making it produce fewer short-chain fatty acids — which are essential for mental health.
Remember: your microbiota is your “third brain”, and when your gut becomes permeable, your brain does too.

This also highlights the key role of intestinal permeability in the development of autoimmune, infectious, metabolic, and tumoral diseases.

Oats, as a cereal, can stimulate luminal intestinal responses that trigger the release of zonulin, a protein that separates intestinal cells and increases permeability. This exposes you to bacterial overgrowth and conditions like SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth).

Let’s remember that Hippocrates once said, “All disease begins in the gut.”
That’s why we invite you to apply the 3R Protocol — to help you restore your health.

References:

1- Alessio Fasano (2020): All disease begins in the (leaky) gut: role of zonulin-mediated gut permeability in the pathogenesis of some chronic inflammatory diseases

2- Klára Kosová1 y cols, (2020): Oats as a Safe Alternative to Triticeae Cereals for People Suffering from Celiac Disease?

• ECNTA, microbiota y zonulina. Ruminocam,, y Faecaeale (producen butirato y reducen zonulina)