Are oats paleo?

Oats are marketed as a health food as they are high in soluble fibre and complex carbohydrates. For a cereal, oats also have a reasonably high amount of protein (here’s a full nutritional breakdown).

However, we avoid oats on the paleo diet because (like other grains and legumes) they contain antinutrients which contribute to leaky gut, cause inflammation, weaken the immune system, and trigger autoimmune disease. Oats are also often contaminated with gluten from contact with other crops.

why you should avoid grains and legumes.

Gluten

While oats are technically gluten-free, they can be cross-contaminated by other gluten containing grains (e.g. wheat, barley or rye) during processing. They can also be contaminated in the field, for instance if they are grown next to a field of wheat.

Carbohydrates and insulin

Aside from the antinutrients, oats are quite high in carbohydrates, and although the high fibre content lowers the glycemic index of oats, they can still cause a high insulin spike in your blood. Regular consumption of insulin spiking foods can insulin resistance and diabetes. We are all for healthy amounts of carbohydrates in the diet but it’s something to keep in mind.

Are there any ‘maybe’ caveats?

Many people love a comforting bowl of oatmeal and find it hard to give it up when switching to a paleo lifestyle. If you really can’t foresee a life without oats, there are a few things you can do when preparing your oats to reduce the impact.

Firstly, make sure you buy gluten-free oats. Secondly, reduce the phytic acid content. As oats contain very little phytase (which breaks down phytate), soaking oats is not enough to reduce the phytic acid content significantly. However, there are a couple of techniques you can try:

• Sprout and soak: malt (sprout) the oats for five days at 11ºC/52ºF, then soak for 17 hours at 49ºC/120ºF. This removes 98 percent of phytates. Try this method.
• Soak with a complimentary grain: add a small amount of ground wheat, spelt, rye, or buckwheat. The phytase in these grains is shown to reduce the phytic acid in the oats. Try this recipe.
• Soak and ferment: soak the oats with a complimentary grain (as above) in an acidic medium like whey, kefir or yogurt. Try this recipe.

Paleo Oatmeal and Porridge Alternatives

If you find that you can’t tolerate oats, or you can’t be bothered to soak, ferment and cook them, don’t worry – check out these delicious no-oat oatmeal and porridge alternatives.