Over the last few weeks, we’ve been writing about the fibre sources featured in our Best Ever Poop Program. This week we talk broadly about good sources of soluble fibre, but we’re zooming in on one of my favourite fibre-rich foods - oats.

Porridge has a special place in my heart. It is as old as time, the stuff of fairy tales and is warming on a cold winter morning. It has always been my father’s go to breakfast. He even has a special spoon called a spurtle for stirring his porridge as it cooks. Altogether, that means I have a massive soft spot for all things oats, which is good because they have some amazing health benefits.

What are other good choices if you have IBS-D

If you’ve checked out our Pest Ever Poop Program you will have read that there are lots of options for people with constipation, but it is tougher for people with diarrhoea to find appropriate fibre-rich foods. They typically need to have soluble fibre that forms a gel and bulks up the stool, but avoid insoluble fibre that speeds up movement through the gut.

Lots of foods (fruit, vegetables, beans and nuts) have both types of fibre. The options with mostly soluble fibre are limited. Soluble fibre comes in the form of beta-glucan, pectin, gums, mucilage, fructans, and some resistant starches. If you have IBS and want to avoid bloating, you’ll want to skip the  fructans. Many high pectin fruits like apples and pears also contain high levels of the FODMAPS fructose and sorbitol. So what does that leave?

Other goodies

Oats are incredibly nutritious. Along with the fibre, they are a good source of complex carbohydrates, and also contain protein. Half a cup of rolled oats will provide over 5 g of protein. If you are vegan or just looking to up your protein intake, add a spoonful of oats and a spoonful of peanut butter to your Superflora Shakes to sky rocket your protein intake.

Oats are a good source of B Vitamins including folate and minerals, particularly manganese.

Whole oats are also rich in antioxidants, in particular, they contain a type of polyphenols called Avenanthramides, which have both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Soaking or cooking oats makes the nutrients more bioavailable.

Gluten and oats

Oats can be a problem for people with coeliac disease for two reasons:

• Oats can be contaminated with wheat, rye or barley that contain gluten and

• Oats contain a protein called avenin similar to gluten that can also cause gut inflammation for some coeliacs. Avenin is present at only low levels in oats, but it can cause problems for up to 10% of people with coeliac disease.

You might want to swap oats for a rolled rice or a quinoa flake porridge.

References

Zurbau, A., Noronha, J. C., Khan, T. A., Sievenpiper, J. L., & Wolever, T. M. S. (2021). The effect of oat β-glucan on postprandial blood glucose and insulin responses: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European journal of clinical nutrition, 75(11), 1540–1554. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-021-00875-9

Soliman G. A. (2019). Dietary Fiber, Atherosclerosis, and Cardiovascular Disease. Nutrients, 11(5), 1155. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11051155

Written by: Dr Mary Webberley, Chief Scientific Officer at Noisy Guts. Mary has a background in biology, with two degrees from the University of Cambridge and post-doctoral research experience. She spent several years undertaking research into the diagnosis of IBS and IBD. She was the winner of the 2018 CSIRO Breakout Female Scientist Award.