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Don't experience any problems with it anyone know?

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 If you are okay with it, I'm okay with it. It's nutritionally inferior to mmany other foods (but so is white rice, which some people are okay with). – Dave S. Apr 27 2012 at 14:58
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 Because it's a grain. ;-) I personally react very poorly to oats. I used to eat a bowl of Super Organic Earthy-Earth Blah Blah oatmeal for lunch at the office, and I had to avoid people for 2 hours afterward because of the noises my guts made! It sounded like a haunted house down there! That tells me that I can't personally handle them well. YMMV though, but the certainly are straight up non-paleo. – NewEra Apr 27 2012 at 15:45

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I really think the community will flourish if we focus more on the N=1 aspect and CONSIDERABLY less (really not at all) on the carbs/phytic acid/insulin quasi-science. (Emphasis on QUASI) I enjoy a bowl of high quality oat bran occasionally. I digest it not only well; but far easier than a large serving of fatty meat, excess coconut, or too many cruciferous veggies. "Optimal" is incredibly individualistic - this premise is what intitally inspired me...however lately I've been demoralized by the sheeptastic party-line towing Atkins insurgency. Please don't waste hate on oat bran!

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Do sheeples eat oats? Does a moo fart in the woods? – Dave S. Apr 27 2012 at 18:21
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Just because you don't have any visible symptoms does not mean something is healthy. Or even ok.

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can I have a reason per favor? xD – jess Apr 27 2012 at 8:47
Isn't the main problem with oats (and all other "gluten free" grains) antinutrients? – Kokov Apr 27 2012 at 8:48
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 The same could be said for all our paleo foods. Producing no symptoms, all this coconut oil and grass-fed beef could be killing us all silently! Oh noes! – Matt Apr 27 2012 at 11:50
Thanks for the sanity check, Matt! By the way, Peter, the absence of evidence is evidence of absence (contrary to popular opinion). – Dave S. Apr 27 2012 at 14:56
Dave S, I dont really understand the quote. What does evidence of absence mean? Proof of something not being there? I am not being a dick, I really don't understand what the meaning is. – peter Apr 28 2012 at 4:09
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What do you hope to get from oat bran? I assume you're looking for a fiber source. Oats are technically gluten-free, may have other problematic proteins though, thus potentially causing the same problems as wheat does. Really requires an individualized approach, do you do ok with gluten or are you better off without it? Gluten sensitivity usually means you have other dietary sensitives. Definitely not mainstream paleo to propose that gluten can be hacked into a paleo diet… I certainly wouldn't allow gluten-like proteins into my diet just because I want to eat oat bran for fiber, even though I'm gluten tolerant.

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 Why would anyone want insoluble fiber, anyway? – Tyler F Apr 27 2012 at 12:27
I'm alright with gluten, but just curious – jess Apr 27 2012 at 13:20
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 I've got no interest in it personally. I find that a higher fiber diet sourced from grains is less optimal than a lower fiber diet sourced from other plants. – Matt Apr 27 2012 at 13:20
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 They may be "technically gluten-free" but are usually packed in factories which process gluten so they will contain gluten. – peter Apr 27 2012 at 14:04
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It has a glycemic load of 15. GL is a measure of how much a food spikes you insulin. Anything over 10 is considered insulin spiking.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5703/2

To put that in perspective, a medium size (21 ounce) coke at McDonalds has a GL of 12.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/foods-from-mcdonalds/6298/2

So, eating a cup of oat bran will will actually make your insulin level shoot up MORE than drinking a medium (21 ounce) Coke.

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 Nothing wrong with spiking insulin really. Slightly elevated blood sugar after a meal is normal. The problem is a broken metabolism that keeps insulin and blood sugar chronically elevated. – Matt Apr 27 2012 at 13:23
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 The problem is regularly eating foods that keep insulin spiked. Does an occasional increase in insulin (like happens after eating some fruit) cause problems? No. But, eating say oat brans for breakfast; a hamburger, coke, and fries for lunch; and pizza for dinner (a typical SAD eating day for many) is a problem, as it keeps your insulin elevated all day and well into the evening. Cavemen didn't have much access to insulin spiking foods. Fruit was seasonal. Grains and legumes were uneatable raw. Eating food that spiked insulin was the exception for Cavemen. Today it's the rule. – Talldog Apr 27 2012 at 13:46
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 Starchy tubers were probably a dietary staple, they certainly are for the Kitavans. There is a big qualitative difference between eating yams and coconut versus eating a burger, coke and fries. A non-broken metabolism should be able to handle safe starches just fine. If you are pre-diabetic, then not so much. Whether or not oatmeal is safe, well, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But the glycemic load has nothing to do with it (unless you are already broken - ie. insulin resistant). – Dave S. Apr 27 2012 at 14:42
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 Love the ad for VitaMuffin straight to my right. Hahahahaha! – Dave S. Apr 27 2012 at 14:43
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 (but is it paleo?) INGREDIENTS: Water, Whole Wheat Flour, Organic Sugar, Egg Whites, Inulin, Chocolate Drops, Cocoa Powder, Soy Fiber, Dried Honey, Wheat Gluten, Leavening (Potassium Bicarbonate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate), Tricalcium Phosphate, Lecithin, Chocolate Flavor, Sea Salt, Natural Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Natural Sweetener (Rebiana), Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Folic acid, Iron, Biotin, Zinc. CONTAINS EGG, SOY AND WHEAT. Ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! – Dave S. Apr 27 2012 at 14:46
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Unsoaked oat bran contains phytic acid.

http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/phytic-acid-in-grains.aspx

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 And so does every friggin' plant! Almonds have more phytic acid than oats by weight and yet almonds are wonderfully paleo! Almonds also have a fair bit of n6. By this logic, we should prefer oats to almonds! – Dave S. Apr 27 2012 at 14:53
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The insoluble fiber present in bran (derived from oats or otherwise) tears your digestive tract to shreds - or at least, that has been my n=1 experience. My digestion always improves when I focus more on eating a moderate amount of fruits and vegetables for fiber.

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check your blood sugar about 2 hours after eating a bowl and find out just how great they are.

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 Wouldn't that also apply to most all starchy foods? – Matt Apr 27 2012 at 13:25
Mostly yes, except the question was about oat bran. There are some "safe starches", however. – George Brodie Apr 28 2012 at 9:51
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Well tbh there are certainly foodstuffs that are less processed and come with more nutrients than packed oat bran. Though bran itself is probably not problematic, as with so many other things there are far better choices.

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oat bran is only part of a food, not a whole food.

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