[joanne l]

Hi everyone. just curious to see what everyone thinks about this ingredient. I know oatmeal and oat groats are different. From what I can understand oat groats are not as good as oatmeal for some dogs. The oat groats are the whole oat including the brand the germ and so on. They look hard to digest than oatmeal. I was talking to a nutritionist and she said they are hard to digest, plus have more fiber. She also said it is common in animal feed. I seen some companies taking out oatmeal and replacing it with oat groats. Maybe b/c it is cheaper. I know my dog can’t have too much bran in his diet it will cause too much stool or looser stools. Just want to see some experts opinion on this ingredient.
I forgot to mention, she said dogs digestive track are straight and short, not like ours, because of this oat groats have too much hard digestible fiber in it and take a long time to break it down. The dog can not break this down and it will go right through him. She also said our digestive tract would have a very hard time with this ingredient as well. She said oatmeal on the other hand is gentle on the stomach because it is refined.

• This topic was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by joanne l.

[anonymous]

Just “Google” there are plenty of articles.

BTW: Are you sure you were speaking to a nutritionist?

https://healthfoodmadeeasy.com/oats-groats-whats-the-difference/

excerpt below

Whole Oat Groats
Oat Groats (say that fast a few times!) are the starting point. This is the harvested “as-is” product. Whole oat groats are widely used as animal feed, but not so easily found for human consumption. Some health food stores carry them and you can find them on-line.
Whole oat groats can be cooked or steamed, but because they’re a bigger grain than rice or even whole wheat kernels, take much longer to cook. It can take up to an hour, although a pressure cooker will shorten the cooking time. Because they are “as-is”, they have the highest nutritional value of all forms of oats. They are digested very slowly, which reduces the glycemic load and makes them quite filling.

[joanne l]

Yes I was, and oat groats are hard to digest period. Please I know what I am saying and the nutritionist did say too much hard to digest fiber. I think that goes without saying. It is not refined. think about it. whole oats are hard and has a lot of bran and the germ it will swept your intestines out like a broom. Despite of the low sugar content, if your dog needs a good colon cleanse this will do it for sure.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by joanne l.

[anonymous]

They are only hard to digest if they are not softened first and cooked long enough.
I’m sure that most dog food companies know how to prepare their ingredients.

[joanne l]

regardless of that, it still contains too much fiber. Some dogs can’t handle it and some can. You can ask your own nutritionist and you will see that this is so. As far as dog food companies go they will use cheaper stuff and oat groats are cheaper than oatmeal. It all comes down to the dollar.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by joanne l.

[anonymous]

I have had no problem with “oat groats” in dog food. Oat groats are also listed as whole oats and sometimes even as oatmeal on dog food bags. I believe…
I have never needed the services of a nutritionist.

https://www.holisticselect.com/discover/ingredients
Oatmeal is obtained in the manufacture of rolled oat groats or rolled oats and consists of broken oat groats, oat groat chips and floury portions of the oat groats with only such quantity of finely ground oat hulls as is unavoidable in the usual process of commercial milling. It must not contain more than 4% crude fiber. Oatmeal is an excellent source of highly digestible carbohydrates, protein and nutritional fiber.

[Sanne]

Joanne, you asked for people’s opinions and Anon gave you their’s. Your response: “Please I know what I am saying and the nutritionist did say too much hard to digest fiber.“ If you think you know all about it already and supposedly already got a “nutritionist’s” opinion on it, why are you asking for other opinions if you are just going to argue and say you know more when someone does not agree with you?

And digestibility of any ingredient raw is not going to be the same once processed…

[joanne l]

Sorry I guess I got a little out of hand. I wanted to see what I know and if others thought the same. And everyone opinions matter that is how we learn. Sorry again for arguing about it. I guess I went too far on my intake on it.

[crazy4cats]

This is a good example why you cannot judge a food by the ingredient label. You don’t know how the ingredients are processed, how they all work together, how much of each is in the food nor the quality of them.

You need to choose a food from a company that you trust knows how to do all of the above appropriately.

[Susan]

Hi Joanne,
Don’t apologize, Anon started by posting

“BTW: Are you sure you were speaking to a nutritionist? ”

Anon101 always has to start she cant help herself…Why post that comment?
Has to be nasty.

Go on “Rodney Habib F/B page look for
“13 Worst Pet Foods of the Year” watch video.
https://www.facebook.com/rodneyhabib

I hope your not still feeding Purina, Purina made number 7 worst pet foods & Hills made number 1 worst pet foods.

These bigger the pet food companies, have more problems with their pet foods, there’s too many different brands & formula’s being made, heaps of cross contamination.. too many bosses, no one knows what the other hand is doing, also no one cares.. “It’s just dog food”
Ring & ask where does their meat come from, where does their ingredients (corn, oats, rice, barley, bran) come from, is it being sprayed?? they wont know, the ladies on the phones wouldn’t have a clue.

When Purina Pro Plan Bright Mind kibble was blind tested this year for toxins (another video on Rodney’s f/b page) Purina Pro Plan Bright Mind kibble came back high in Glyphosate (Round Up)… & this formula is for aging dogs..

Look for smaller pet food companies, who have a nutritionist on board who formulates their formula’s, who doesn’t use vitamin Pre Mixes from china (also on Rodney F/B page when Hills pet foods high in Vitamin D started)
With these smaller pet food companies the owner knows where the meat comes from, the owner is there daily making the kibble, the owner is there when people are complaining their dog is sick or dying, the owner hears the phone calls if there’s any, he starts stressing cause its his livelihood that suffers, the Pet Food quality is heaps better with smaller pet food companies, well that’s how it is in Australia, smaller batches are made & there’s better quality control, the only times we’ve had sick & dying dogs was bigger pet food companies, 2017-2018- Mars & Nestles -Advance Dermcare,
2019- Hills Pet Foods..
Baxter -2017-2018 Baxter a generic brand, we don’t know who was making Baxters, they bring out their lawyers,
we think it was a bigger pet food company – Mars and Nestles again..

Where were the Owners when Hills bought vitamins from China, where were the owners/shareholders when Advance bought toxic Tuna & Moldy Corn, everything was all hushed up, owners were paid off, Advance reformulated, got rid of their corn ingredients, where were owners when pet owners rung up crying my dog is sick with ME, my dog has just died from ME, my dog isn’t the same dog? These big Pet Food companies they don’t care.

Go with your gut, its always right.. feed more cooked or raw diet (whatever agrees best with your dogs).. & less, less kibble.
A tin/can of Salmon has heaps more nutrition & is healthier then a tin of pet food or a cup of kibble…
& yes Oat Groats sit & ferment in the dogs stomach, a big no no to feed dogs who have stomach/bowel problems..

[joanne l]

Thanks Susan, you are right on target. I will go with my gut. And you are very intelligent b/c oat groats are hard on the stomach that is what my nutritionist said. She is a human Dr. but they know more I think. She also helps wild life on the side. One time my other dog was sick and my Dr. is a friend of mine as well and he knew exactly what the dog needed. He told me what to ask the vet and what to tell the vet. He was a big help to me. Thank you Susan for listening and being understanding.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by joanne l.

[aimee]

Hi joanne l

It seems to me oat groats is just another word for whole grain oats so yes the bran, germ and endosperm are included. From the USDA nutrient database it appears that the total dietary fiber for oat groats is similar to other whole grains.

Human nutritionists seem to agree that whole grains are more healthful than their refined counterparts. so it surprised me that the nutritionist you talked to seems to be advising against them.

In regards to digestibility I found one comparative study done in dogs and oat groats had high digestibility. on par with other grains commonly used in dog foods. Not sure what exactly you mean by “hard to digest”, I’m guess you mean low total digestibility. Perhaps you can post a link to the study that reported that.

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9fdb/1bb6f38f99956f823489c7980024aebfd216.pdf

from the abstract:

“Most dry dog foods are based on cereals, but very little published information and few comparative studies are available on the nutritive value of various cereals in dogs. To determine the apparent nutrient digestibilities and feed values of five different autoclave-processed and ground cereals: oat groats, barley, wheat, corn and rice, a digestibility trial was carried out on twelve adult huskies ac-cording to a 6 × 4 cyclic changeover design. Total tract organic matter (OM), crude carbohydrate and gross energy (GE) digestibilities were higher in rice than in all the other cereals. Apparent crude protein (CP) and acid hydrolyzed fat digestibilities of rice (80% and 94%, respectively) were as good as for oat groats (81% and 93%). However, oat groats had higher OM, CP and GE digestibilities than barley, wheat and corn. The amount of digestible crude protein (118 g kg-1 DM) was higher in oat groats than in the other cereals. Digestible energy contents (MJ kg-1 DM) of oat groats, rice, corn,wheat and barley were 17.1, 16.0, 15.7, 15.6 and 15.5, respectively. The quantity of excreted wet faeces increased and the percentage of dry matter (DM) in faeces decreased when oat groats, barley,wheat or corn were supplemented to the basal diet, in contrast to rice, which had the opposite effecton wet faeces excretion. Oat groats are good substitutes for rice or other cereals in dry dog foods.”

[joanne l]

Hi Amiee what I mean is that when a whole oat is not refined, it contains a hard outer Schell. That is harder to digest, it has more nutrients in it. but not good for people with colitis or stomach problems. Also dogs with the same conditions. I even spoke to a person, not mentioning any names, he is highly respected has a good dog food company, and he agreed. Some dogs it is fine, just not for my dog. He will have loose stools but not with oatmeal. If you look it up oatmeal is gentle on the stomach compared to oat groats. The nutritionist did not imply that oat groats were not healthier she implied that they are not as easy to digest as oatmeal. Susan agrees’ s as well. Well it really doesn’t matter, all that matters is if your dog can handled it great, my dog can not.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by joanne l.

[crazy4cats]

Aimee-
Very interesting study. Makes me want to look for a food with oat groats! I imagine after the grinding and cooking of all the ingredients, it makes them more digestible as well as making the nutrients they contain more readily available.

Good stuff! 😊

[anonymous]

Oat groats/oatmeal/oat fiber/whole oats are all pretty much the same thing. Especially when they are cooked and processed properly.

It’s not rocket science!

[aimee]

Hi joanne,

If I’m understanding you, your concern with oat groats is in regard to the fiber content and feel that oatmeal is a better option. However, from the USDA nutrient data base the total dietary fiber of oat groats is the same as oatmeal ~ 10 grams /100 grams. Unlike rice or wheat oats are rarely refined. Oat meal is simply flattened oat groats… same nutrient profile : )

The nutritionist you spoke with seems to be under the impression that the bran is removed when making oatmeal. However I haven’t found this to be the case .
“Unique among the most widely-eaten grains, oats almost never have their bran and germ removed in processing.”
https://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/easy-ways-enjoy-whole-grains/grain-month-calendar/oats-%E2%80%93-january-grain-month

From a nutrient standpoint it appears that oatmeal and oat groats are interchangeable . Perhaps by “easier to digest” ,”harder to digest” you are referring to rate of digestion. The smaller the particle size the faster the digestion.

What fiber level and type works best for each individual is unique to that individual. In general higher fiber levels are recommended for colitis.

[crazy4cats]

I consider my dogs to have sensitive systems, maybe even a touch of colitis. They do better with higher fiber. That is why I’m surprised that sensitive digestion formulas are almost always lower than average in fiber. Any thoughts on this, Aimee?

[joanne l]

Boy birds must eat pretty good, they have plenty of oat groats in bird feed.

[anonymous]

Yes, that’s correct.

There is no comparison between raw oats and seeds that are in bird feed to cooked processed oat ingredients and such that are in dog food.

[Author]

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