The Whole View, Episode 461: Oats-M-G, Are These Actually Healthy?
Welcome back to episode 461! (0:28)

Stacy has mentioned in the past how great she feels when she includes some oats in her diet. She clarified that it's not something she loads up on daily.

Finding high-quality, gluten-free, and non-glyphosate was a game-changer for her as well.

For years, Stacy and Sarah have talked about how grains were problematic for digestion, proper absorption of nutrients, and gut health. However, it's important to revisit how we look at food with a scientific approach as often as possible.

Both Stacy and Sarah's health journeys took a path through the Paleo Diet to a point where they are now very open to experimenting with foods they were not maligned to for a long time.

For Sarah, that means revisiting the science of these foods to get away from the idea of grouping foods together and instead look at the pros and cons of individual foods and how they can fit into an overall healthy diet to empower others to experiment.

Sarah is a self-described Thrive Market junkie, and many of the (non-sponsored) products she and Stacy will be discussing can be found on their site. 

They also have a great feature called subscribe and save, where you can save money on products you buy regularly!

Listener Question
Sarah and Stacy have received many questions on this topic. This question in particular resonated the most:


First off, I ADORE you both. I feel like you are my best friends and just don't know it yet :) I want to eat raw heads of lettuce (I've done this for years!) and get angry about poorly conducted research with Sarah, and go lift heavy weights while discussing clean beauty with Stacy. I can't get enough of you guys!

So, my question is related to oats. Because my diet has been restrictive for so long while I've tried to heal my digestive system after being diagnosed with celiac three years ago, I have now developed anaphylactic responses to a lot of paleo foods. I was really happy this month when I was successfully able to reintroduce rice and oats, finding them to actually feel calming on my stomach. Because my list of paleo foods that I am reacting to keeps growing longer the more I rely on them, I am finding myself turning to these other foods like legumes, rice, and oats, on a daily basis in order to simply get enough food in. While I seem to tolerate it, it makes me nervous that I may be doing long term damage. I know you have discussed briefly how rice and some beans are actually not bad for the gut, but that was still always with the caveat of them being eaten "occasionally." And I don't think I've heard you discuss oats much at all. 

Could you perhaps address the effect of GF oats on the microbiome, as well as the overarching effects of a diet that includes a lot of these "non paleo" foods, but in the context of an otherwise veggie and fruit rich diet with only healthy fats, high quality meat and organ meats, and no refined sugars? 

Thank you! I love you both and am so thankful for all you do! - Anna


Dogma of Paleo and Other Rigid Diets
Stacy shares how much this question resonates with her. She first started on this health journey from guilt and feeding into the dogma of paleo that glorifies some foods and demonizes others. (8:00)

In fact, what qualifies as a "paleo" food will vary from person to person.

It's okay to lean into foods that make you feel good even if they don't fit a diet "framework" of what good and bad for you.

For example, it was easy for Sarah to lump oats in with wheat and other grains and not critically evaluate it independently.

Paleo has a very rigid set of rules, and it's important to Sarah to give listeners the tools and confidence needed to find what works best for them as individuals.

Even if you stray from the framework of a particular diet but still identify with the term Paleo, there's nothing wrong with that.

What works today might not work two years from now. It's okay to change t