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15 Jun 2014

Are Oats Healthy For Small Animals?

Posted By : Guest

Oats been called the super food of the world from reducing asthma risk, control appetite hormones, part of gluten free diet, improve insulin….etc. In recent case, it is used more frequently as a supplement for small animals – providing necessary fattening agent and nutritional benefits.

Unknown to many, rolled oats are steamed groats that have literally been rolled out and flattened, with the bran (nutritional part) discarded. When most people think of “oats,” they’re thinking of rolled oats.

The main problems with oats are the phytic acid and the avenin, a protein in the prolamine family (along with gluten from wheat, rye, and barley, and zein, from corn). As far as phytic acid (or phytate) goes, oats contain less than corn and brown rice but about the same amount as wheat. Phytate has the tendency to bind minerals and prevent their absorption. So, even if a grain is rich in minerals, the presence of phytate prevents their full absorption. Ingestion is not absorption, remember. So many small animals tends to suffer ingestion from over feeding of oats in their diet, causing lack of absorption of nutrients from their main diet.. Seizures can be caused by: Nutrient deficiencies

Avenin appears to have some of the same problems as gluten in certain sensitive individuals, although it doesn’t appear as if the problem is widespread or as serious. Kids with celiac disease produced oat avenin antibodies at a higher rate than kids without celiac, but neither group was on a gluten-free diet. When you put celiacs on a gluten-free diet, they don’t appear to show higher levels of avenin antibodies. It looks like once you remove gluten, other, potentially damaging proteins become far less dangerous. One study did find that some celiacs “failed” an oats challenge. Some studies showed signs of intestinal permeability, with one patient suffering all-out villous atrophy, or breakdown of the intestinal villi. Many chinchillas and hamster were showing celiac like disease after prolong high amount usage of oats.

Oats is high in magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. In chinchilla and guinea pig, magnesium function is strictly coupled with the function of calcium and phosphorus (JAROSZ et al 2004). It is essential for the mineralisation process and growth of bones and enamel. Hypermagnesemia may result from renal failure in conjunction with excessive magnesium intake (ANGIELSKI et al 1996). An excess of this element may lead to disorders in the cardiac conductive system, reduced blood pressure, torpor, muscular-neural weakness, and hypocalcaemia. Hypocalcaemia, on the other hand, results in osteomalacia and osteoporosis (ANGIELSKI et al. 1996; ARNOLD & GAENGLER 2007). Chinchillas suffering from dental disease is often found with elevated magnesium plasma concentration.

An elevated calcium plasma concentration due to inbalanced calcium phoshorus concentration, hyperparathyroidism, or from an overdose of supplemented vitamin D (HERNANDEZ FERNANDEZ & PELAEZ-COMPOMANES 2003; BARANOWSKI et al . 2008). An elevated calcium concentration may lead to anorexia and, consequently, a lower food intake; this leads to reduced mastication, which in consequence prevents the dental surfaces from wearing (CROSSLEY 2001;LIESGANG et al. 2007; SONE et al. 2005). Rabbits have an unusual calcium metabolism. In most mammals, the amount of calcium absorbed from the diet is regulated at gut level by Parathyroid hormone (PTH), but in rabbits calcium absorption is less well regulated and they absorb calcium in proportion to what is present in their diet, whether or not they require it. Any excess calcium that is absorbed into the blood stream from the gut is excreted through the urinary tract, where it may be deposited and form calculi.

In elevated potassium intact, nephritis and impact the absorption of other minerals such as magnesium and sodium is observed. Sodium regulates the intake of glucose and acid amino in the body. Intestinal brush-border membranes contains Na+-phosphate co-transport system, which catalyses the transport of Na and phosphate into the system.

Overall, over consumption of oats is known to have causes bloating, digestive problem, reduced absorption of nutrients and minerals. It also contributes to imbalanced in mineral concentration in plasma concentration of small animals causing dental and other malnutrition issues that will impacted the life of a small animal such as chinchillas, guinea pig, rabbits and even hamsters.