What Makes ZEGO’s DP Oats the BEST on the Market?

Snap Shot: What Makes ZEGO DP Oats Better?

• SUPERIOR NUTRITION
  • Our oat seeds (groats) have naturally high protein levels and our rolled oats have about twice the protein of traditional rolled oats.
  • Our oats have 20%-40% more fiber than other rolled oatmeal, which promotes healthy microbiome and blood sugar levels.
  • Naturally high in resistant starch, our oats work harder to nourish your healthy microbiome and helps prevent disease.
  • Our oats have 30% more iron than traditional rolled oats.
  • We use a cold process from harvest to rolling so our oats’ enzymes remain intact and protein and nutrients are preserved.
  • Our raw oats have active enzymes that counter anti-nutrient growth so you absorb more nutrients.
  • We do not add sugar, corn starch (yes, some companies add it to make their oats more “creamy”), or flavorings.
• PURITY VERIFIED FOR PESTICIDES
  • Purity verified for glyphosate and paraquat and 400+ other agricultural pesticides.
  • We give you 100% transparency — our purity test results are linked to each bag through its QR code and are on our website.
• EASY TO DIGEST
  • Oat grains are hull-free so your oatmeal is hull-free also (and so easier on your gut).
  • There is no detectable amount aflatoxins (fungus common in oats, grains and legumes) due to our cold processing and careful storage.
  • There is no detectable phytic acid (anti-nutritient) due to preservation of enzyme activity during cold processing.
• VERIFIED FREE OF TOP ALLERGEN AND GLUTEN
  • Our farmers follow the Purity Protocol Gluten Free farming methods to eliminate gluten-cross contact in your oats.
  • Our facility is top 14 allergen-free.
  • We test our oats for gluten (<5PPM) and allergens (<2.5PPM) to be sure there are signs of cross contact.
  • No other grains processed on our machinery.
• SUPPORTS SMALL U.S. FARMERS & OUR PLANET
  • We buy directly from U.S. farmers through their dedicated facility.
  • Our farmers save their seeds each year to ensure and improve quality and gluten free safety year-over-year.
  • Quality monitoring of each farm’s harvest and processing into rolled oatmeal happens at our dedicated farm facility.
  • By buying from U.S. farmers and processing close to the farms, we minimize our carbon footprint.
• BETTER FLAVOR & TEXTURE
  • Because our oats not pre-cooked during processing, you get the full, true, hearty flavor of the oats. They have a lively taste compared to the blank taste of heat-processed oats.
  • Our oats have a thinner flake with a nice chew – perfect for traditional morning oatmeal or high protein cookies, pumpkin bread, flatbread, or muffins (check out our recipes for instructions and inspirations).
  • Raw oats have a natural bitterness due to their enzyme activity and either must be cooked or baked to eliminate it. They can also be enjoyed cold with yogurt. Many also enjoy them raw in protein balls or homemade bars with nut or seed butters, chocolate, or cinnamon. Do not use for overnight oats with milk unless you add 1/8th teaspoon salt for each 1/2 cup of oats. Or, try our muesli instead. Our Cinnamon Twist and Apple Cranberry are perfect for overnight oats.

Better Taste

Did you know oats are supposed to have a flavor? Almost all oat companies heat processed (steam) the oats before you get them which takes away their flavor. Our gluten-free organic oats are full of delicious oat flavor because no one cooks them until YOU cook them, and so they retain their earthy goodness. The flakes are more delicate than other oats creating a creamy oatmeal texture with a nice chew and a very crunchy-chewy cookie.

Superior Nutrition

Our Double Protein Organic Oats are purity protocol gluten-free (the highest GF standard). Moreover, they have about twice the protein of typical old-fashioned rolled oats (10g per 48g serving v. 5-6g) and 20%-40% more fiber. As a result, they have a lower glycemic load.

How are our oats so high in protein? Our high protein is a natural feature of the variety of oats our farmers grow. In fact, they selected their special variety because of its high protein content and growing height (see Purity Protocol info below). Because we do not heat process the oats before you receive them, our oats retain more of their natural protein. You see, our oats hulls are very loose and fall off during harvest, so we do not have to steam them to remove the hulls as other brands do. Other brands also steam their oats a second time to roll them out, while we cold-press our oats. Each heat process decreases protein content. The result is that our oats have about twice the protein of other brands.

Immune-Boosting Benefits

Higher Nutrient Absorption

How do anti-nutrients stop you from absorbing important immune-boosting minerals like iron and phosphorus? Anti-nutrients start to grow significantly once heat destroys the food’s natural enzymes. Most oat companies heat process their oats 1-2 times before you get them: once to remove the hull, another time to roll them into old-fashioned oatmeal.

But our oats have loose hulls that fall off during harvest, and we cold press them into flakes. That means their natural enzymes are still active until you cook them. The reason we want those enzymes active until you cook and eat them is that they prevent the overgrowth of anti-nutrients like phytic acid.

Why don’t you want phytic acid? Compounds like phytates can dramatically decrease the amount of oat nutrients you absorb. Even more noticeable, they can cause digestive upset. With other commercial oats, you need to sprout the grain to decrease the phytates. With our oats, you don’t need to sprout because the phytates are already low!

Improve and Maintain Your Healthy Microbiome

There is also research showing oats support the health of your microbiome due to their naturally occurring prebiotic fiber. These are fibers that make their way undigested into your intestinal tract. Once there, they provide heart and colon health benefits and feed your probiotic gut bacteria. And, a healthy microbiome will help you fight viruses like Covid-19 and bacteria that can cause illness. Our oats have more prebiotic fiber (beta-glucan) than most other oats on the market.

No Aflatoxins

And, what about aflatoxins, which are linked to liver cancer and can make oats difficult to digest? Aflatoxins are molds that can be quite a health problem. They are common in grains like oats and rice and crops like peanuts which are often exposed to excess dampness in the fields. We have good news here as well. But our oat hulls are naturally extremely loose around the grain. That means they also have much lower aflatoxins than other typical hulled oat grains. In fact, we recently lab tested for aflatoxins (a subset of mycotoxins) in December 2020. The results showed no measurable amounts of aflatoxins!

More Special Features – Purity Protocol Gluten Free Oats

What is Purity Protocol Gluten-Free? How does it prevent cross-contact?  Purity Protocol is a patented method of farming governing seed to harvest to processing to transportation that virtually aims to eliminate the possibility of gluten cross-contact.

For example, one step in the process is selecting a seed that grows shorter than other oat varieties. The seed our farmers grow is significantly shorter than wheat and barley and other invading, gluten-containing grains. As the plants grow, but before they sprout grains, the farmworkers handpick any tall sprouts from the field – removing the potential of cross-contract in the field.

Because our farmers prevent the gluten-containing grains from getting into the harvest, our oats are much cleaner (we test to 5PPM). The clean seeds are saved for the next year’s planting. This means each year results in cleaner and cleaner seed stock. As an added precaution, we test our batches for allergens (peanut, soy, dairy) and gluten cross-contact to ensure there are no detectable amounts.

Other Gluten Free Oats

What do other companies selling gluten-free oats do if they do not use the Purity Protocol method? Typically, they harvest all the grain in the field, even if it is contaminated with glutenous grains like wheat and barley. Then, they rely on a machine to optically sort and sift to remove the contamination. Of course, some grains are missed, and there is a lot of gluten-containing dust that remains in the product.

Surprisingly, these companies are allowed by the FDA to average their gluten tests. So, even though the FDA requires under 20 PPM of gluten to be declared gluten-free, a company can average numerous harvests to meet that target. For example, one lot in ten could be 50 PPM but as long as the average of the ten lots is under 20 PPM, it can be labeled “gluten-free.” The FDA also does not police gluten-free testing often, leaving it to companies to self-monitor. Numerous reports have shown that this is not adequate, particularly for oat-based products like Cheerios that have struggled to keep gluten out of their “gluten-free” products. This is why many Celiacs cannot eat gluten-free oats or gluten-free oat-containing products without experiencing unpleasant symptoms.

About our Gluten Free Oat Farms

Our oats are grown by a specific group of farmers in the western region of the U.S. from Wyoming to Montana and Idaho who use Purity Protocol growing methods. In addition, they agree not to use toxic chemicals like glyphosate or paraquat on their adjacent conventional fields (see the section on Purity for more info). They work with a single, dedicated processor (owned by farmers) who monitors quality and provides education and support for the growers.

How to Use Raw, Gluten Free Oats

As oatmeal, boil 2 parts water with a small pinch of salt, stir in 1 part oats and simmer 10 minutes (stovetop is better than microwave). But don’t stop there, with a little attention, ZEGO’s Double Protein Oats will be your new favorite food in your pantry!

• You must COOK raw oats (or at least combine them with boiling water) to break the bitterness of the enzymes but we have found you can use them in protein balls with stronger flavors like chocolate and raspberry without cooking. For overnight oats with milk, try our muesli instead.
• But if you want to use our oats in an uncooked, overnight preparation, here are some ideas to help prevent the oats from becoming sharp or bitter:
  • Mix with yogurt, not milk or cold water.
  • If using milk or cold water, add 1/8th teaspoon sea salt per 1/2 cup of oats.
  • Mix in spice ingredients such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa.
• Check out our recipes for Best Oatmeal Cookies, High Protein Pizza Crust, Muffins, Pancakes, and more.
• Makes an incredibly creamy oat milk too but is a bit different (cover oats in boiling water and let sit 15 minutes before adding to cold water in blender and include a pinch of salt). The remaining oat “meal” as breakfast porridge with our Mix-Ins for added crunch, fruit sweetness and nutrition or use as baby food.
• If you love overnight oats or oat milk, we recommend using our Muesli because the muesli oats are not raw. If you want to use our Double Protein Oats, simply pour boiling water over them first and let sit for 15 minutes before refrigeration.
• Do not toast dry or soak in cold liquid as that will enhance enzyme activity and the bitterness they can cause.

Purity – Glyphosate

Why do we test for agricultural chemicals in organic oats? Our oats are organic, but we know that toxic chemicals can drift from surrounding fields and waterways. To prevent this, our farmers sign contracts not to use glyphosate or paraquat on their adjacent conventional oat fields, if they also grow conventional oats.

Glyphosate is an herbicide used in almost all conventional weed killers. It damages your health in numerous ways, including creating openings in your gut linings that can lead to food intolerances and allergies. It also behaves similarly to an antibiotic, harming your good gut bacteria. This makes it harder to digest and benefit from your food. Glyphosate is water-soluble and can travel easily throughout your body causing a number of seemingly unrelated problems. Studies have shown the chemical is associated with a myriad of health problems including various cancers, gut issues (can mimic Celiac Disease), fertility, endocrine disruption, nausea, vomiting. The chemical is banned in many countries and municipalities.

Purity – Paraquat

Paraquat is a chemical used to induce Parkinson’s Disease in rats and is linked to the same in humans. It is a known neurotoxin and highly dangerous, approved by the FDA for only “restricted use.” You may recall it used to be used to decaffeinate coffee back in the 1970’s. It has been banned in the European Union since 2004.

We also test the oats for over 400 other agricultural conventional chemicals. You can scan the QR code on any package to see the purity test results for your oat package and the list of the 400 chemicals we test for or see the results in our Food Safety section on our website, or click here.

Allergen Statement – Double Protein Gluten Free Organic Oats

Made in a Top 14 Allergy Free Facility, No Soy, No Peanut, No Tree Nuts, No Sesame, No Dairy, No Egg, No Mustard, No Sea Creatures, No Wheat, No Gluten, No Sulfites, No Corn On Equipment, No Preservatives, No Lupins.