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Coffee - Good Or Bad?

Ys255

By Ys255
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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Ys255 Rookie
Ys255
Posted

Personally, I've always had digestive issues when I consume coffee - every time. I know coffee acts as a stimulant which makes you need to go, but is it still considered a no go for gluten free diet?

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kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Good!   Open Original Shared Link

 

 

 

Seriously, There is no reason not to have coffee on a gluten free diet.  It has never been on the forbidden foods list as it does not contain gluten.

 

Now coffee does bother some people, Celiac or not.  The acid in it can be hard on the stomach or the caffeine bothers people.  If that is the case, don't drink it.

WinterSong Community Regular
WinterSong
Posted

I have heard about some CC issues with coffee, so that might be something to double check :)

GottaSki Mentor
GottaSki
Posted

Plain coffee is good.

Flavored coffees and creamers need to be checked for safe ingredients - every time.

As Karen mentioned there are other reasons folks cant drink plain coffee, gluten is not one of them.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

Unless you order your coffee at a donut shop, there really are no cc issues with coffee.

 

GottaSki.....screamers?  :P

Adalaide Mentor
Adalaide
Posted

If coffee was a problem from a gluten standpoint half the people here would be dead by now. Not an issue. Also Bailey's (I think?) makes a killer red velvet creamer. I use it for hot chocolate but I'll bet it's amazing in coffee. 

Ys255 Rookie
Ys255
Posted
  • Author

Nice, well that's good to hear! Just thought I'd check.

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answerseeker Enthusiast
answerseeker
Posted

If I couldn't have coffee......I have no words

Coffee=good. Very very good

And tea too!

Really there is a lot more we CAN eat than not

NoGlutenCooties Contributor
NoGlutenCooties
Posted

I find coffee to be very acidic and I cannot drink it on an empty stomach.  Some people need that first cup of joe to get moving in the morning, but I've found that I need to have food in my stomach first.  Otherwise it tends to make me a little nausious.  For what it's worth... orange juice does the same thing to me.  Too acidic and high in sugar - I can't stomach orange juice even with food, unless I really, really dilute it (and at that point, what's the point?).

 

Coffee also freaks out my bladder - but my bladder is retarded for other reasons.

Minstinguette Rookie
Minstinguette
Posted

My mom is gluten intolerant just like me and she cannot have coffee. She's intolerant to it. She has been gluten free for a while and every time she tries to add coffee back, she gets sick. So I think it's possible that you might be intolerant to it. I hope not!

WinterSong Community Regular
WinterSong
Posted

I read that the protein in coffee is similar in structure to the protein of gluten. Sometimes the body gets tricked and thus you get sick. 

 

Open Original Shared Link

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

I read that the protein in coffee is similar in structure to the protein of gluten. Sometimes the body gets tricked and thus you get sick. 

 

Open Original Shared Link

That whole idea of coffee cross reacting is junk science.......it has no validity at all.  Coffee can be an irritant for all the reasons stated above.  It has nothing to do with gluten.  :)

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

I read that the protein in coffee is similar in structure to the protein of gluten. Sometimes the body gets tricked and thus you get sick. 

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

I wonder how these internet pseudo-doctors came up with this nonsense? 

 

What’s with all the talk about certain types of food causing “cross-reactivity?”

There is not yet reliable data about cross-reactivity. As for the alleged possibility that many gluten-free foods or drinks (such as coffee, milk, orange juice, etc.) would trigger symptoms in celiac individuals due to hidden antigens mimicking gluten or cross-reacting with anti-gluten antibodies, it must be clearly stated that this is all false information, devoid of any scientific basis, and must be rejected as untrue

Open Original Shared Link

WinterSong Community Regular
WinterSong
Posted

I wonder how these internet pseudo-doctors came up with this nonsense? 

 

What’s with all the talk about certain types of food causing “cross-reactivity?”

There is not yet reliable data about cross-reactivity. As for the alleged possibility that many gluten-free foods or drinks (such as coffee, milk, orange juice, etc.) would trigger symptoms in celiac individuals due to hidden antigens mimicking gluten or cross-reacting with anti-gluten antibodies, it must be clearly stated that this is all false information, devoid of any scientific basis, and must be rejected as untrue

Open Original Shared Link

 

My mistake. I had heard about cross-reactive foods a few times, so I thought I'd post something. Thanks for clearing that up! :)

bartfull Rising Star
bartfull
Posted

I wonder how these internet pseudo-doctors came up with this nonsense? 

 

What’s with all the talk about certain types of food causing “cross-reactivity?”

There is not yet reliable data about cross-reactivity. As for the alleged possibility that many gluten-free foods or drinks (such as coffee, milk, orange juice, etc.) would trigger symptoms in celiac individuals due to hidden antigens mimicking gluten or cross-reacting with anti-gluten antibodies, it must be clearly stated that this is all false information, devoid of any scientific basis, and must be rejected as untrue

Open Original Shared Link

Maybe there should be a sticky, or at least something on the newbie thread about this. It seems that lately a LOT of people are reading about this on those quack sites. If we nip it in the bud, it'll save a lot of new folks from giving up foods they don't need to.

WinterSong Community Regular
WinterSong
Posted

Maybe there should be a sticky, or at least something on the newbie thread about this. It seems that lately a LOT of people are reading about this on those quack sites. If we nip it in the bud, it'll save a lot of new folks from giving up foods they don't need to.

Agreed it would be good to add to the newbie thread, but I had heard about this through the grapevine and I am not a newbie. I think it's important to keep each other updated on supposedly "new research" and what is true/false, not just automatically stick it in a section that only newbies would read  ;)

 

Thank you again for the correct information. 

answerseeker Enthusiast
answerseeker
Posted

I suggested a "celiac myth sticky" a while back but the consensus was that people will argue with the facts anyway because of what's on the Internet

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Maybe there should be a sticky, or at least something on the newbie thread about this. It seems that lately a LOT of people are reading about this on those quack sites. If we nip it in the bud, it'll save a lot of new folks from giving up foods they don't need to.

We do have links on that thread to reputable sites. Unfortunately, we can't force people to read them. Nor can we keep up with all the odd theories, cures, and other myths that might pop up. We try, but it's really up to each person to use some common sense, recognize scams and attention seekers and seek out reliable info.

If people don't believe us and the Univ of Chicago, it won't hurt them not to drink coffee. The Internet sites I think are worse are the " cures" and the companies that take hundreds of dollars for bogus testing.

NoGlutenCooties Contributor
NoGlutenCooties
Posted

I agree that the idea of coffee being mistaken by your body as being the same as wheat protein sounds like voodoo BS.

 

However, isn't this the same thing as what happens with oats?  I was lead to believe that the protein in oats is not actually the same as that in wheat, rye, and barley - but many celiacs cannot tolerate oats because the protein is similar-enough that the body reacts to it as if it were the same protein.  Same with rice, only a reaction to rice is much more rare.

No??

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

I agree that the idea of coffee being mistaken by your body as being the same as wheat protein sounds like voodoo BS.

 

However, isn't this the same thing as what happens with oats?  I was lead to believe that the protein in oats is not actually the same as that in wheat, rye, and barley - but many celiacs cannot tolerate oats because the protein is similar-enough that the body reacts to it as if it were the same protein.  Same with rice, only a reaction to rice is much more rare.

No??

 

 

Oats -

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

Rice probably comes from the same "cross-reactive" nonsense.  Coffee, unless you eat the bean, has almost no protein in it.  This just makes this whole idea even sillier.  I imagine someone thinking - "What food would cause the biggest uproar and get me the most attention?"  :ph34r:

 

Open Original Shared Link

NoGlutenCooties Contributor
NoGlutenCooties
Posted

Oats -

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

 

 

Thanks KarenG.  I'm still a bit confused because my uncle has Celiac and he most definitely cannot tolerate oats.  Even the ones that are certified gluten-free.

 

(my confusion is in relation to the oats - not the coffee)

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

Look at it botanically and you can understand better.  If you aren't familiar with the plants, look them up online.  Wheat, barley, rye and oats are members of the grass family.  Many celiacs don't even react to oats.  All are not supposed to react to other grasses such as corn rice and millet.  Open Original Shared Link 

Coffee comes from a flowering shrub.  Open Original Shared Link  It is not at all closely related to grasses.  

 

Apart from that, coffee is known to have contamination issues.  Not everyone is honest on this planet, and when things are expensive, they can have cheaper things added to them to increase profit.  Open Original Shared Link

 

Coffee has been found to be contaminated with barley among other things:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

 

You grind your own whole beans for extra safety.  As a super sensitive, that's what I do.

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

Just wanted to mention the possibility of reacting to caffeine for some people.  Not as a gluten reaction, but some people don't tolerate coffee or caffeine.  It's simple to test if it bothers you.  Stop drinking coffee and any caffeine for a month and see if there is an improvement.

 

Thanks for the links Stephanie.  I'd seen those reports about barley in some coffee before but had forgot about it.

 

Here is a link to the CSA page on oats.  It has several studies listed that discuss the possibility of some celiacs reacting to oats.

 

Open Original Shared Link

NoGlutenCooties Contributor
NoGlutenCooties
Posted

It's simple to test if it bothers you.  Stop drinking coffee and any caffeine for a month and see if there is an improvement.

 

Just wanted to add that some people will have an initial withdrawal reaction to giving up caffeine cold-turkey, such as headaches.

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