Wine ... Gluten Free?

[kdevault]

Is red wine a possible culprit in my severe symptoms and recent diagnoses of Celiac Disease?

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease today and was not surprised, because I've always known that I feel so much better when I'm not eating wheat.

I was relieved to find that there was a reason for all of my horrible symptoms I've been experiencing including several neurological issues lately; bloating, numb, stinging, tingling hands, pain in my feet, loss of mental focus and clarity and joint pain.

After celebrating a cause to these seemingly unrelated symptoms, I soon after realized that I actually do not digest large amounts of gluten, as I backed off of this years ago when I realized how much better I felt when I cut it out of my diet. This led me to wonder if wine is my main issue right now.

On an average day, I have coffee with cream and splenda, a lunch that does not consist of bread, dinner that is at worst, meat in a marinade, rice ... and ... a couple glasses of wine.

Since I am not digesting large amounts of wheat, I'm beginning to think the wine may be the culprit. Can someone please educate me here. I'm brand-spankin' new to this and hungry for info.

Thanks in advance!

K

 

[Adalaide]

Wine isn't a problem. While I don't drink it, I do cook with it. Lots of people here enjoy a good glass of wine though.

 

Since you're newly diagnosed, and have admittedly been gluten lite (you have to be eating gluten to be diagnosed) and not gluten free it is most likely the gluten causing the symptoms. Any amount of wheat, or gluten from other sources, no matter how small will set off the autoimmune reaction and cause damage and (usually) symptoms for a celiac. This reaction takes time to die down once started, so it will take time for your symptoms to resolve.

 

Make sure you check out the info here https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/ to make sure you have all the beginner tips on getting a handle on being gluten free. It can often be the little things that trip people up, double dipping in condiments and butter with wheat eaters, sauces, marinades, soy sauce and not getting a kitchen fully safe for yourself. It is a learning curve, so don't beat yourself up for early mistakes and continue to enjoy your wine. I've seen a few people around here say that once they were gluten free they had a sensitivity to alcohol which would make them incredibly sick. If this happens to you, rather than giving it up if you enjoy a good glass, try having a single glass instead every few days to see if that doesn't help. It's hard to give up more things when being gluten free already means changing so much.

[abqmalenurse]

Real wine is not a problem. At least not in gluten terms. However, most wine coolers and "flavored wines" (Boone's Farm, Thunderbird, etc) are made with malt liquor. So avoid those.

[user001]

NEVER BLAME WINE! It's a glorious treat! There are many hard ciders that are gluten free as well, they are delicious. I am a lightweight though, 1 drink, once a month and im done!

 

I was having a similar issue to you and then I actually linked to my problems to COFFEE. It seems that no matter how weak i make it, iced or hot, i still have a huge issue. I experimented with sugar, without sugar, with milk, without milk, with almond milk, with only 1/8th of a teaspoon and STILL I am doubled over in pain every time. Switch to a tea that you know is gluten free and see how you feel.

 

I was also eating corn tortillas, they are marked gluten free, i called and they told me all about their process but there is something in them that doesn't agree me. Other types of corn items seem to be ok.

 

As sad as it is, coffee is molecularily very similar to gluten ( i have been doing some research) and its something called a 'cross reaction'

 

cut out the coffee, start journaling what you eat and how u feel.

[user001]

Also my stomach and many people, celiac or not have stomach issues with artificial sweetners. Can you have sugar?  if so try that out.

[kareng]

NEVER BLAME WINE! It's a glorious treat! There are many hard ciders that are gluten free as well, they are delicious. I am a lightweight though, 1 drink, once a month and im done!

 

I was having a similar issue to you and then I actually linked to my problems to COFFEE. It seems that no matter how weak i make it, iced or hot, i still have a huge issue. I experimented with sugar, without sugar, with milk, without milk, with almond milk, with only 1/8th of a teaspoon and STILL I am doubled over in pain every time. Switch to a tea that you know is gluten free and see how you feel.

 

I was also eating corn tortillas, they are marked gluten free, i called and they told me all about their process but there is something in them that doesn't agree me. Other types of corn items seem to be ok.

 

As sad as it is, coffee is molecularily very similar to gluten ( i have been doing some research) and its something called a 'cross reaction'

 

cut out the coffee, start journaling what you eat and how u feel.

Open Original Shared Link

"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."

[GottaSki]

I am arguably one of the worst of diagnosed celiacs with regard to other food intolerance and I drink Red Wine exclusively as my adult beverage -- wine does not have gluten.

 

It does cause folks issues for other reasons on occasion.

[bartfull]

I drink LOTS of coffee every day. Coffee is safe. There are some FLAVORED coffees that have gluten, but plain old coffee is safe as kttens.

 

Red wine is safe too. I personally get horrible stomach cramps from it, but it is not because of gluten. There is something else, maybe tannins, that causes my problems.

[abqmalenurse]

Bartfull, you mean you eat kittens?!!

 

I have absolutely no problem with coffee. I drink at least a pot of french roast a day.

 

User 001, try pure sucralose, no fillers. Can get it on Amazon. a 125 Gm bag equals over 100 lbs of sugar. I use that and it takes less than 1/8 tsp of sucralose for a gal of tea or Kool-Aid.

 

Try Guerrero brand corn tortillas. Not all corn tortillas are gluten free.

[user001]

Whatever the reason coffee seems to bother me personally. It seems to create issues for many people in general, it seems like I hear friends say how much they love it and how it doesn't like them. I personally think anything that is causing me abdominal discomfort, I need to figure it out and eliminate it. That being said, I stopped eating meat nearly 10 years ago because I was unable to digest it and it made me very sick. I added chicken back a few years ago and seem to do ok there, seems to be beef and pork that bother me. Marinades are tricky and I'd investigate it.

 

Abqmalenurse- I will have to look for that brand, this brand is marked gluten free (not certified of course), I called and the guy gives me the info on the processing, it all seems legit but I'm still avoiding them because something doesn't agree with me and the ingredients list has grown over the years to include things I can't pronounce. A celiac friend insisted they are all terrible and she will give me a recipe for homemade, kind of excited to try them.

[abqmalenurse]

Whatever the reason coffee seems to bother me personally. It seems to create issues for many people in general, it seems like I hear friends say how much they love it and how it doesn't like them. I personally think anything that is causing me abdominal discomfort, I need to figure it out and eliminate it. That being said, I stopped eating meat nearly 10 years ago because I was unable to digest it and it made me very sick. I added chicken back a few years ago and seem to do ok there, seems to be beef and pork that bother me. Marinades are tricky and I'd investigate it.

 

Abqmalenurse- I will have to look for that brand, this brand is marked gluten free (not certified of course), I called and the guy gives me the info on the processing, it all seems legit but I'm still avoiding them because something doesn't agree with me and the ingredients list has grown over the years to include things I can't pronounce. A celiac friend insisted they are all terrible and she will give me a recipe for homemade, kind of excited to try them.

Hmm. You may have the same double whammy I do. Celiac disease plus ulcerative colitis. Nothing like a mixture of two autoimmune gastric disorders. Plus either one leaves one prone to Candidiasis. But ulcerative colitis is drastically exacerbated by any red meat. I have a feeling that both can be present but only one is interpreted on biopsy, according to the lean of the pathologist. It's colonoscopy view which tells the ulcerative colitis, which causes open lesions and scarring, which Celiac does not. (My own results looked something like a war zone.)

 

By the way, lots of people with no digestive disorders can't tolerate coffee. It could be the brand, so maybe trying different brands would help. I'm a coffee snob since spending several years in Europe some time ago (Army). I cannot stand Folgers or many other kinds of swill that still passes for coffee here.

 

Yeah, I'll pass on homemade corn tortillas unless I have nothing else to do. They are time consuming and hard to get thin enough for my liking by hand. I've been using Guerrero tortillas for a few years and had no problems.

 

If you have not tried, you may also want to try a Candida clearing routine for a while. All Celiacs should be aware of Candida overgrowth. Candida has been proven to have the same surface protein as gliadin (in research done in Sweden), so Candida overgrowth causes progressive Celiac symptoms and consequences. Take it slow, though. The yeast die-off can be a real bummer. Candida overgrowth can also cause problems drinking any alcohol because Candida releases acetaldehyde into the blood stream (among other toxins). That's the same thing responsible for a hangover. Thing is, with Candida overgrowth, the acetaldehyde is relatively constant. When you enact a routine to kill off yeast, that level spikes intensely. One effect is increased blood ammonia, which causes flu-like symptoms, basically hangover symptoms and possibly even (mild) brain swelling. But not for one day. It lasts for at least a week, possibly several weeks.

 

So, with the latter in mind, red wine could very well be a problem. Not in cirect Celiac terms but in related conditions.

[user001]

I actually had my biopsy after being gluten free for 5 months and it showed enough blunting to diagnose but also that im healing slowly but surely! He did check for ulcers and there were none present there. I actually eat ALOT of foods compared to most newly diagnosed celiacs and I tolerate them pretty well too! So glad for that. I eat alot of spicy food without any problems and my poos are starting to get pretty nice. (gross right?) There was one day I had a poo in an S shape like they talk about on TV. First time in my life.

 

Folgers is gross! I do agree! I have Melitta which seems to be the best as far as pre ground grocery stores go, I called and interrogated them about the coffee ingredients and they said no gluten. I have an unopened bag of some "tim hortons medium roast" that my bf got last week. Maybe i will try it out and see how i do. I hate the idea of giving it up. Im hoping for no terrible pain!

 

I think some people just happen to have issues with certain foods celiac or not. certain people just have issues with wine of coffee i guess? Im very cautiously going to try this coffee this morning and see. It doesn't cause me to have D, just small intestine pain. I thought it was stomach, doctor said that spot was my small intestine.

[NatureChick]

I'm always confused by people's response to the wine question. Basically, unless the wine maker lists the ingredients in their product, you have no way of knowing what they put into it. 

Yes, the historical methods for making wine "should" mean that wine would be gluten free. But in today's world of color and flavor additives, there are no guarantees if the maker isn't disclosing ingredients.

If the wine maker adds a fruit extract for flavor, there is a chance that the extract itself was not gluten free if it was made using a grain-based alcohol that contained gluten. (The basic way to make an extract is to soak the ingredient in vodka, and many vodkas today are made from wheat.)

Here are some links that explain some of the other problems with current wine maufacturing better than I can.

Edit: This first link talks about sealing oak barrels with wheat paste, a very old practice, and mentions how the fining process could use wheat.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

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You may also want to do some more research into the other allergens in wine before you buy your next glass or bottle.

Open Original Shared Link

To make matters worse, grapes are a crop that is often inundated with lots of chemicals so some people may react to the pesticide, insecticide, herbicide, and fungicide residues. Though many claim that a few parts per million is nothing to worry about, I think we all know that it is still possible to react to minutia if a person is hypersensitive. Buying organic wines may help you eliminate this issue from the equation.

Drinking white wine is a way to avoid products that might contain color additives, and if you're new to being gluten free, you might want to avoid wine for a little while until your body heals, and then try adding it back in at a later date. 

Else, buying wine from a manufacturer that does list the ingredients may be your safest bet for knowing what is in it.

[kareng]

I guess some of us are talking about good or " real " wine from actual vineyards. The kind of places we have visited that take pride in their wines. That fruity stuff for $3 or less a bottle - who knows what's in it.

But.... If a drink bothers you....don't drink it - whether a its Pepsi, OJ, coffee, milk or wine.....

Open Original Shared Link

[abqmalenurse]

Here is the problem with wine. Wine is fermented with yeast. Ingesting yeast and sugar increases growth of Candida, which has been proven to have a surface protein identical to gliadin, as noted in my last post. Therefore, increasing intestinal growth of Candida can cause the same results as ingesting gluten.

"The configurations of the amino acids that make up Hwp-1 protein are very similar to the proteins α-gliadin and γ-gliadin found in gluten (wheat, barley, rye) products."

Open Original Shared Link

[kareng]

Here is the problem with wine. Wine is fermented with yeast. Ingesting yeast and sugar increases growth of Candida, which has been proven to have a surface protein identical to gliadin, as noted in my last post. Therefore, increasing intestinal growth of Candida can cause the same results as ingesting gluten.

"The configurations of the amino acids that make up Hwp-1 protein are very similar to the proteins α-gliadin and γ-gliadin found in gluten (wheat, barley, rye) products."

Open Original Shared Link

I am not sure that is actually true, but, I don't have a problem with candida, so I will drink wine if I like. I haven't seen any evidence that Candida causes us to mount the same immune system reaction as gluten does.

Open Original Shared Link

Once again.... If you think you have a problem with a food, for whatever reason, don't eat or drink it.

[user001]

Vineyard trips make for a great day trip! Usually a bring your own picnic type thing here in nj and sit out on the farm and sip wine a eat. Bonus- it's totally normal to ask questions about how the wine is made.

[abqmalenurse]

I'm just passing information along. Anyone can have an opposing view or ignore it if they choose. I wasn't passing anything along which has not been verified by scientific research. If something causes no problem for you, then don't avoid it.

[psawyer]

All of the major recognized celiac support experts and associations list wine as safe. It unlikely that they are all wrong, but make your own decision. I know what mine is: I consider wine safe, without hesitation.

[abqmalenurse]

I enjoy wine, myself. And gluten free beer and occasional distilled alcohol. I am not trying to tell anyone to avoid alcohol. (Though personally I prefer sweet white wine or dark beer.) Even used to brew my own beer and came up with a couple of good gluten free recipes after learning of my own Celiac condition. I am mentioning what scientific evidence has very recently shown.

 

It has not been that long since virtually nothing was understood about Celiac disease. The knowledge base has expanded very rapidly since I learned of my own condition in 2006 and continues to change and evolve daily. None of us with this condition can state that what was stated yesterday remains true today. It was only recently that Celiac became classified as an auto-immune disorder. So ercent that most medical professionals are not aware of the changed classification unless they have personally encountered a patient or personal acquaintance who has informed them of the change. I had to explain the change to my personal physician in Feb this year.

 

There is a known link between Celiac and a predisposition to Candidiasis. This is well documented.

 

Knowing the things which cause yeast to proliferate in the intestinal tract, coupled with the similarity between Candida and gliadin, it is no great stretch to link Candida, fermented beverages and Celiac symptoms and damage. If a person continues having Cleiac symptoms in spite of a strict gluten free diet, Candida sould be suspected.

 

If I had any end statement to make, it would ultimately be that disilled alcohol has a higher chance of safety than non-distilled alcoholic beverages. Even safer if low in sugar. Distilling kills yeast and the lower the sugar content, the less one feeds existing yeast. Wine is gluten free but definitely not free of yeast. So if one has no problem with Candida proliferation, then by all means enjoy your wine!

[Pegleg84]

Wine (unless it's flavoured cooler crud) is gluten free. However, some people have problems with wine due to sulphites or alcohol.

It sounds more likely that you are still rooting out all the gluten in your diet. Your gut is still inflamed and can't handle the wine (and other alcohols too, likely) because of that. You're going to need a few months to allow yourself to heal enough first. A glass might be ok right now, but more than that could cause problems. Same with things like coffee, sodas, etc etc. Anything acidic and known to be an irritant. This has nothing to do with there being gluten in it or not; you gluten-damaged body just can't handle it right now.

 

Go through your cupboards, get rid of anything that could cause cross-contamination, eat lots of basic whole foods (veggies, meat, etc), avoid processed stuff (sugar subtitutes also not a good idea) and be patient.

 

Also, warning: as you heal you might find all you need is one glass. Then you'll actually be absorbing the alcohol and it can hit you harder than you're used to. Takes a while to get your tolerance back up to half-a-bottle level.

 

Of course, once you've gotten all the gluten out for a few months and are still having problems, then you can look at other possibilities: sulphite intolerance is a common one.

 

In the meantime, be patient... and have a glass on me.