Coffee And Gluten

[Zebra007]

I read an  article the other day and thought the following  may be beneficial and interesting to some.  

 

In a nutshell, fairly recent lab research has revealed that 10% of coffee is a protein that cross reacts with gluten antibodies.

 

This means that if you are gluten sensitive or celiac and are avoiding gluten containing grains or perhaps have even gone completely grain free, if you still drink coffee there is a strong likelihood that the protein in the coffee is triggering the very same gluten related health problems you are trying to avoid.

 

In other words, even if you think you are doing fine with your current gluten free diet, it is very possible that skipping the coffee could take your health to the next level.

 

 

[LauraTX]

According to the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, there is no valid science to support claims of cross-reactivity with certain foods.  Of course, if you feel better not eating a certain food, then don't eat it.  Also coffee can be very irritating to an easily upset GI tract and may aggravate discomfort in some people.  But that is a separate issue and not related to gluten.

 

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Open Original Shared Link

 

Also, a the International Celiac Disease Symposium in 2013, they specifically had a session of debunking Celiac disease myths, and covered the coffee one.  Here is a great writeup article of that session: Open Original Shared Link

[kareng]

At ICDS 2013, we are all sitting there drinking delicious coffee supplied by the hotel. That myth came up and we all just had to laugh!

Another thing - brewed coffee has almost no protein in it from what I understand, making these people's arguments even more rediculous. In fact, when pressed , I got the company that pushes this " cross- reactivity" nonsense to admit that it only applied to instant coffee that had wheat in it. When I said something about " that's not cross- reactivity that's just the normal Celiac reaction to wheat", they just kept trying to explain their theories again.

[cristiana]

Thanks for explaining this as I have just read the same research that Zebra shared and I was wondering, too.

 

I had some problems on holiday and think it was due to the fact that the coffee from the vending machines must have been dispensed from the same nozzle as the hot chocolate, which I suspect had a wheat thickener in it.  

[kareng]

Actually.... If you have new and reliable research about coffee... We should consider it. Please post it - but someone's blog or a company that just wants to sell you some supplements or tests isn't reliable in my mind.

[kareng]

And I found this same nutrition info for coffee on several different sites:

"Protein & Amino Acids

Amounts Per Selected Serving%DV

Protein0.3g"

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So a cup of coffee has 0.3 g of protein per cup. Not much. Not exactly a good source of protein.

[cristiana]

Unfortunately due to senior moment syndrome I am not sure where I found it.... but 2013 sounds strangely familiar!

 

I have been watering down my coffee significantly recently as it does seem to aggravate what I hope is the last of my gluten related tingles.   I had a large cup when severely dehydrated the other day and my cheek felt like there was an electrical current passing through it.  Methinks it was just the caffeine. 

[kareng]

Coffee is very acidic. I find it's better with a little milk or food.

[Zebra007]

My understanding is that problems arise with instant coffee like Nescafe, not freshly brewed coffee made with the real coffee beans or round coffee beans, and quite honestly I never  blindly accept anybody's view (i.e. the so called experts!)on what affects me or not, but rather listen to my own body, and  speaking for myself, I have been drinking Nescafe for quite some time, never realizing that the nasty, raised itchy rash around my hairline, itchy eyes, bloated stomach and flushed face, could be linked to coffee, it just never occurred to me, until I read the article and thought I would stop drinking instant coffee for a while, and guess what?..... my face has really cleared up a lot, and the redness/flushing has dissipated! 

 

Obviously we are all different, but the fact that it can happen to me, means it can happen to others too. It's just something to think about really, and I'm not saying of course that everyone should do what I did, and stop taking instant coffee, to see if it works, I just thought it was worth mentioning that it worked well for me, just in case anyone else might be able to benefit from trying this also.

 

I also found this online, which I thought was interesting:

 

"Instant coffee is high in acrylamide, a chemical compound that has been shown to cause cancer in animals. According to the Food and Drug Administration, acrylamide can also cause nerve damage. Acrylamide happens naturally in certain foods during high-temperature heating. Because the presence of acrylamide in food wasn’t discovered until 2002, scientists still don’t know the full extent of its dangers. The amount of acrylamide is measured in ppb, or parts-per-billion. Certain brands and types of instant coffee have very high amounts, compared with ground coffee. One popular brand of instant coffee contains 458 ppb, compared to only 13 ppb in their traditional coffee" variety"

[kareng]

My understanding is that problems arise with instant coffee like Nescafe, not freshly brewed coffee made with the real coffee beans or round coffee beans, and quite honestly I never blindly accept anybody's view (i.e. the so called experts!)on what affects me or not, but rather listen to my own body, and speaking for myself, I have been drinking Nescafe for quite some time, never realizing that the nasty, raised itchy rash around my hairline, itchy eyes, bloated stomach and flushed face, could be linked to coffee, it just never occurred to me, until I read the article and thought I would stop drinking instant coffee for a while, and guess what?..... my face has really cleared up a lot, and the redness/flushing has dissipated!

Obviously we are all different, but the fact that it can happen to me, means it can happen to others too. It's just something to think about really, and I'm not saying of course that everyone should do what I did, and stop taking instant coffee, to see if it works, I just thought it was worth mentioning that it worked well for me, just in case anyone else might be able to benefit from trying this also.

I also found this online, which I thought was interesting:

"Instant coffee is high in acrylamide, a chemical compound that has been shown to cause cancer in animals. According to the Food and Drug Administration, acrylamide can also cause nerve damage. Acrylamide happens naturally in certain foods during high-temperature heating. Because the presence of acrylamide in food wasn’t discovered until 2002, scientists still don’TCBY know the full extent of its dangers. The amount of acrylamide is measured in ppb, or parts-per-billion. Certain brands and types of instant coffee have very high amounts, compared with ground coffee. One popular brand of instant coffee contains 458 ppb, compared to only 13 ppb in their traditional coffee" variety"

Please cite your sources when talking about or quoting someone or research. But your quote doesn't mention gluten or cross reactivity? Perhaps if you had linked to it first, we could have discussed the correct issue? I thought we were talking about something else - not a chemical that might be in INSTANT coffee

You didn't even mention instant coffee in your original posting. Instant coffee has more processing and may have added ingredients not normally found in coffee

Anyone, Celiac or not can have a problem with coffee or any food.

[Zebra007]

Here is the link to the article, I couldn't find it for a while, and it looks like she is referring to coffee, not instant coffee.

 

Open Original Shared Link

[kareng]

Here is the link to the article, I couldn't find it for a while, and it looks like she is referring to coffee, not instant coffee.

Open Original Shared Link

i prefer to get my medical info from an actual medical or scientific Celiac researcher. I wouldn't consider a blog post by a " home economist" a reliable scientific study.

I'll re- quote it here again -

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."

[Zebra007]

This is from a Scientific paper..

 

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I just think it's worth keeping an open mind, and not ruling out the possibilities, bearing in mind as you state there is not enough reliable data yet.

[LauraTX]

Given that the research was affiliated with cyrex labs, and the above linked article is poorly sourced and includes links to purchase the cyrex labs tests.... I would proceed with caution.  Lots of people write very scientific-sounding things and post them on the internet.  If you would like to restrict your diet further, then feel free.  Otherwise, I recommend not doing so as it can make your life harder and not necessarily provide any benefit.