horrific damage by coffee!

[GodHelpMe]

Hi everyone

I was diagnosed with celiac finally last month.  As a child I was diagnosed with "gluten intolerance" by a doctor but my care-givers didn't take things seriously and while they let me refuse bread (I had a natural dislike of bread and all wheat products), they still forced me to eat stuff like pasta and other products containing wheat and other glutens.  I was ill throughout my childhood and also had intolerance to all dairy products.

 

Because I naturally disliked wheat and similar products, I had not eaten wheat or other gluten products in at least 10 years by the time I was diagnosed with celiac.  The most exposure to gluten would have been when I ate out in restaurants (typically about twice a month) and might have been exposed to meals containing soy sauce with gluten in it or cross contaminated foods.  Other than that I completely cooked from scratch at all times.

 

My doctor was convinced that I was "cross reacting" to eggs (I'd vomit violently within minutes of eating even half a boiled egg), dairy (I'd become very, very ill even from a little butter), coffee and sesame.  I had been consuming coffee daily for years and was eating sesame in the form of tahini several times a week.  It was only when I eliminated coffee and sesame that I began to feel healthy again.  My gut issues pretty much resolved as soon as I stopped the coffee and tahini. 

 

But I've noticed that some people write off this idea of "cross reactivity" as a myth and think it's nonsense?

[kareng]

1 hour ago, GodHelpMe said:

Hi everyone

I was diagnosed with celiac finally last month.  As a child I was diagnosed with "gluten intolerance" by a doctor but my care-givers didn't take things seriously and while they let me refuse bread (I had a natural dislike of bread and all wheat products), they still forced me to eat stuff like pasta and other products containing wheat and other glutens.  I was ill throughout my childhood and also had intolerance to all dairy products.

 

Because I naturally disliked wheat and similar products, I had not eaten wheat or other gluten products in at least 10 years by the time I was diagnosed with celiac.  The most exposure to gluten would have been when I ate out in restaurants (typically about twice a month) and might have been exposed to meals containing soy sauce with gluten in it or cross contaminated foods.  Other than that I completely cooked from scratch at all times.

 

My doctor was convinced that I was "cross reacting" to eggs (I'd vomit violently within minutes of eating even half a boiled egg), dairy (I'd become very, very ill even from a little butter), coffee and sesame.  I had been consuming coffee daily for years and was eating sesame in the form of tahini several times a week.  It was only when I eliminated coffee and sesame that I began to feel healthy again.  My gut issues pretty much resolved as soon as I stopped the coffee and tahini. 

 

But I've noticed that some people write off this idea of "cross reactivity" as a myth and think it's nonsense?

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.  "

 

You can have a problem, intolerance, allergy, etc. with eggs or coffee or whatever food....  People without Celiac have issues with them sometimes, too.

[GFinDC]

Hi,

Karen is right.  You can have food intolerances to any food.  And they may develop as a side affect of having uncontrolled celiac disease.  That doesn't mean though they are exactly the same reactions as in celiac disease.  If they were actually cross-reactive foods, many of us would have those reactions to the same foods, and our symptoms would be the same as for a glutening, right?  And the recovery time from eating them would be the same also.  I have other food intolerance besides gluten, but I don't have the same symptoms or reactions as I do when eating gluten.  I also get over the symptoms faster than from glutenings.  That doesn't mean they are fun though!

Many members have other food intolerances beyond gluten.  It's probably because of the gut irritation we have from eating gluten.  I don't think there have been any serious attempts to identify the causes of those additional food intolerances yet.  Regardless, it's a great idea to identify them through an elimination diet and then avoid them.  Sometimes people have food intolerances for life, sometimes the other food intolerances are temporary.

My bad list is gluten, dairy, soy, nightshades, carrots, celery, caffeine (not just coffee).  Probably something I'm forgetting at the moment.  Those all cause me symptoms, but that doesn't mean they are cross reacting.  We usually call them additional food intolerances around here.

Welcome to the forum!

[Plonkers]

Oh man, you and I are in the same boat.  I cannot tolerate sesame (tahini) for some reason and ... my beloved coffee.  It is the last thing that I haven't really given up even though I feel better without it.  I have GERD-like symptoms with my celiac and coffee mimics some of the pain (although not as severe as gluten).  What can I say, I'm a coffee addict.  I give it up for a bit, then sneak a  cup, and it's downhill from there, rinse and repeat.  I also can't eat dairy.  I blame undiagnosed celiac for all of my random food intolerances (avocado, walnut, banana, kiwi, portobello mushroom, tahini).  They have come on one by one over the years.  Let's hope now that I'm gluten-free I don't get anymore!

Good luck!