Alcohol on the Fasano Diet?

[disgruntledceliac]

Hi folks,

Been on the Fasano Diet for close to six months. Feeling so much better, and my DH finally went away.

With the festive season coming up I'd like to know if there are any alcoholic beverages safe for somebody following the Fasano Diet. Most gluten-free beers I know of contain millet, which isn't okay under this diet.

How about ciders, gin, and vodka? Are they ever safe? Any tips?

[kareng]

7 minutes ago, disgruntledceliac said:

Hi folks,

Been on the Fasano Diet for close to six months. Feeling so much better, and my DH finally went away.

With the festive season coming up I'd like to know if there are any alcoholic beverages safe for somebody following the Fasano Diet. Most gluten-free beers I know of contain millet, which isn't okay under this diet.

How about ciders, gin, and vodka? Are they ever safe? Any tips?

Does the diet list any alcohol? No.  So there is no safe alcohol if you are doing the Fasano elimination diet.  Its done for people who don't respond to the regular gluten-free diet.  So unhealthy/irritating items like alcohol would not be allowed.  

Now, your doctor should be monitoring your repsonse to this diet.  Usually it isn't necessary for more than 3-6 months

 

Edited December 20, 2018 by kareng

[disgruntledceliac]

Thanks for the reply kareng.

Great point. I guess I'm wondering if my stomach healed -- as per the goals of the Fasano diet -- what would be some drinks that would be relatively safe to try? As I mentioned above, I like cider, gin and vodka (to varying degrees) and wouldn't mind giving some of these a try.

 

[kareng]

52 minutes ago, disgruntledceliac said:

Thanks for the reply kareng.

Great point. I guess I'm wondering if my stomach healed -- as per the goals of the Fasano diet -- what would be some drinks that would be relatively safe to try? As I mentioned above, I like cider, gin and vodka (to varying degrees) and wouldn't mind giving some of these a try.

 

I think you should complete your Elimination diet, be re-tested to see if it worked, before you go off the diet.  Obviously, your refractory Celiac is why you went on it.  If it didn't work, you will need to talk to your doctor about where you go next.  

 

PS.  It is your small intestines healing that is the focus of the Fasano diet.   Or maybe "stomach" is just the easy word to use? I do tend to say my "stomach" is upset but mean intestines. ?

[cyclinglady]

I am a little confused.  So you went on the Fasano diet with your doctor’s approval to see if you could finally rid yourself of DH, right?  It appears that the diet has been successful because your DH has resolved and now you want to experiment with alcohol.  Chances are your gut has healed too.  Usually DH appears much faster.   I listen to those with DH because if they get glutened they can actually SEE it!   Do you have any good guesses as to how gluten was getting into your diet before the Fasano diet?  Or did you determine you were super sensitive and that 20 ppm was too much for you?  Your response could help fellow DH sufferers.  

Back to alcohol.  I personally would choose a potato vodka and squeeze fresh juice (e.g. an orange) into it.  I did the Fasano diet too and it may or may not have healed my gut.  No way to know for sure.  It did not help my actual stomach because a repeat endoscopy revealed a healed small intestine but autoimmune gastritis.  On the Fasano diet, I did consume coffee with cream.  I did not drink Gatorade.  I think the PED GIs allowed that because kids will drink it and it helps with electrolytes which can be good for active celiacs.  The diet did let me debunk that old silly internet coffee cross reactor myth for sure!!!

 

Edited December 21, 2018 by cyclinglady

[apprehensiveengineer]

On 12/20/2018 at 6:40 PM, disgruntledceliac said:

Hi folks,

Been on the Fasano Diet for close to six months. Feeling so much better, and my DH finally went away.

With the festive season coming up I'd like to know if there are any alcoholic beverages safe for somebody following the Fasano Diet. Most gluten-free beers I know of contain millet, which isn't okay under this diet.

How about ciders, gin, and vodka? Are they ever safe? Any tips?

Hey. I feel this post.

I am quite sensitive, and am still on a more-or-less Fasano diet. I did the official version (plus whole bean coffee, plus wine), and eventually started adding in additional gluten-free foods as tolerated.

Personally, I have done ok with almost all wines, gluten-free labelled cider, and gluten-free (not removed!) beers from reputable brands. Some gluten-free beers made by smaller companies that also make "real" beer use shared equipment, and some use oats, so I avoid those. For beer, I stick with Glutenberg (inexpensive, widely available, true taste), but Ghostfish is amazing as well if that's available where you are. No problems with those brands.

I'm still a bit apprehensive about distilled alcohols. I understand (and have performed!) distillation, but know that some brands add flavourings etc. post-distillation, or share equipment/have CC risk. As such, I avoid distilled alcohols unless they are willing to claim that they are gluten-free. This goes for food as well (since distilled alcohol/vinegar can appear in food). To be honest, I don't really like spirits, but I think that Tito's (vodka) would be a good option.

 

[Beverage]

If you do try beer, remember to check that it is beer not made with any gluten ingredients ... i.e., GLUTEN REMOVED IS NOT OK for those with Celiac's.  If you can get it in your area, Ghostfish is my favorite, certified gluten free and even tastes good to those that don't have to be gluten free.

[disgruntledceliac]

Thanks all for your responses. I tried some locally produced ciders and came out a-okay. It was nice. I'm not a big drinker, but having my first couple drinks in over six months was a nice change of pace during the holidays.

 

I have some Glutenberg that I was gifted. I've avoided drinking it because it is made from millet, which is prohibited while on the Fasano diet. I'm generally adhering to the Fasano diet as my base diet for now, while expanding into other foods to see how I react. (So far so good.) After six months of following the Fasano diet should I be okay to try a Glutenberg?

[apprehensiveengineer]

1 hour ago, disgruntledceliac said:

Thanks all for your responses. I tried some locally produced ciders and came out a-okay. It was nice. I'm not a big drinker, but having my first couple drinks in over six months was a nice change of pace during the holidays.

 

I have some Glutenberg that I was gifted. I've avoided drinking it because it is made from millet, which is prohibited while on the Fasano diet. I'm generally adhering to the Fasano diet as my base diet for now, while expanding into other foods to see how I react. (So far so good.) After six months of following the Fasano diet should I be okay to try a Glutenberg?

That's good to hear! I have had good luck with small-time local ciders. I always choose ones that say they are gluten-free on the label - most do in Canada these days it seems, which is nice.

I'd say you should feel pretty confident about the Glutenberg. They test their products at an independent lab and don't put it out unless the result is below the detection limit: https://glutenberg.ca/en/faq

I've not had too many problems with adding back in products with non-rice gluten-free grains. For me it seems, the company is more important. For me, a big break-through was realizing that I was probably getting dinged a little from companies that produce gluten-free oats alongside gluten-free products that do not contain oats. I cannot tolerate oats at all, but never thought about this possibility much until I ate a "100% yellow corn chip" that was grey-ish and tasted like oat cakes. The company confirmed that my package had been manufactured in their gluten-free factory, and that they make cereals/granola on the same lines as their corn chips, meaning that my weird chip was likely some oat run leftover. Boo.

Anyways... Glutenberg is one of the few companies I buy grain-based things from. I drink a lot of their beer, too. The other is Kinnikinnick (bread, mixes, baked goods). They make a specific statement that they don't use oats.