Different celiac disease Allergy And Alcohol Reactions?

[Ks8152030]

Hi there! My name is Kayla, I was diagnosed with Celiac about 6 months ago at 29 years old. I have gone through all sorts of trial and errors, not only with food but also with alcohol. I can't drink red wine, beer obviously, but also cheap liquor. The other night I made a large dinner, gluten free. Followed up with some cheap brandy and 99 proof peppermint schnapps. I didn't have much either, only a few drinks and I got pretty sick. I tried Jose Cuervo tequila in margaritas, on a whole other separate occasion and got very very sick. Now, I can drink Courvoisier with no problems, white wine as well. Though I have noticed that it takes me a bit longer to sober up than I think it should. I feel pretty confused as to why these things (referring to oats, red wine and liquors in general) are supposedly gluten free and I cannot safely drink them. It's a frustrating process, I'm sorry we have to go through it! I was grateful to find your thread because I feel really lost at times because of celiac disease. Thank you for sharing. ❤️

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, Kayla!

About 10% of celiacs react to oat protein the same way they do the gluten in wheat, barley and rye.

Right now, there is a controversy over whether or not distilled spirits truly are gluten free. Apparently for some people they may contain gluten protein fractions that can cause a reaction.

With wines, there is often the issue of sulfites and if not that, they can trigger a histamine storm in those who have histamine sensitivity. That is me, I believe as any kind of alcohol (gluten-free) gives me a migraine, even just a few ounces of white wine or gluten-free beer.

[Ks8152030]

Thank you so much for that info! I appreciate the warm welcome. I do notice I get headaches pretty frequently... now I know why!! 

[trents]

I would suggest you do some research on "histamine intolerance." It is a commonly found in celiacs. It's a bit of a misnomer but the idea is that we aren't breaking down the histamines entering our bodies through what we eat as we should, there's a certain enzyme we don't produce enough of. It's known as DAO I think: https://www.deficitdao.org/en/dao-deficiency/what-is/

The only practical antidote is to practice a low histamine diet which would emphasize fresh foods and avoiding foods naturally high in histamines. Chief among things to avoid would be aged, fermented and pickled things, avocados and bananas. There, that's a starter for you.

Edited March 10, 2021 by trents

[Ks8152030]

Wow!!! Thank you so much. It's a great, and helpful, start. I think this very well could apply to me after reading about it. I appreciate you.

[Kurasz]

On 3/9/2021 at 6:36 PM, Ks8152030 said:

Hi there! My name is Kayla, I was diagnosed with Celiac about 6 months ago at 29 years old. I have gone through all sorts of trial and errors, not only with food but also with alcohol. I can't drink red wine, beer obviously, but also cheap liquor. The other night I made a large dinner, gluten free. Followed up with some cheap brandy and 99 proof peppermint schnapps. I didn't have much either, only a few drinks and I got pretty sick. I tried Jose Cuervo tequila in margaritas, on a whole other separate occasion and got very very sick. Now, I can drink Courvoisier with no problems, white wine as well. Though I have noticed that it takes me a bit longer to sober up than I think it should. I feel pretty confused as to why these things (referring to oats, red wine and liquors in general) are supposedly gluten free and I cannot safely drink them. It's a frustrating process, I'm sorry we have to go through it! I was grateful to find your thread because I feel really lost at times because of celiac disease. Thank you for sharing. ❤️

It Sounds to me like you have and intolerance to glyphosate (Herbicides). I have the same issue. I cannot eat wheat, barley, rye, oats or soy due to the fact that they are sprayed with herbicides before harvest. Oats and wine have the highest glyphosate content of any so called "food products".

[trents]

I find my migraines are more frequent on the early spring and autumn when certain pollen counts are higher. I think my immune system is overloaded at those times and then when histamines from food and beverages is added in it just pushes the histamine load over the edge.

[Ks8152030]

2 hours ago, Kurasz said:

It Sounds to me like you have and intolerance to glyphosate (Herbicides). I have the same issue. I cannot eat wheat, barley, rye, oats or soy due to the fact that they are sprayed with herbicides before harvest. Oats and wine have the highest glyphosate content of any so called "food products".

That is very interesting. Especially since I have noticed soy bothers me too. I had to switch to almond milk. 

17 minutes ago, trents said:

I find my migraines are more frequent on the early spring and autumn when certain pollen counts are higher. I think my immune system is overloaded at those times and then when histamines from food and beverages is added in it just pushes the histamine load over the edge.

May I ask how you counteract it? Do you take allergy medicine??

[trents]

28 minutes ago, Ks8152030 said:

That is very interesting. Especially since I have noticed soy bothers me too. I had to switch to almond milk. 

May I ask how you counteract it? Do you take allergy medicine??

I have taken the generic equivalent of Zyrtec for years. Occasionally, I will pop a Benadryl to supplement that. You can buy DAO capsules but they are expensive and I'm not sure they provided any help to me though admittedly, I was kind of hit and miss with them.

When the bad headaches set in, I take sumatriptan. It is the only thing that works for me and it works reliably and well. Takes about 45 minutes to act.

For those with histamine intolerance, our food distribution system is a disadvantage. All food increases in histamine count over time and so much of what we eat in developed countries is dried or canned or frozen and sits on the shelf for months or years. In some ways, we would do better in third world countries where the food distribution system is open air market and bought fresh every day. But that also has it's risks.

Edited March 11, 2021 by trents

[Ks8152030]

Thank you so much for the information! It's been really helpful, I appreciate you!

[Lboisvert]

On 6/22/2009 at 11:38 PM, maile said:

hi David,

 

I'm glad the primary person is willing to forgive you, what you described sounds like an unsettling experience.

 

as for your question about how alcohol affects us, I too am self diagnosed but can say that in the past year and a half I've progressively become a "cheap drunk" in the sense that it takes less and less exposure to trigger a tipsy feeling. and by less and less I mean down to 1-2 glasses in an evening. so yes, based on personal experience I would say we are more greatly affected by alcohol.

 

Also had another thought, those "shooter things" , do you know what they are made of? Could it have been grain based?

I know alcohol is supposed to be "safe" but after a couple of years of feeling sick after 1 drink made with Absolut Vodka but feeling fine after having the same cocktail made with potato vodka I'm more of a mind to think some of us are just going to react to wheat no matter what the form.

From my knowledge Absolut Vodka (at least the flavored ones) are not gluten free (per the liquor store guy).  Deep Eddy's and Smirnoff both have gluten free on the labels and even the flavored ones are gluten free which is normally where the issue is.   Tito's is gluten free as well but I am not a fan of corn based vodka.

[Scott Adams]

The liquor store guy probably means well, but likely would not be the best source for info on this. Here is an article we did recently on Absolut: