Alcohol...why The Issue Now?

[Aly1 23]

Yes, what ravenwoodglass just said! I did not touch any alcohol for over 3 years because I found it made me so ill and I would have 3 day hangovers from just a few drinks, even if I had it on a full stomach. After going gluten-free I read about gluten and grains and alcohol, and wondered if that had been the problem - it was! I am totally fine wih potato vodka.

[UKGail 18]

Fascinating discussion here, and the article posted by AVR was very interesting too.

A friend of mine is a leading liver doctor, who specialises in alcoholic liver disease. He insists that individuals have varying degrees of susceptibility to alcoholic liver disease. He has patients in end-stage disease who have consumed the same amount of alcohol as their peer group over a period of time, but are dying whereas their peers are (currently) fine.

It seems like common sense to me that it is probably better to avoid alchohol while healing from celiac disease, taking it up again in moderation as and when your body can tolerate it.

I figured out in my twenties that I didn't tolerate alcholol well after first falling ill with "post-viral fatigue syndrome", and that beer in particular made me really sick. I stuck to wine in moderate doses instead. The intolerance worsened slowly over the years, to the point where I could not drink it at all, and still can't even after 5 months of gluten free. I still live in hope of the occasional glass of wine though! I do test it out now and again, and always regret it afterwards, unless it is just half a glass or so, and very rarely at that.

[Gemini 871]

Sorry, I get fed up by the American puritanism that often condemns one or two drinks a week. Doctors are infected by it as readily and irrationally as anyone else. Sometimes they lose perspective that restricting something like alcohol 100% can create stress that is even worse for healing than the occasional drink was. We already have stressful diets!

The devastating effects of alcoholism, or even of having two or three drinks rather than one on sensitive stomachs are pretty well known. I doubt we're talking about that much alcohol though.

I don't know what made Lucky97's doctor nervous, but Aly1's doctor just sounds inflexible.

I have to agree with your line of thought, Skylark. It's another area where doctors go overboard. I do think if you are still healing, then maybe alcohol should be avoided. I did not drink at all for most of my adult life because I was a mess from undiagnosed Celiac and it ripped up my gut. However, I have healed really well and have a new found love for red wine. I have a glass every day and my gut feels great. If you make sure you have food with alcohol, it shouldn't be a problem. I never drink on an empty stomach. My doctor, on one of the rare occasions when I went to her, did not like the fact that I have a drink everyday. Tough tooties! It does wonder for the stress of everyday life and there is enough of that going around. Europeans drink a lot more wine than Americans do and they always seem more relaxed than we are.

[ravenwoodglass 1,429]

I have to agree with your line of thought, Skylark. It's another area where doctors go overboard. I do think if you are still healing, then maybe alcohol should be avoided. I did not drink at all for most of my adult life because I was a mess from undiagnosed Celiac and it ripped up my gut. However, I have healed really well and have a new found love for red wine. I have a glass every day and my gut feels great. If you make sure you have food with alcohol, it shouldn't be a problem. I never drink on an empty stomach. My doctor, on one of the rare occasions when I went to her, did not like the fact that I have a drink everyday. Tough tooties! It does wonder for the stress of everyday life and there is enough of that going around. Europeans drink a lot more wine than Americans do and they always seem more relaxed than we are.

I think a lot of doctors attitudes to people having one drink a day is because so many of them think that we are 'underestimating' how much we drink. Many doctors think if someone says they have one drink a day that they actually mean a whole bottle. One glass of wine a day or one alcohol beverage a day is fine, IMHO as long as someone is well healed and doesn't have any liver issues. If more doctors listened to us and didn't assume that we under or over exagerte (sp) our symptoms and our habits a lot of us would have been diagnosed a heck of a lot sooner. My doctors always assumed my liver panels were off because I drank and was lieing about it. I wasn't, I rarely drank and those panels were off because of my undiagnosed celiac.

[Gemini 871]

I think a lot of doctors attitudes to people having one drink a day is because so many of them think that we are 'underestimating' how much we drink. Many doctors think if someone says they have one drink a day that they actually mean a whole bottle. One glass of wine a day or one alcohol beverage a day is fine, IMHO as long as someone is well healed and doesn't have any liver issues. If more doctors listened to us and didn't assume that we under or over exagerte (sp) our symptoms and our habits a lot of us would have been diagnosed a heck of a lot sooner. My doctors always assumed my liver panels were off because I drank and was lieing about it. I wasn't, I rarely drank and those panels were off because of my undiagnosed celiac.

You know, Raven....I had elevated liver enzymes when I wasn't drinking at all and it was the same as you...undiagnosed celiac disease. Now that I am healed and drinking wine everyday, my liver panels are great!

[lucky97 3]

Are you drinking hard ciders that are specifically labeled gluten free? Maybe that could be the problem.

I love drinking hard cider, as I miss beer very much...along with crunchy food (which I am finding more of though).

Aly1 - If you were drinking vodka. I know I never never get D, even pre-gluten free. I had my first vodka since being gluten free within 2 hours I spent the rest of the day in the bathroom with D. I know everything affects everyone different, but I used to drink vodka a lot, I was kind of shocked by that reaction. I definitly think some brands no matter how they are distilled must still have gluten. I emailed the company too, they claim all their flavors are gluten free because of the distilling process.

No, I only drank gluten free hard ciders...Strongbow, Woodchuck (yuk), Magners if it was available and it rarely was. None of the "amber ciders."

[GFinDC 854]

Link to an article posted by Scott. I posted just a snippet of the article. Something to think about I figure.

celiac com thread:

Why Liver Problems Require a Look at Celiac Disease - LiverSupport.com

Liver Support com article:

Why Liver Problems Require a Look at Celiac Disease

February 9th, 2012

Due to an apparent link between the two ailments, those with liver disease are advised to be evaluated for Celiac disease, and vice versa.

By Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.

....

Celiac and the Liver

Celiac disease is commonly associated with liver damage: