"Don

[Menic]

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I don't know about this one. An article by someone who went to a paleo diet conference and heard something from a company that will sell you blood tests. The whole thing sounds pretty sketchy with not much sound scientific information. Also, I don't think it's a good idea to identify your expert as a "functional neurologist". That's like saying I'm a functional skydiver because I jumped out of a tree once....

So, yeah..... is there any more credible sources on this?

[Lisa]

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.

And what's this "cross-reacts"?

[GFreeMO]

Ok, now i'm confused. I thought that coffee was safe. Since I can't find any safe tea, I drink coffee. Is coffee gluten free or not?

[Lisa]

Ok, now i'm confused. I thought that coffee was safe. Since I can't find any safe tea, I drink coffee. Is coffee gluten free or not?

Unflavored coffee is gluten free.

[Menic]

I'd like some more experienced Celiacs to weigh in, but I have never heard of anyone ever saying that coffee causes a reaction in Celiacs.

From what I read, the author is saying that people react to the protein in coffee the same way that they would react to gluten, causing an auto-immune response.

Again, I didn't see any real scientific information, just second-hand information and a rather jumbled description. Sadly, this article is all over Twitter.

I don't know about the site that published the article, but the author claims to have gotten the information at an expo for the Paleo diet, which would argue not drinking coffee anyways. I don't know if this is a PETA-like attempt to keep people away from coffee or what.

Until there is actual available information or some sort of corroboration from a better source, I'd just treat the whole thing as unbelievable.

[kareng]

Yes coffee is gluten-free. This is someone saying something outrageous to get noticed, in my opinion. YOu can put anything on the internet and find someone who will "bite".

Sometimes people can't drink coffee, sometimes people can't eat coconut or peanuts....it has nothing to do with gluten.

Besides, how much protein could be in a brewed beverage?

[Lisa]

I think the topic of "cross reaction" is relatively new. I have heard of no "official" concerns about cross reaction foods and Celiac Disease.

I have only heard blog chatter. And it certainly would not prevent me from my coffee.

[GFreeMO]

I wish all of these so called experts would crawl under some rock and never come out.

I need to quit being so gullible and believing crap I read on the net....Kind of like if you go to webmd and look something up, you can convince yourself your have some horrible disease when you simply had a headache..or whatever.

[kareng]

I wish all of these so called experts would crawl under some rock and never come out.

I need to quit being so gullible and believing crap I read on the net....Kind of like if you go to webmd and look something up, you can convince yourself your have some horrible disease when you simply had a headache..or whatever.

Need a little "Thumbs up" emoticon guy!

[dilettantesteph]

The source Dr. David Clark is a chiropractor. He calls himself a chiropractic neurologist. That is very different from a M.D. neurologist.

[lovegrov]

Ignore it. Drink coffee if you want.

richard

[Menic]

Ignore it. Drink coffee if you want.

richard

Oh, I will.

[sa1937]

Coffee is not something I'd give up just because *someone* thinks I should. I think we need to take some of the statements these people make with a grain of salt.

[Menic]

Since I was curious

from www.coffeechemistry.com (take that article, I unlike you, can site references)

Table 1a: Amino acid composition of coffee (%)

Arabica Robusta

Amino Acid Green Roasted Green Roasted

Alanine 4.75 4.76 4.87 6.84

Arginine 3.61 0.0 2.28 0.0

Asparagine 10.63 9.53 9.44 8.94

Cysteine 2.89 0.76 3.87 0.14

Glutamic acid 19.88 21.11 17.88 24.01

Glycine 6.40 6.71 6.26 7.68

Histidine 2.79 2.27 1.79 2.23

Isoleucine 4.64 4.76 4.11 5.03

Leucine 8.77 10.18 9.04 9.65

Lysine 6.81 3.46 5.36 2.23

Methionine 1.44 1.08 1.29 1.68

Phenylalanine 5.78 5.95 4.67 7.26

Proline 6.60 6.82 6.46 9.35

Serine 5.88 2.60 4.97 0.14

Theorine 3.82 2.71 3.48 2.37

Tyrosine 3.61 4.11 7.45 9.49

Valine 8.05 6.93 6.95 10.47

Summary: No gluten or gliadin.

Cheers!

[moose07]

The article doesn't say that there is gluten in coffee. It says there is a protien in coffee that can cause the same harmful effects as gluten does in people with a gluten issue. I'm not really sure why everyone is disagreeing with this guy. I do think I need to see some more research before I give up my coffee, however, there are still people who says celiacs is a fad. If we are on this forum we know celiacs is NOT a fad.

[psawyer]

If coffee had gluten I would have been dead years ago.

Even if it isn't "gluten," I consume enough of it that if it was problematic, I would certainly know by now. Enjoy your coffee!

[jess-gf]

I've heard various things in bloggerland about other foods cross-reacting, or rather that their molecules can look close enough like gluten that the body believes it is gluten and reacts accordingly. While I doubt the paleo conference is trying to pull one over on everyone (coffee is allowed on the paleo/primal diet) I also would not be ready to quit coffee just yet until I see more hard proof.

[jess-gf]

Ok, now i'm confused. I thought that coffee was safe. Since I can't find any safe tea, I drink coffee. Is coffee gluten free or not?

You can't find any safe tea? Most tea is safe unless it has barley/malt flavoring added. Bigelow and Celestial Seasonings are two major brands that label which of their teas are gluten-free and I've never had a problem with them. Right now I'm drinking a cup of Trader Joe's Earl Grey.

[lovegrov]

Some tea has barley but most is safe.

richard

[Skylark]

The amino acid composition of coffee isn't even remotely relevant. All proteins are made of amino acids.

Dr. Kharrazzian is saying the same thing about a few people who are gluten sensitive cross-reacting to coffee. He says the data is coming out of Cyrex labs. There is peer-reviewed literature on dairy cross-reactions, a poorly executed study on corn cross-reactions (their corn turned out to be CC'd with 80 ppm gluten), and some very old articles showing that people with celiac tend to have more food antibodies to dairy and soy. I haven't found anything peer-reviewed on the coffee so I don't know how they determined that it's a cross-reaction with gluten vs. an occasional food sensitivity.

There is no harm in eliminating coffee for a few weeks to see how you feel. Even if it's not a gluten cross-reaction it can be an allergy/sensitivity. Just make sure you're drinking something else caffeinated like tea or taper off to avoid caffeine withdrawal headaches.

[GFinDC]

I can't do caffeine in either coffee or tea. But that doesn't mean it is a gluten causing a problem for me. It's the caffiene that mucks me up.

Make your own tea: shake some cinnamon and ginger in your teapot and let it heat up. Add some chocolate powder if you like. Chocolate does have some caffeine it though so watch out for that if you are avoiding it.

[IrishHeart]

This again??? :rolleyes:

The "cross-reactivity" theory has been floated on this site before.

It comes from some chiropractors and the owner of Cyrex Labs.

They offer "testing" to show that you "cross-react" with other foods that are "similar" to gluten proteins. (this is not the same as the term "cross-reactivity" as it applies to allergies)

I have searched and searched for medical and scientific articles

and there is no credible evidence that such a thing exists.

I did read one article that was cleverly cobbed together to make it sound like it was valid. I can do that, too.

But honestly, if coffee proteins or any other food proteins (besides the ones we know we should avoid) were a danger to celiacs like us, don't you think doctors and researchers like Fasano, et.al. we would know about it by now??

It's info from a sales-pitch. Whenever anyone wants to sell you information to "make you all better"...it's probably a scam.

IMHO

[Skylark]

Actually I find the published scientific evidence for dairy cross-reactivity very credible. The rest... not so much.

[IrishHeart]

Actually I find the published scientific evidence for dairy cross-reactivity very credible. The rest... not so much.

Yes, the dairy is the exception---as you mentioned this earlier ---and I should have re- stated that once more in my rant.

Apologies & thanks for re-clarifying.

[IrishHeart]

I need to quit being so gullible and believing crap I read on the net....

Some things people post on here are misleading, too and we work very hard to "myth-bust" all the time. But it is not always easy.

Bottom line--if someone wants $$$ to "magically cure" you--it's BS.

If there were a CURE for Celiac, it would be front page news and the person who figured it out would win the Nobel Prize in Medicine.