Why some types of coffee should be avoided by those with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, as they contain cross-reactive proteins that can trigger the same inflammatory response.
If you drink coffee and have gluten sensitivity or Celiac disease, be aware that this hot beverage can worsen symptoms.
Even bulletproof coffee can trigger problems.
There is a surprising connection between gluten and coffee that is, by and large, ignored by the health community.
This revelation holds ramifications for other autoimmune disorders as well.
The problem has nothing to do with caffeine, so decaf coffee would be included in this discussion.
In a nutshell, 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.
Symptoms of Gluten Sensitivity
Most people who are gluten sensitive don’t realize it because gastrointestinal problems like burping, gas, tummy upset, or toilet issues are the least common way for gluten issues to present themselves!
The most common symptoms of gluten sensitivity are actually migraines and other neurological issues – even MS!
Hormone and endocrine problems are another common way for gluten issues to manifest themselves.
How Coffee Triggers Autoimmunity
So what exactly happens when a gluten sensitive person eats gluten?
Folks with gluten antibodies react to any gluten in the diet by mounting an immune response.
This means that gluten is perceived by the body as an invader and the gluten antibodies attack the gluten itself trying to destroy it.
This gluten attack is an inflammatory response that can occur anywhere in the body and in any tissue or organ.
Here’s the real shocker I came across when researching the coffee/gluten connection:
According to Dr. David Clark DC, functional neurologist and endocrinologist:
There’s not a disease or health condition you can think of that does not have an association – in the research literature – with gluten sensitivity.
That’s a very strong statement!
In essence, if you are gluten sensitive in any way, shape or form, gluten antibodies have the potential to react to proteins in other foods, triggering an immune and inflammatory response.
The protein in coffee is the most common cross-reactor to gluten.
Because it is the protein in the coffee that is the trigger, switching to decaf coffee does not solve the problem.
Worst Types of Coffee for Gluten Sensitive/Celiacs
Is it possible to be gluten sensitive or Celiac and not cross-react to coffee?
Yes, it’s possible, but you may need to do some expensive lab testing to find out for sure. (1)
If you prefer not to shell out of your own pocket for this type of testing (insurance likely will not cover it), avoiding coffee is the easiest route to go! The good news is that skipping coffee saves adrenal health too!
If you choose to drink coffee anyway, research published in the Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences has identified the worst offenders for coffee cross-reactivity with gluten: (2)
- Instant coffee
- Preground coffee
The “Good Stuff”
According to Primal Body, Primal Mind author Nora Gedgaudas CNS, CNT, if you are gluten sensitive or Celiac, it is very important to drink the “good stuff” if you choose to drink coffee at all.
This means buying organic roasted coffee beans and grinding them yourself to make a cuppa at home!
Definitely skip the Starbucks drive-through and other coffee vendors where the quality is unknown or suspect.
References
(1) Cyrex Labs
(2) Cross-Reaction between Gliadin and Different Food and Tissue Antigens, Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
More Information
You Probably Need to Change WHEN You Drink Coffee
Coffee Enema
Morning Coffee Fix
Caffeine and Chronic Back Pain
Healthy Coffee Substitutes
How do you feel about Colloidal Silver? I am just beginning to make my own and I would love to know more about it. Anyone have any feedback?
Goodness, I am surprised at all the negativity here. Thank you Sarah, for talking about something that really IS occuring and I find information about this ALL the time as a nutritional therapist. I consider Dr. Tom O’Bryan a very credible resource…so good job! My question is regarding coffee cross reaction and coffee enemas. any thoughts? Seems like they would still be fine but I can’t find any info on this. Thanks for all your hard work, I end up on your page frequently for various topics 🙂
Very very interesting! I don’t tolerate either gluten or coffee and nor do the majority of my clients who are women. I’m going to have to dig deeper on this one and look forward to reading up on the science behind this.
I have never been a fan of coffee – I consider it a drug that we self-medicate with – but this puts it into a whole new category of never ever ever!
I did some further reading and per Kerry’s comment above this is the document to read
Food and Nutrition Sciences, 2013 http://www.scirp.org/journal/fns
Cross-Reaction between Gliadin and Different Food and Tissue Antigens by Aristo Vojdani1, Igal Tarash
It does state that the instant coffee samples were contaminated with gluten, and that “drinking pure coffee, but not instant coffee, may be safe for individuals with gluten sensitivity and celiac disease as long as they do not have classical allergy to coffee.”
I work with anxious women and most cannot tolerate coffee/caffeine. This in itself is a reason to quit.
So I do stand my earlier comment about coffee being a drug that we self-medicate with — you just have to read some of the distressed comments on this blog to see this ïŠ. By getting enough sleep, supporting the adrenals, addressing low catecholamines, anemia and thyroid problems, many of my clients are able to quit. But I have to say it’s tough for most of them. But once they have quit they can’t believe they made such an issue about it and are pleased about it.
Good day! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog. Is it very hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about creating my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any points or suggestions? With thanks
Gosh, I drink coffee several times per week, eat bread once or twice per week, pasta, once or twice per month, and I have never had an issue, symptom, reaction allergic or otherwise to gluten. Are you sure this isn’t another one of those hysterias?
I know a lot of people here in California who are “gluten sensitive” and a sip of coffee would never get within one mile of them. But, I cannot help but noticing, a very pronounced correlation with this claim and mental illness, highly dysfunctional, have never held a job, believes “the universe will provide” and all sorts of delusional belief systems. Strange. Just a strong positive correlation. Jus’ sayin’.
Marti,
A discussion on gluten in [artificial] coffee probably not appropriate place for a discussion on ‘is Celiac disease real because I don’t have it’. But let me say ..
Indeed I eat shell fish without problem, though my friend J has cardiac arrest if he does so. Do you think maybe he fakes those? Many people have symptoms that are very real and sometimes very serious. Yes it is real, and it is a very big deal. You can find a lot of information about symptoms and stories on the internet in other forums on those topics.
I can assure you that gluten intolerance is a very real illness and far removed from mental illnesses, though feeling sick for more than a year without understanding why, caused mild depression with me…Im a normal human being again after I got diagnosed and exclude all gluten from my diet…back again at exercising etc…I am a trauma therapist and therefore work with mental and emotional patients for over a decade…There’s definitely no correlation like you are pondering about. Just be thankful for your health!
Thanks for the clarification Tyffanie.
.. much instant coffee is a wheat product, as is much coffee, I fail to understand the focus on real coffee in the posts here when the liquid that is being consumed by most people as ‘coffee’ is a wheat product. Isn’t this missing the point? .. or do you all work for the food industry and your concern is getting the protein that trigger celiac out of these products?
There is no published research on this topic yet. However, Dr. Vojdani who is with Cyrex Labs never said all coffee is cross-reactive to gluten. He said only instant coffee was cross reactive in his research. I believe his research is yet to be published on this topic for peer review. Coffee does have some health benefits but can also put a drain on the adrenals and cause other health problems. But ditching ALL coffee because one is gluten sensitive was not the intention nor suggestion of Dr. Vojdani.