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Coffee should be avoided by those who are Celiac and many who suffer from wheat sensitivity as it contains cross-reactive proteins to gluten.
If you drink coffee, even bulletproof coffee and have gluten sensitivity or celiac, you might want to sit down for this one.
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, 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.
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?
Migraines and other neurological issues – even MS!
Hormone and endocrine problems are another common way for gluten issues to manifest themselves.
How Coffee Triggers Gluten Sensitivity
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 and inflammation issues can occur anywhere in the body 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 then, if you are gluten sensitive in any way shape or form, and it seems that most people are whether they know it or not given the epidemic levels of autoimmune issues today, gluten antibodies have the potential to react to proteins in other foods as if they are gluten thereby triggering an immune and inflammatory response.
The protein in coffee is the most common cross-reactor for gluten. Because it is the protein in the coffee that is the trigger, switching to decaf coffee does not solve the problem. Apparently, instant coffee is the worst offender.
Is it possible to be gluten sensitive and not cross-react to coffee? Yes, it’s possible but you’ll have to do some expensive lab testing with a knowledgeable doctor to find out.
Reference
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
Trying to ignore this one but you keep posting it. Eek!
Because of the healing properties of Organo Gold coffee, those with sensitivities are able to drink it.
Organic coffee would be free of pesticides but not the protein found in the seed of coffee itself.
Oh if that were only true! Just recently bought some Organo coffee thinking the same thing, but it triggered things just like gluten does. I’ve been coffee free for a little over a year and saw a vast improvement, but I was still craving coffee.
What about tea? Just had my stomach scoped yesterday, still no answer for stomach pain. I’ve had just about every type of test. I’m going to try removing gluten next.
Most tea has caffeine except the herbals. I like the licorice root by Stash Tea that helps with the coritsol levels due to adrenal fatigue from too much caffeeine. I also use herbal coffees like Teecino, but only the Dandelion versions because they’re gluten free.
P.S., Some green teas also have caffeine, make sure you choose the herbal green teas.
Caffiene itself isnt the problem, just the protien found in coffee beans and then only in a sub group of patients who still showed symptoms after going GF. Go to google scholar and look at the study abstract at least.
Anyway, tea is fine, green tea, black tea, herbal tea, check what you buy for ingredients though, always. caffiene in energy drinks is fine too, most likely. I figure it is a concentrate or the caffience molecule they add to that rather than coffee bean
also, the study only used instant coffee.. and it was only in vitro… more researcg is needed for this to be credible.
Please excuse my spellling and grammar, I am rushed.
Hi, if you get an upset stomach, try going longer time between meals, don’t eat after sunset till dawn. When you get an upset stomach this might fix it. One level teaspoon (that is a small spoon) of Baking or Bi-carb of soda in a glass of water. It tastes terrible but within a few minutes you should burp out all the acidifying gas from your stomach giving instant relief. Bi-carb of soda contains no Gluten and will also help to balance your bodies PH. Final note: try not to rely to much on it, just use it to settle your upset stomach when you feel the need.
Good luck and blessings on you
Some coffees give me severe chest pain. Others give me heartburn or no symptoms. I am allergic to wheat but not celiac.
I’d be in serious trouble!
Heard this a few years ago and stopped drinking coffee. I’m better without it. Don’t worry, the caffeine only masks your fatigue anyways. Whether the cross-reaction stuff is true or not, I don’t know.
Sit down indeed!
I only have problems with flavored coffee and creamers
Switch to Yerba mate?