Is Coffee Gluten Free?

 Many people love to wake up to their morning cup of coffee. They simply cannot get going until that first cup has passed their lips. But is safe for celiacs to drink coffee? Coffee fanatics love the taste, they love the aroma and they love to routine; not to mention they love the morning caffeine hit. Some of my customers when I owned Bacio Café would come back for 3-4 cups in the morning!

Well the fact is that pure coffee beans are gluten free and perfectly safe for celiacs. You can buy them as beans or pure ground beans and they will be safe. If you make your coffee at home you are in control of what goes into it. And you can easily read the label on the packet to see if there are any other additives. Using organic, whole-bean is definitely recommended.

But it is a bit more difficult if you get your coffee from the local café, because the problem is that many coffees are NOT pure, not organic and they can pose a risk to the celiac. There is also a risk of gluten cross contamination if the barista does not understand what it means to be gluten free. I have highlighted some of the things to watch out for when ordering your coffee.

Many of the coffee flavorings also known as monins, such as caramel (caramel latte) and vanilla, (vanilla latte) are NOT gluten free. It is essential to check the label to ensure any additives to your coffee are gluten free.  This also applies to milkshake flavorings - they are often NOT gluten free either.

Plain unadulterated milk is also gluten free, but when it comes to soy milk you need to be very careful. Not all soy milk is gluten free, and so once again, you need to find out the brand you or your local café is using and check the label.

The other additive commonly added to coffee is chocolate, either sprinkled on the top of a cappuccino, or mixed in a mocha, or even just pure hot chocolate could be the source of gluten contamination so a celiac must check it all out. Not many baristas will be aware of the hidden sources of gluten when they make your coffee, mocha or hot chocolate so it is up to you to check it all out.

But recently, there have been some reports that perhaps those with celiac disease should not drink coffee. An article on Facebook titled “Gluten Issues or Celiac: Don’t Drink Coffee” reports:

“In a nutshell, fairly recent lab research has revealed that 10% of coffee is a protein that cross reacts with gluten antibodies.”

But is this really true?  If you’ve been eating a 100% gluten free diet and are still experiencing gluten related symptoms, the problem may be your coffee intake.  That being said, there are actually several foods that cause some sort of reaction in those who are sensitive to or intolerant of gluten. This is because the proteins in these foods are perceived by the body as invaders in the same way gluten is.

There are several foods that cause what’s called a gluten cross-reactivity in those who are sensitive to or intolerant of gluten. This is because the proteins in these foods are perceived by the body as invaders in the same way gluten is.

Dairy is the most common cross-reactive food for those with gluten issues, because of its casein proteins. But coffee also contains problematic proteins and the cross reaction to coffee has actually been found to be one of the most severe.

In a study published in Food and Nutritional Sciences, researchers found this reaction was limited to highly-processed coffee, such as instant coffee, ground coffee and flavoured coffee. What researchers believe is that the processing itself contributes to the problem because organic, whole-bean coffees do not produce cross-reactivity issues. While more research is needed, it’s thought that the proteins in coffee are changed in such a way during processing that the body perceives them as a threat, which causes the same inflammatory responses and symptoms as gluten in those that are sensitive or allergic to it. 

But this same reaction can also occur in people who do not have celiac disease so is it caused by a gluten reaction or a totally unrelated reaction to coffee proteins?  The processing of dairy products is also known to cause a gluten-like reaction due to the changes to dairy protein.

Common coffee symptoms include migraine, mental fogginess and fatigue. Unfortunately, when people experience these symptoms, they reach for yet another cup, which leads to more symptoms. Add to this the fact that most people also add some form of dairy to their coffee, and you now have two potential ways they could be having cross reactive gluten like inflammatory damage.

The possibility is that you are actually allergic to some other sort of food or coffee additive is also a possibility. Contaminants in the coffee could also be a cause of the symptoms.

Mycotoxins

Another possible problem with coffee is that they may be contaminated with mycotoxins. Coffee beans are often contaminated by a toxic mould known as ochratoxin A, which produces these mycotoxins. Roasting the coffee tends to reduce the natural levels. Most people do not react to it, but some others can have a severe reaction to it. It seems to affect people with celiac disease more often than the normal population. But once again this is not a reaction to gluten but a totally unrelated reaction.

Pesticides

Coffee crops are often heavily loaded with pesticides.  Pesticides can cause intestinal damage, leaky gut, and disrupt hormones (especially estrogen). That is why it is best to drink organic coffee only.

Caffeine

The caffeine content in coffee ranges from 100-200 mg per serve depending on the type and strength of the brew.  Caffeine is a common gastric irritant and can lead to mucosal degradation in the stomach and oesophagus. Some people who have gluten induced gastrointestinal damage may also have problems with regular coffee consumption.  Caffeine can also overstimulate the adrenal glands which can be very detrimental for someone already suffering with adrenal burnout or adrenal insufficiency.  You may need to eliminate caffeine for several months while your body is recovering.

It can be hard for people to pinpoint the problem, because pure coffee is a gluten free food.  So if you are not feeling better on a 100% gluten free diet coffee is a factor you need to consider. Stay off coffee for 2-3 weeks to allow the coffee residues to be eliminated from your body. Hopefully you will show some improvement.

Then do a challenge test by introducing coffee back into your diet. Start with just one cup in the morning, but make sure you use pure, organic, whole-bean coffee. If your symptoms diminished or went away entirely after a couple of weeks without coffee and your one cup of whole-bean coffee doesn’t produce any symptoms, then it’s safe to say that you can go back to your normal coffee intake, but stay away from instant and ground coffees and make sure that any flavorings and chocolate sprinkling is gluten free.

Using organic, whole-bean is definitely the better choice, and there are plenty of interesting and exotic organic beans for you to discover. The upside of this is that freshly ground coffee is superior in taste and aroma, and so, you can remove your symptoms and still enjoy a great cup of coffee. 

If you want to make sure your local cafe of restaurant is preparing your gluten free coffee and food correctly, pass on this book which details all the procedures they need to take to achieve 100% gluten free. Many of them certainly need this education to ensure you are safe!

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