I would just drop a line on beer and us people with colitis.
I am not a beer drinker, but here in Norway we can buy a mexican beer called Corona. Neither swedish nor norwegian health authorities have found any trace of gluten in this beer.
Hopefully you can find Corona in the U.S.
Corona Beer — Is It Gluten-Free?
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Hi Lilja,
You bring up a very interesting topic — interesting enough that I thought it deserved to have its own thread — foods that are made with gluten, but test under 20 ppm, which meets the official government labeling guidelines for "gluten-free" in most countries in the world. For some background insight, here's a small part of what the Gluten Dude has to say about this:
Is Corona Gluten-Free?
But Corona is not the only product that is made with gluten (usually barley), but passes the 20 ppm test. Rice Dream is another. McDonald's French fries is another. There are surely others that I'm not even aware of.
But while Corona has never even tried to promote their beer as GF, Rice Dream has always been positioned in the market as a GF product, and McDonald's still insists that their fries have always been GF. So what's the difference, other than attitude?
The problem of course is laws that allow/promote the labeling of products that contain small amounts of gluten, as gluten-free. These laws defy logic by claiming that it is OK to redefine the meaning of the word "free", to mean "limited" just for the purposes of the law itself. This is reminiscent of the concept of "doublespeak" which evolved from George Orwell's use of the term "doublethink" in the book, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which turned out to be eerily predictive of the mindset that seems to be so common in government politics today. When a law declares that something is not what we all know it to be (by claiming that small amounts of gluten are not gluten), it's no wonder that virtually everyone is confused.
So is Corona gluten-free? No, but it's certainly just as "gluten-free" as Rice Dream and a zillion other products that actually contain small amounts of gluten but are now legally "gluten-free" because of the law.
At least that's the way that I see it.
Tex
You bring up a very interesting topic — interesting enough that I thought it deserved to have its own thread — foods that are made with gluten, but test under 20 ppm, which meets the official government labeling guidelines for "gluten-free" in most countries in the world. For some background insight, here's a small part of what the Gluten Dude has to say about this:
Ok…see if you can following the bouncing ball.
Corona is not a gluten-free beer.
But it has been tested to under 20ppm, so it is a gluten-free beer.
Yet it’s made with barley, so it’s not a gluten-free beer.
But according to the FDA, since it’s under 20ppm, it is a gluten-free beer.
But then according to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, it can’t be labeled gluten-free because it’s made with barley.
I think I speak for all celiacs when I say…HUH??
Let me make one thing perfectly clear here. I will never drink Corona. Or Bud Light. Or Heineken. Or any of the other beers that some celiacs are convincing themselves they can drink.
Why? BECAUSE IT HAS GLUTEN IN IT.
The bigger questions I have are:
How are some of these beers testing to under 20ppm?
How does the FDA feel about beers made with barley testing to under 20ppm, the limit that they set as safe for celiacs?
Why would any celiac risk it when there are other awesome gluten-free beer options on the market now?
Let me jump around a bit and start with question number 3.
I have researched this topic a bit and am astounded at the number of celiacs who drink this beer. And simply because they “don’t feel too bad afterwards”, they’re convinced it’s safe to drink. My god…is it that important to have a Corona that you’d risk your health for it? I simply do not understand the need to feel normal by drinking “regular” beer. We’re not normal. Get over it.
Heck…the Corona manufacturers themselves don’t even recommend it for celiacs!
Is Corona Gluten-Free?
But Corona is not the only product that is made with gluten (usually barley), but passes the 20 ppm test. Rice Dream is another. McDonald's French fries is another. There are surely others that I'm not even aware of.
But while Corona has never even tried to promote their beer as GF, Rice Dream has always been positioned in the market as a GF product, and McDonald's still insists that their fries have always been GF. So what's the difference, other than attitude?
The problem of course is laws that allow/promote the labeling of products that contain small amounts of gluten, as gluten-free. These laws defy logic by claiming that it is OK to redefine the meaning of the word "free", to mean "limited" just for the purposes of the law itself. This is reminiscent of the concept of "doublespeak" which evolved from George Orwell's use of the term "doublethink" in the book, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which turned out to be eerily predictive of the mindset that seems to be so common in government politics today. When a law declares that something is not what we all know it to be (by claiming that small amounts of gluten are not gluten), it's no wonder that virtually everyone is confused.
So is Corona gluten-free? No, but it's certainly just as "gluten-free" as Rice Dream and a zillion other products that actually contain small amounts of gluten but are now legally "gluten-free" because of the law.
At least that's the way that I see it.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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UkuleleLady
- Gentoo Penguin
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- Location: Texas
Such an interesting topic indeed, and I love the 1984 reference, Tex.
Are you listening, NSA??
Back to beer, Dr. Marsh (the Marsh of Marsh classification system for villous atrophy) claimed in his Gluten Summit presentation from last year that he allows his celiac patients to drink English beer. That "English beer" has been tested and found to have no trace of gluten. (He didn't list a brand, but any English beer). Unfortunately this interview is not available online unless you pay for it, but you can google and people talk about it here and there.
There was no way, however, I was going to start drinking any beer made with glutinous grains. Why risk it? There are some decent sorghum beers and rice beers on the market. Wine is also gluten free. Cider is naturally gluten free. So many options...but to be honest, I recently stopped drinking altogether because I thought it might be setting me back in my healing.
Nancy
Are you listening, NSA??
Back to beer, Dr. Marsh (the Marsh of Marsh classification system for villous atrophy) claimed in his Gluten Summit presentation from last year that he allows his celiac patients to drink English beer. That "English beer" has been tested and found to have no trace of gluten. (He didn't list a brand, but any English beer). Unfortunately this interview is not available online unless you pay for it, but you can google and people talk about it here and there.
There was no way, however, I was going to start drinking any beer made with glutinous grains. Why risk it? There are some decent sorghum beers and rice beers on the market. Wine is also gluten free. Cider is naturally gluten free. So many options...but to be honest, I recently stopped drinking altogether because I thought it might be setting me back in my healing.
Nancy
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~The Dalai Lama
Your apprehension may be right on target. One of the problems with alcohol is that among certain foods that antagonize diamine oxidase enxyme (DAO) production, alcohol appears to be the worst, by far. DAO, as I'm sure you're well aware (but I'll mention it here anyway, in case someone else reading this is not), is the enzyme used by the body to clear/purge unused histamine. Without adequate DAO in circulation, histamine continues to build up and can cause chronic problems. It is known that IBDs suppress DAO production, and many of us are at risk of histamine buildup problems because of that alone.Nancy wrote:but to be honest, I recently stopped drinking altogether because I thought it might be setting me back in my healing.
Alcohol has such a potent effect on DAO production, that even normal people experience a DAO reduction after drinking it, So obviously someone who has DAO issues to begin with (such as anyone who has an IBD) is likely to be at risk of a much more pronounced total effect, and this can easily tip the balance the wrong way.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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JamesEcuador
- Adélie Penguin
- Posts: 54
- Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 6:59 pm
I learned the hard way! When I went back to England in April I was greeted by my mum with a 12 bottle-gift pack of European, mostly British, gluten free beers that she had bought online. Was such a nice gift since I miss beer a lot and obviously Ecuador has no GF alternatives to anything. With all my innocence and a clear lack of knowledge or research, I thought I was in heaven and was planning in my head my 12 special moments. Unfortunately the first bottle made me as sick as a dog, as sick as I would be with a gluten beer. I was shocked and started to question that perhaps all this gluten nonsense was in my own head until I investigated online and found that all the beers in the pack did in fact have gluten in them. I gave them all away 
I wouldn't dare try any English beers now - I'm clearly far too sensitive. Cider works a treat though so I can manage to survive in pub surroundings
I wouldn't dare try any English beers now - I'm clearly far too sensitive. Cider works a treat though so I can manage to survive in pub surroundings James,
Thanks for sharing that experience and insight. I have a hunch that the reason why so many celiacs claim to be able to tolerate such beers (and oats, for that matter) is because they are not nearly as sensitive to gluten as many/most of us are.
And to make it doubly confusing, they're the ones who show positive test results to the classic celiac blood tests, while most of us (unless we also have celiac disease) always show negative results.
In all fairness, it would seem that the least that celiacs could do would be for them to have the decency to be as sensitive to gluten as we are. If they were, that would prevent most of those half-baked claims about the safety of so-called gluten-free products that aren't actually gluten-free (and aren't actually safe).
Tex
Thanks for sharing that experience and insight. I have a hunch that the reason why so many celiacs claim to be able to tolerate such beers (and oats, for that matter) is because they are not nearly as sensitive to gluten as many/most of us are.
And to make it doubly confusing, they're the ones who show positive test results to the classic celiac blood tests, while most of us (unless we also have celiac disease) always show negative results.
In all fairness, it would seem that the least that celiacs could do would be for them to have the decency to be as sensitive to gluten as we are. If they were, that would prevent most of those half-baked claims about the safety of so-called gluten-free products that aren't actually gluten-free (and aren't actually safe).Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
