Gluten Consumption + Alcohol Consumption

[Guest]

Hi all - I want to ask a question as it relates to gluten consumption + alcohol consumption to see if anyone here experiences similar symptoms.

Basically here is what I experience in a nutshell:

Gluten consumption - typical gluten side effects like bloating, discomfort etc.

Alcohol consumption - aside from a good buzz, nothing ;-)

Gluten (in food) consumption + alcohol consumption - extreme migraine headache for roughly 12-24 hours; only alleviated by time passing or throwing up everything in my system

This really is a curiosity question more than anything. The obvious solution is to be very careful about not getting glutened from food when drinking, or not drinking. I'd love to know though if anyone else experiences this side effect and if anyone has theories as to why gluten from food might have this effect when drinking alcohol.

Thanks in advance!

[kahwristin]

Hi all - I want to ask a question as it relates to gluten consumption + alcohol consumption to see if anyone here experiences similar symptoms.

Basically here is what I experience in a nutshell:

Gluten consumption - typical gluten side effects like bloating, discomfort etc.

Alcohol consumption - aside from a good buzz, nothing ;-)

Gluten (in food) consumption + alcohol consumption - extreme migraine headache for roughly 12-24 hours; only alleviated by time passing or throwing up everything in my system

This really is a curiosity question more than anything. The obvious solution is to be very careful about not getting glutened from food when drinking, or not drinking. I'd love to know though if anyone else experiences this side effect and if anyone has theories as to why gluten from food might have this effect when drinking alcohol.

Thanks in advance!

 Well first I have to ask if you have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease or a gluten sensitivity? Also, it could depend on the type of alcohol you're drinking. Beer and Malt Liquor (Mike's Hard Lemonade) contain gluten and can give you a bad reaction after consuming them, while wine and liquor tend to be gluten free (but not always) and will cause no reaction. So if you're getting sick after drinking a beer and eating gluten then that is even more gluten than you thought and probably the issue. Otherwise, it might just be the food giving you a bad reaction and the alcohol doing something to your metabolism. However, I'm not a doctor and these are merely opinions/guesses. Gluten sensitivity/Celiac is a weird thing and sometimes you can feel pain but it won't happen until even the next day. I have had issues where I have gone out to eat and consumed a gluten-free beer and food and have gotten extremely dizzy but I can only attribute that to cross contamination in the kitchen. It is bizarre to get sick without consuming gluten so I would just stay away to be careful-including whatever alcohol you're drinking. Sounds like a bummer but I hope this helped somewhat and I really hope you feel better soon! 

[Guest]

 Well first I have to ask if you have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease or a gluten sensitivity? Also, it could depend on the type of alcohol you're drinking. Beer and Malt Liquor (Mike's Hard Lemonade) contain gluten and can give you a bad reaction after consuming them, while wine and liquor tend to be gluten free (but not always) and will cause no reaction. So if you're getting sick after drinking a beer and eating gluten then that is even more gluten than you thought and probably the issue. Otherwise, it might just be the food giving you a bad reaction and the alcohol doing something to your metabolism. However, I'm not a doctor and these are merely opinions/guesses. Gluten sensitivity/Celiac is a weird thing and sometimes you can feel pain but it won't happen until even the next day. I have had issues where I have gone out to eat and consumed a gluten-free beer and food and have gotten extremely dizzy but I can only attribute that to cross contamination in the kitchen. It is bizarre to get sick without consuming gluten so I would just stay away to be careful-including whatever alcohol you're drinking. Sounds like a bummer but I hope this helped somewhat and I really hope you feel better soon! 

Thank you!  I do not have celiac, but am intolerant.  I avoid any beer and stick to either ciders or liquor.  It is interesting you mention the day after thing.  With gluten in foods I am sick immediately, but when eating gluten in foods and then consuming alcohol, the migraine symptoms begin either over night or the next day.  I too wonder if something is happening with the metabolic process in which the gluten + liquor has a different effect than just gluten alone.  I have never met anyone who has experienced this, but then again those people are probably smart and just stay away from alcohol!

[w8in4dave]

Before I was DX'd I was the same way. My friend would want to go out for Margarita's and every time (3) I had to puke on the way home. I just thought I couldn't take alcohol or hard alcohol anyway. But now being on the Gluten Free diet, I can have a couple of drinks. of hard liquor. Of course I cannot drink to much. Because I don't have a tolerance for it. I always make sure I drink Gluten free alcohol also if and when I do. I think I don't drink much at all because of all the times I have gotten sick. It's kinda a turn off ya know?  

[olive7]

i’ve been looking for this convo all morning! Last night, I drank only gluten-free alcohol, but got glutened with my food. After a couple hours of moderate drinking and dancing, a migraine just took over! I think dehydration + migraine sensitivity as a celiac might have made the symptoms extra unbearable. 

[Scott Adams]

Probably too late now but for future reference: