Gluten Enzymes page

[Primalest]

I think most of us would agree that there are times when some gluten exposure is virtually impossible to avoid. The killer for me is watching football with the boys (beer). Other common killers might be dining out or dinner parties or whatever.
Personally, I don't have an overwhelming, acute response to gluten. If I have it in my diet for a week or so, I get some icky aches and pains and acne, but generally one exposure doesn't cause any overt symptoms; I do believe it still causes gut permeability and a degree of systemic inflammation though.

What I was wonder is if any people who do have more acute responses to gluten (or even if you're just like me) have tried the gluten enzymes or digestion aids? I haven't heard anything about them, but I would be curious to know whether or not they can provide a degree of relief when gluten exposure is inevitable.

Thanks

[hazyjane]

Though I never intentionally eat gluten, I take them when eating out as insurance against probable cross-contamination. I mostly eat out at places I know it won't happen, but that's not always possible.
I don't personally have an acute immediate response (mine is a more subtle immune system attack against my thyroid that isn't felt right away) but when I read reviews of the enzymes before buying, people who do have more overt symptoms (Celiac and other autoimmune diseases) were giving good feedback. Check them out at www.iherb.com

PS- the situations you describe aren't "unavoidable"- no one is forcing you to drink beer You could always bring your own gluten-free (Green's is actually really good!)

[kkratz57]

There's nothing like a cold draft, so I'm with you on the beer thing... I am gluten sensitive and have no problems with the super-light beers like Miller Lite and Michelob Ultra. But that's just me.

I do keep a supplement on hand called GlutenFlam by Apex Energetics. Helps the body recover from a gluten attack. They seem to work ok.

I've personally been incorporating more Kombucha tea on a regular basis. Great for detoxification and gut health -- two things that can become compromised from beer-drinking. You'll have to pry my beer from my cold dead hands, so supplementing with Kombucha hopefully will counteract some of the ill-effects.

[Primalest]

I second the Kombucha thing. I have been drinking more and more of it to help with my gerd lately, and it seems to really be a game changer.

Thanks for the feedback on gluten enzymes guys!

[finngirl71]

There's nothing like a cold draft, so I'm with you on the beer thing... I am gluten sensitive and have no problems with the super-light beers like Miller Lite and Michelob Ultra. But that's just me.

Very interesting. I am gluten/wheat sensitive and had a Mich Ultra the other night - I expected to pay dearly but DAMN did it taste good. I didn't have any ill reaction at all, so I'm wondering if it is just super watered down and doesn't actually contain gluten? I ate regular soy sauce a month ago and had a horrible histamine reaction to the wheat in it, so I know I have issues.

[Primalest]

That's really interesting. The amount of gluten in soy sauce is actually pretty low. I guess that just goes to show how drained of flavor cheap and crappy US light beers are ;-)