Whodathunkit? - Coffee Allergy
 

Hi Everyone,

(I posted this on another thread and decided it might be helpful to have it as a thread.)

I attribute the success I have had to two things: Being strict and identifying as many other food issues I have as possible. I am also dairy and soy-free (very common issues) and limit my corn intake.

One of the surprises was my coffee allergy. I had a veterinary client who was suffering from serious migraines. She was self-employed and was spending over $700/month out-of-pocket for Imitrex. I encouraged her to do The Sage Systems ( www.foodallergytest.com ) test and eat accordingly. Her migraines vanished in about 2 weeks and have not returned as of 6 months now. BUT, the interesting thing was her coffee allergy.

Suddenly, I realized that the coffee had lost its punch and even made me sleepy sometimes. I had been having some occasional GI distress/heartburn, fatigue, and headaches that I couldn't figure out. It all disppeared when I went off coffee. I drink hot tea now and it doesn't bother me at all.

Of course, this makes perfectly good sense when I think about it. We know that secondary food allergies occur as the result of the damage done to the intestinal villi by the gluten (and/or casein, soy, corn). Celiacs pre-diagnosis often times drink A LOT of coffee to counteract the depression associated with our condition. I certainly did. So, it makes sense that coffee allergy could be a factor in us. I would imagine that there are a number of celiacs who feel like they have plateaued and it is the coffee that is doing to them. It kinda falls into the "Whodathunkit" category. :)

Hope this helps someone,

John

Dh used to love coffee, but now he can't drink it. He doesn't want to talk about why :P Just that it bothers his stomach. It must be bad for him to give it up! Unfortunately...he needs the caffeine when he has a migraine.

I know it was bothering me, part of the IBS diagnosis (they call it a trigger food...not an allergy :rolleyes: ) and I tested IgG moderate even though I haven't had it in years.

On another board I read that coffee allergy can be related to other legume allergies. I'm not sure there was any evidence to back that up besides the food families chart.

Yup, he takes excedrine migraine or drinks Mountain Dew :rolleyes: Or takes a penguin mint (caffinated candy).

I actually had a headache for 2 months straight when I was drinking coffee everyday a number of years ago. When I stopped drinking the coffee, the headache went away.

I seem to have problems now with anything (chocolate, tea, etc.) that has caffeine in it. They all give me headaches.

Yes, there does appear to be two different issues with coffee- the allergy to the coffee bean proteins and the sensitivity to caffeine. If you put "coffee allergy" in the search, you will find a fair amount about both.

I think that I am over my caffeine sensitivity now that I have been 7 years gluten and dairy free. According to what I have read, it can take a full year for all of the casomorphins and gliadomorphins from dairy and gluten, respectively, to leave your brain and for the neurons to return to normal once these foods have been eliminated from the diet. Now I guess I'm down to the coffee allergy, since the caffeine in tea or the rare cola does not bother me at all. Gotta love those casomorphins and gliadomorphins. :)

John

I am not a coffee drinker however the few times that I have drank coffee. I feel awful. My stomach gets upset and I get a headache. I always wondered if I didn't have an allergy to it. Thank goodness it it not a drink that I crave and can't get through the day without

I would bet that coffee allergy is much more prevalent than commonly thought. Knowing what the villous atrophy/"leaky gut syndrome" sets us up for, I could easily believe that large numbers of celiacs/casein intolerants are allergic to coffee. It is sad but encouraging to think that this may be a common thing holding people back from a more complete recovery.

allergy vs intolerance
 

I think the word allergy is being misapplied here.

Intolerance is a more accurate term.

That could start a whole debate...

The treatment ends up the same. Though, many people choose to live with the consequences of an intolerance and can't with an allergy ;)

I don't think so in my case. I think I am truly allergic to coffee and would find high IgE antibodies if I were to be tested, which I am still strongly considering. I believe the depression/foggy head, heart burn (H2 receptors), gas, headaches (delayed food allergy) and stuffy nose are histamine related, for which I would use the term allergic. The client I mentioned whose results gave me the idea that I was affected was determined to be allergic to coffee by the Sage Tests ( www.foodallergytest.com ).

Anyone can put "coffee allergy" in their search and read about the symptoms. If coffee were to only cause intestinal upset without systemic signs, then I would certainly agree with the word "intolerance" being correct.

polyphenols...
 

Coffee and tea contain polyphenols which cause headache in some people.
(Also in red wine). They dilate blood vessels and some are sensitive to this and develop headache.

I have met many people who get headaches from tea. Far more than complain about coffee. I have this problem
from time to time myself. I only get the headache when I consume large amounts however. I also get headaches from red wine-- I gave up all wine
years ago.

People with headache histories often develop caffeine withdrawal headaches
very quickly--sometimes within hours of drinking the caffeine (or eating it in candies)..leading to escalation of consumption of caffeinated drinks.
These folks may be latent migraneurs.

People come to me with every complaint imaginable..I have seen multitudes of things and over the years hundreds of thousands. (40yrs).
I have never seen a true coffee allergy-- but lots of intolerances.
Tea has been far more common as a headache trigger in my opinion. With the surge in interest for high dose antioxidant supplements, keep in mind that these too, contain polyphenols and can dilate cerebral blood vessels. People may not
think of that, and blame something else they had that day for any headache that arises.

People with ragweed allergies can cross over to foods. There are several fruits that will cross react in those patients. Also nut allergies can cross react with pollens from some trees.

A true food allergy should be tested for...because they can be life threatening.

I'll add myself as another data point in the mix.

I encounter very noticeable reactions to coffee consumption in the way of acne modules and cysts that are very deep and long-lived (i.e. weeks). It seems that some varieties of coffee are worse (i.e. Starbucks), while tea and other forms of caffeine do not cause a problem at all.

I discovered this because I've been fairly deliberate about what I eat for the past 5 years. Gluten was the first thing to go about 4 years ago. I stopped eating legumes shortly after that and dairy about 2 years ago. I never eat legumes anymore and expose myself to gluten or dairy at most every 3-4 months. I noticed a huge improvement in lifelong acne problems (I'm 34 now) from these changes. However, the problems persisted until I tried cutting out coffee and sticking with tea.

Coffee allergy
 

I had an allergy panel done when I was younger, and coffee was one of the things they tested which I was positive for as an allergy. I can drink it, but I have to be in "good shape" when I do. If I'm stressed, tired, sick or even a little down it causes various symptoms. Usually I get severe stomach cramps, but I also get headaches which are more like the ones I get when I'm sick. I also usually feel like I'm getting a sinus infection when I drink it (ears hurt, throat and tonsils too), and even a small cup will make me shake. The reason I was tested was because my dad has a coffee allergy, and it caused some damage as far as his intestinal wall. I know this also sounds odd, but coffee can sometimes (rarely) put me into a depression (it happens usually when I've drank coffee for a few days in a row), which usually lasts only a 12-24 hrs. Also my allergies to cats/dogs becomes severely worsened.

Welcome oOobers. :Wave-Hello: