Drinks
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Drinks are something that Celiacs and non-Celiacs both tend to overlook when it comes to gluten. We are used to being vigilant about what is in our food, but we often don't think about how gluten could be in our drinks as well. In the age of Starbucks and Sonic, it is important to know what you are drinking.
Coffee:
Plain, non-flavored coffees generally are gluten-free. But when you start to add flavors or order coffee "drinks" at a restaurant, then you are dealing with unknown ingredients. It is also possible that the whipped cream they put on top of the drinks is not real whipped cream but an oil-based whipped topping with possible gluten-containing ingredients. If you are a fan of Starbucks, contact the company at www.starbucks.com to see what is safe and what is not. However, always be mindful of the fact that they may not wash out the blender between Frappucino's and even though you have ordered a gluten-free drink, it may get contaminated by the last drink that was in the blender.
Tea:
Again, plain tea like black tea or green tea is usually fine, but when you drink something that is a blend, such as herbal tea blends, you have to be careful of added ingredients such as "hops" or "barley".
Soda:
Most sodas are made by either the Coca-Cola company or the Pepsi company, and most are gluten-free. But there are a few that you have to watch out for. This summer we visited a Coca-Cola factory with a huge tasting room. Before we started tasting, we asked about their ingredients and they assured us that everything was gluten-free. We did not have any reactions (and we tasted a lot of different sodas), but as usual, you have to be aware of what agrees or disagrees with you personally as everyone has different degrees of sensitivity and other ingredients can be a problem for you. As it turns out, the Coca-Cola company makes a lot of drinks-soda and non-soda. Contact the company for an updated list at www.coca-cola.com. Pepsi also has many gluten-free drinks but when I went to their website, they only listed "wheat" as an allergen and did not specify "gluten". No wheat does not necessary mean no gluten. It might be a good idea to contact them at www.pepsi.com before feeling completely safe with their products.
See the blog for other contributions toward GF drinks.
Coffee:
Plain, non-flavored coffees generally are gluten-free. But when you start to add flavors or order coffee "drinks" at a restaurant, then you are dealing with unknown ingredients. It is also possible that the whipped cream they put on top of the drinks is not real whipped cream but an oil-based whipped topping with possible gluten-containing ingredients. If you are a fan of Starbucks, contact the company at www.starbucks.com to see what is safe and what is not. However, always be mindful of the fact that they may not wash out the blender between Frappucino's and even though you have ordered a gluten-free drink, it may get contaminated by the last drink that was in the blender.
Tea:
Again, plain tea like black tea or green tea is usually fine, but when you drink something that is a blend, such as herbal tea blends, you have to be careful of added ingredients such as "hops" or "barley".
Soda:
Most sodas are made by either the Coca-Cola company or the Pepsi company, and most are gluten-free. But there are a few that you have to watch out for. This summer we visited a Coca-Cola factory with a huge tasting room. Before we started tasting, we asked about their ingredients and they assured us that everything was gluten-free. We did not have any reactions (and we tasted a lot of different sodas), but as usual, you have to be aware of what agrees or disagrees with you personally as everyone has different degrees of sensitivity and other ingredients can be a problem for you. As it turns out, the Coca-Cola company makes a lot of drinks-soda and non-soda. Contact the company for an updated list at www.coca-cola.com. Pepsi also has many gluten-free drinks but when I went to their website, they only listed "wheat" as an allergen and did not specify "gluten". No wheat does not necessary mean no gluten. It might be a good idea to contact them at www.pepsi.com before feeling completely safe with their products.
See the blog for other contributions toward GF drinks.