Alcohol and allergies?

[changingseasons]

I have a totally selfish desire to have an occasional glass of wine or beer with my boring dinner of turkey, rice, and zucchini. It's obviously not a necessity, but I've had to give up SO many of my favorite foods (CHEESE, ice cream, bread, pasta, almonds, and so many more) that it would be nice to indulge every so often. But, if you know my history, I am completely paranoid to introduce new things into my diet. We're off dairy, beef, soy, eggs, nuts, green peas, yellow squash, and we're still finding 'bad' foods all the time. I'm pretty sure she reacted the last time I had a glass of wine, although I don't know if it was the wine or something else...

So my question is- does anyone know of any particularly good OR bad beers/wines as far as allergenicity? I read somewhere that some beers and white wines are washed with egg white, so I've avoided white wines (which is no problem- I'd much rather have red anyway). But I don't really know what else to be looking for ingredient-wise that might be in beer/wine. (We have a pub that makes their own beer right down the street, and I'm planning on asking them if they use any eggs in the process, but what else should I be asking about that might be a problem??)

[nalo]

I can't remember where I saw this at the moment but I saw a list of allergy-safe alcohols (well, I think it was a common-allergy-free list but it may just have been safe from a few allergens). You also need to be very careful of wheat in alcohol although it looks like you guys are still eating that. However, this list I saw was pretty good if I remember right with enought options to find something you like. I'll try to remember where I saw it - I think someone on MDC linked to it but you might just want to start googling and see if you can find a similar list. Good luck indulging yourself!

[changingseasons]

I'm googling right now. And I just found a couple sites that say it's not only egg whites, but casein and fish are routinely used in wine making.

[Ruthla]

If you're limiting grains and/or gluten, then beer would be a poor choice.

If grapes, raisins, or grape juice are in your diet, then wine should be OK. Organic wines tend to be free of sulfates and other additives that might be problematic.

Hard liquors tend to be a lot "cleaner" since they've been distilled- maybe make a mixed drink with a "safe" carrier beverage?

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

If you're limiting grains and/or gluten, then beer would be a poor choice.

If grapes, raisins, or grape juice are in your diet, then wine should be OK. Organic wines tend to be free of sulfates and other additives that might be problematic.

Hard liquors tend to be a lot "cleaner" since they've been distilled- maybe make a mixed drink with a "safe" carrier beverage?

That might be a good idea- hard liquor never crossed my mind. I always thought of it as a "no-no" while your BFing, but in moderation I'm sure it's the same as any other alcohol.

That's good to know about the organic wines too- I will check those out.

DD seems ok with wheat and grains, but I am keeping gluten to a minimum in my diet because I know it's a gut irritant while we're healing. So originally I thought wine would be better than beer for that reason, but it seems like there are so many more ingredients in wine (and therefore so many more possible allergens!)

[Meg_s]

I usually go with vodka or gin, if it's the same amount of alcohol (meaning, servings) I don't understand why it would be worse than alcohol in beer or wine.

[kjbrown92]

If you're doing an elimination diet, then just add that back in like any other food/ingredient, and wait a few days to see if there's a reaction. Vodka can be made with potato or grain so make sure you know what you're drinking. I drank port while I was on my elimination diet because it tasted "rich" so a little seemed to go farther.