Alcohol

[Sammi]

I'v known about my HFI for a while now, and now that im 22 and go out to drink with friends iv been added another category of restrictions. The obvious fruity drinks are out and i know i cant have tequila, jagermeister, and cap morgan. Does anyone know if any other types of liquors are okay?? and if beer is okay??

[kim55]

You will need to get input from others with HFI because I've always avoided most alcohol. But I know it's hard to explain it to friends who all drink, and whose social life includes going to bars.

Ukbill says that beer is OK, but I've always found everything except wheat beer too sweet for me, so I can never finish the entire bottle. I did try to develop a taste for scotch and water years ago, but I was never successful. I've pretty much given up on alcohol, except for VERY dry wine (which I know I shouldn't have, because it still contains fructose--I do limit myself to a few sips). Nowdays I usually just volunteer to be the designated driver for the group, and I drink unsweetened iced tea or real cappucino (made with espresso and milk only, not those awful mixes).

[charlie]

I know this is tough but I would recommend you learn to avoid alcohol altogether. HFI is a liver related problem and alcohol also assaults the liver so you could end up with double whammy damage. You are young and hopefully have a long and "fruitful" - sorry dreadful pun!- life so why risk damage to keep up with others when out. I don't have HFI myself or any similar problem but I don't drink because I just don't like what it does to your body - I grew up with 2 alcoholic parents. So when my friends are nursing hangovers the next morning I am up bright and early and ready for my day. My other reason for not drinking is Megs has a few health problems that need me on the ball 24 hours a day and I would hate not to be in a state to cope with it.
You can still have a good time out without drinking alcohol if you are with good friends and you enjoy their company. If you need to drink to enjoy your time out maybe you are with the wrong people or in the wrong place.

Good luck, use your common sense and stay healthy.

[colormist]

I'm going to second what Charlie says. I have the occasional beer (maybe one or two a month), but I can never manage to drink more than one in a sitting. Since we already have liver issues, it's best to keep drinking to a very, very minimum.

UKBill gave me a nice list way, way back of acceptable brews and I made a cheat sheet for my wallet.

Guinness is fine (but really thick).
I think most German beers are okay (due to purity laws).
I used to drink Sam Adams and Amstel, but both give me heartburn nowadays.
Corona seems to be okay. Julie drinks this one and I don't have much of an issue with it.

I wish they made half-beers as I can seldom drink a whole bottle.

[sammi]

Thank you. I try not to drink very often because of the liver situation but sometimes it just happens when we have big nights out! I usually just will have a couple beers. Im still trying to figure so much out and what is okay and not okay to eat so unfortunately i get sick often still. Once i eliminated all hard liquors my nights out seemed to have gotten much better, but thank you so much for your advice!

[ukbill]

Hi Sammi,

As the unofficial alcoholic... (not) I hope I can help.. for an HFI adult the occasional HFI safe drink is unlikely to hurt unless you are driving..

I can only offer advice from an HFI perspective. I have no experience, other than what I have read in passing here, of DFI.

For some reason I cannot take wine in any amount no matter how dry it is.. the same for Cider and any alcoholic brew made from Sucrose / Fructose. I get instant Hangover symptoms on more than a teaspoon (5 g) of very dry red wine.

Many alcoholic beverages such as American and Australian style beers are made from Maize (sweet corn) I can tolerate only small amounts as a result.

I have had no problems with German Purity standard beers which are made from Malted Barley and water nothing else.

These should contain only minuscule amounts of Fructose even before the yeast gets to dine on the the Maltose (glucose=glucose linked molecules = Maltose)..

So long as your Diet is really artificial sweeter and Fructose free (manufactured Glucose too) for several years, then your Liver should not be in too delicate a state.

I enjoy a pint or two but rarely drink more than that, as for whisky its the same story.. Single Malt Scotch whisky is fine in small amounts but "blended" stuff is not so good.

Rum, Vodka and Gin are no-go as well because the refined spirit alcohol has "stuff" added to turn it into Gin, Vodka or Rum usually from the same base stock raw alcohol.. frequently these additives contain sugar.. 300+ grams in a quart of Southern comfort!

I have drunk home made and distilled Vodka in the Czech republic and other places with generally good results.. Its the manufactured stuff that gets lots of sugar and sweet additives in it.

Most of us are not so sensitive that we cannot cheat a tiny bit occasionally..

For me the occasional beer is my poison

It helps to have eaten a good sized protein meal a few hours before going out for a party night.. so any incidental Fructose will be masked by lots of nice friendly Glucose.

If you start to feel the approach of hypoglycaemia slow down with the drinking and eat a little safe foods to mask it. Bread and cheese are good at this.

Yes this "incidental" Fructose can still cause problems in the following days but at least you have felt like a real "normal" human being for a night and been out with your mates.

People unaware of your HFI status will not even notice.

Its nice to feel "normal" occasionally

Enjoy

[ukbill]

Sorry I should add the codicil to this..

I live in the UK where most bread is HFI safe.. I know this is not the case in the USA.

I would not recommend peanuts or anything like that as they also contain about 8% fructose.

If I am going to a party I always take a large quantity of HFI safe foods for all to share.. no one notices that what I have brought contains no sugar at all .

And I have safe foods that I can eat without worry

Hope you have not fallen asleep reading all this ..

I might post a few BBQ recipes if I have time.

[tikitavi]

I have had no problems with German Purity standard beers which are made from Malted Barley and water nothing else.

UKBill, can you tell me some brand names for these? I miss beer! BUT, I can't have hops because of its estrogenic properties. So it would have to be hops-free too.

[colormist]

Becks is German beer. I bought a 6-pack the other day and was able to drink two without feeling any sort of the apprehension I normally experience after drinking one Corona or Amstel Light.

Not sure if it's hops-free, though. :\

[nlfitness]

Like most of you I rarely drink because of both personal reasons as well as the fear of the extra damage it may cause to my liver. However from time to time I will have a glass of bourbon or a light beer. If I drink tequila it is a sure thing I will be visiting the porcelain thrown face down later in the night .

Last night I did try a Belgium beer calle Chimay and it was actually pretty good and didn't affect me. I didn't not have much at all and they have 3 different types. A blue, red and Yellow label. The blue was the least hoppy and I prefered it most. Just my two cents and again I did not drink a lot of it, more of a tasting but worth lookin into.

[ukbill]

Chimay is a little edgy for me I have drank a lot of it on occasion but it tastes sweet even if its not and that ruins it for me..

tikitavi
I will do some research but think they all have Hops in them because its the preservative that keeps the beer fresh

Colormist

I have never been able to stomach any "low carb" beer I do not know why.. I also tried a Corona last week and am glad I only had the one... it just did not "feel " right.

In the UK now there are 1.000's of micro breweries it is posible to have beer made up in small batches to your own tastes..

So it is now posible to have a great tasting beer that is made from Maltose or maltose / glucose instead of maize or sucrose.

Maybe even without hops if that causes you problems.. However if you cannot drink all the resulting brew,,. I am sure you will finds few friends who can help you out.

Enjoy

PS I have to agree with Charlie.. don't drink if your liver is already having a hard time.. if you do then make sure your diet is really fructose free for some time both before and after to avoid problems.

[colormist]

Bill,
Yeah, it's not that I feel nauseated or hypoglycemic, but something strange happens. I drink the beer very, very slowly and I have no real desire (regardless of thirst) to drink a second one. It must be some kind bodily resistance.

I never thought of visiting a microbrewery. I was considering getting my own homebrew kit to see if I could modify the ingredients for HFI. I'm positive my husband would drink the remainder of either the microbrew or the homebrew.

[ukbill]

I'm sure he will

Most home brew shops in the UK and Australia I have visited sell powdered Glucose. I am not sure of its purity but if you are letting the yeast "work the sugars out" then there should be little left to cause you any problems.

I have seen powdered Malt for sale as well this should be HFI safe and will give your beer a better taste

Many years ago I used to do my own home brewing and I do not remember every having a "hfi" reaction to the resulting brew.

I was using table sugar as well (sucrose) although I was not as balanced as I now am with my HFI so perhaps any reaction was lost in the background at the time.

I used to brew it fully out however and not put in too much sugar in one go but add 50 % at the start and another 50% when the beer was supposed to be ready for bottling.. I would then leave it a few more days until I had just a ring of bubbles on the top before bottling it..

It was VERY powerful stuff!

Two bottle was as much as anyone ever managed to drink in one night!

A Neighbour who was 24 at the time and now rather famous, partly for his language and swearing on TV and partly for being a reformed Alcoholic and coke Addict.

At the time he could drink 18 pints of Newcastle Brown in a night ( a strong beer from the North of England) he was totally destroyed after two bottles his wife found him asleep in their kitchen in the morning still clutching the remains of his 3rd bottle and smiling..

I wonder if there is a link..

[carolyn]

I've never been able to tolerate anything alcoholic, although in my student nurse days, I tried hard! I used to drink beers or whisky, but was always very sick & ill all night & into the next day (sometimes passing out in the nurses home). In those days when you got the strangest looks at a bar asking for water, I tried cola (once was enough), tonic water, lemonade, & tomato juice. Not a good reaction to any of it. As I got older, I tried wines, but same reaction- sick, shaky, headache, dizzy- the usual stuff! when I was getting the same, slightly less intense reaction from only 1/2 glass, I decided to go without. Now it's water or a cup of tea/coffee that I go for. I might try the German beer!!

[susan]

Doesn't alcohol break down to sugar? Doesn't it go straight to the liver? I get dizzy on 1/2 a beer which is considered alcohol free. (It has a very small percentage compared to others).
I tried all that "trying to fit in" stuff as a kid, teenager, and young adult...... until it was not worth it anymore. One learns to "march to their own drummer." Susan

[esmee]

I feel terrible after drinking any alcohol.

I once had 2 glasses of red wine, and I was non-functional for a whole week afterwards: puffy, swollen, brain fog, fatigue, nausea, etc.

disclaimer: i am not officially diagnosed with HFI.

[ukbill]

Susan. "I get dizzy on 1/2 a beer which is considered alcohol free."

I am not surprised alcohol free beers are brewed normally and then "processed" to remove the alcohol. unfortunately this makes the resulting beer taste really HORRIBLE! so they then add other things to mask the bad taste..

Low Carb (like Miller Light) beers are really bad for me too.

[ukbill]

Jan 22, 2012 20:14:52 GMT -5 ukbill said:

Susan. "I get dizzy on 1/2 a beer which is considered alcohol free."

I am not surprised alcohol free beers are brewed normally and then "processed" to remove the alcohol. unfortunately this makes the resulting beer taste really HORRIBLE! so they then add other things to mask the bad taste..

Low Carb (like Miller Light) beers are really bad for me too.

Esmee.. 2 glasses of RED!!

I would be heading for the loo to be sick after more than 1/2 a swallow of even the driest red wine!

I get all the signs of a thumping hangover after about 2 teaspoons full of any wine no real HFI reaction though.

[tikitavi]

I don't have alcohol very often, just for parties usually. I agree with UKBill, I think the problem is that many whiskies and alcohol have sugar added. If they are pure, they should be OK. However, especially with wine brewing, it seems that fructose can be leftover as a part of the fermentation process. Apparently, there are kits that brewers can buy that measure the remaining residual sugars which would be fructose and glucose. Here's an interesting article:
www.winemakermag.com/stories/techniques/article/indices/35-techniques/501-measuring-residual-sugar-techniques

Glucose is also fermented at a faster rate, which means that a wine fermented to dryness will have less residual glucose than fructose. Any glucose and fructose sugars remaining in the wine at the end of fermentation contribute to residual sugar. If two wines have the same residual sugar concentration, the one with more fructose will taste sweeter.

Another source of glucose and fructose is cane sugar, or table sugar, which consists of sucrose. Cane sugar is used to chaptalize, or add sugar to, juice to increase the potential alcohol level of wine.

UKBill, I found some hop-free ales! They are called gruit ale. I brought some for our Burns Night party last night. Apparently they have been brewed in Scotland since 2000 B.C., wow! I tried the Scottish ales Fraoch Heather Ale, and Alba. I liked them both, especially the Alba, which has a higher alcohol content and seemed a bit easier to drink. Much less bitter than hopped ale. The ingredients listed on the Alba are: malted barley bree, Scots pine, spruce sprigs. The Fraoch doesn't have a specific ingredients list, but it says "brewed using heather flowers and Scottish malt". So far, I seem to be doing fine with them! I checked the German database, and beer should be free of fructose and sucrose, it just has maltose, which should be safe. However, I did find the Belvedere vodka a little easier on the digestion than these ales.

[ukbill]

I will have to look this vodka out and find some.

I was drinking neat Vodka made form my son's "water purification" equipment and found no reaction at all.

If I put in any of the additives to make it into vodka or whisky then I did not feel very good so I assume the "additives" were causing the problem.

I have tried some of these Scottish Ales before although the Alba is new to me I did not get on with the heather ale.