Is Gluten-Free Important with Hard Liquor?

So what exactly is gluten and why has it become such a popular trend lately? Well to begin with, gluten-free products initially referred to food products when the first bits of information began to leak into our community. As the health craze started to swell, gluten quickly became public enemy number one. Everyone instantly grabbed onto the medical warning, taking the professional advice without doing any type of research or consultation with a doctor, thinking that it was simply the next popular trend. But the important thing for people to remember is that gluten was something that medical and health professionals warned people about due to the fact that much of modern day foods were being prepared and/or manufactured with grains that were loaded with gluten, such as wheat and barley. Many individuals within society were suffering from Coeliac disease, a condition where the body's immune system will attack its own tissues when the individual consumes gluten. One in five people suffer from Coeliac disease, therefor health professionals believed it was important to warn others about the potential health hazards of eating foods with those grains. Although many cereal grains have been in the public's cross-hairs for some time, for the liquor trade the primary target of the gluten-free trend has been the rye grain. Used in a variety of different types of alcohol, rye is among the few grains that are used in the production of hard liquor containing gluten. For example, vodka is made from fermented grains such as sorghum, corn, rice, rye or wheat, though you can also use potatoes, fruits or even plain sugar. Grains that contain gluten are: wheat (including wheat varieties like spelt, kamut, farro and durum, plus products like bulgar and semolina), barley, rye, triticale and oats. Gluten-free grains are: corn, millet, rice, sorghum. A few gluten-free pseudo-cereal grains are: amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa. Although there may be underlying health risks for those shopping for hard liquor who have Coeliac disease, anyone else without a medical diagnosis stating that certain grains are hazardous to your health should not be at any risk.