8 Hidden Sources of Gluten You Need to Know

Places You Haven’t Thought of To Look for Gluten

Of course, if you have celiac disease, you need to reduce or eliminate gluten from your diet. But many people also prefer to eat gluten-free, finding it helps them with their digestion.

Whatever your reason, if you want to avoid eating gluten, you need to know which foods contain it.

Wheat, barley and rye are obvious sources.  But gluten is in several other foods. Here are 8 places it could be hiding that you may not have thought of:

1. Medicine:  Be conscious of medications because there are some on the market that contain gluten.  Many people are careful with food but forget to check ingredients lists when buying medicine.
2. Cooked Vegetables:  You’d think cooked vegetables would be safe, wouldn’t you?  But if they’re cooked by someone else, they may have been cooked in butter which may contain gluten.  Also, cross-contamination can occur if the vegetables are steamed in the same water or pan that was used for pasta for example.  Cross-contamination doesn’t affect everyone, but if it does affect you, it’s important to make sure the pan is thoroughly washed before the vegetables are cooked.
3. Chips:  Handmade potato chips or tortilla chips or French fries can have cross-contamination when cooked in a fryer that was used to cook breaded foods like fish or chicken. This can happen a lot in restaurants if they don’t have the time or room to dedicate one fryer to gluten-free items only.
4. Soups and Sauces:  Soup base is often made from flour. So watch out for tins or cans of soup, soup prepared by restaurants, and some gravy and sauces including soy sauce and teriyaki sauce.
5. Meatloaf:  Meatloaf , meatballs and burgers are often made with crackers or breadcrumbs which contain gluten.
6. Vegan Meat: vegan “meat” products often contain wheat.
7. Vitamins and Other Supplements:  Some vitamins and supplement pills contain wheat, so it’s important to check the ingredients.
8. Cosmetics:  Your skin is your largest organ.  Makeup and other personal care products may be advertised as “natural”, but may also contain wheat or other gluten ingredients.  It’s best to read the label or contact the manufacturer just to be safe. You don’t normally ingest cosmetics (although there are exceptions like lipstick), so it depends on how careful you want to be.

Gluten is in a lot of the products we use very day – if you want to live gluten-free it pays to make sure that you’re not ingesting it accidentally.  This list of hidden sources should help to keep you constantly aware.

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