10 Sources of Hidden Gluten
1. Body and beauty products & Haircare/hair color/bleach!
Lipstick, toothpaste, body lotion, shampoo, hair color soap, conditioner, baby powder and sunscreen can all contain gluten. Because of this, I stick with beauty brands that are committed to offering both gluten-free and toxin-free products! You can look them up on www.ewg.org
Be sure to read labels and know the various names of wheat like the botanical name, Triticum Vulgare(wheat germ oil)! England and EU label wheat as Triticum! If you don’t know what something is on a label, look it up.
Acure(body soap, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, facial products)
Mineral Fusion for hair and make-up
My Chelle or Acure for facial products
Babo Baby or Goddess Garden or Badger Sunscreen
Top Chic Permanent hair color (not semi or demi or any other) by Goldwell
2. Medications, supplements and herbal formulas
Many of these have fillers like dextrin, which can come from corn or wheat. There are several websites, such as http://glutenfreedrugs.com/
that list gluten-free medications. If you are taking thyroid, be sure it is Westhroid
and Levothyroxine
if needed which are the least allergenic of all of them. Synthroid
contains gluten and doesn’t convert as well as Westhroid(natural) in most people!
Play-Doh is made from wheat flour, salt and water, and many paints also have wheat-derived ingredients. I make my own play dough with gluten-free oat flour. I use only No VOC paints in our house.
Ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, tomato sauce, gravy and salad dressings can all contain gluten. Distilled vinegar begins with grain! They cannot distill 100% of the gluten out, so look for ones that use apple cider vinegar or wine vinegar instead of distilled vinegar or white vinegar! Or, make your own!
Some restaurants add pancake batter to make eggs, or buy packaged egg products that already contain batter in order to make the eggs fluffier. The chef & foodservice staff, may be unaware they’re using a product that contains wheat or gluten, so make sure to ask questions!
The adhesive that makes stamps and envelopes stick can come from gluten. I always use a wet paper towel to dampen the envelope seal or better yet, use self adhesive kind. Many glues are also made from gluten!
7. Luncheon meats, imitation crab and vegan meat substitutes, soy sauce
Wheat can be used as a filler in luncheon meats, and of course most meat jerky contains soy sauce. The “crab meat” used in many sushi rolls, like California rolls, is imitation crabmeat and contains wheat as a stabilizer. Many vegan “meats” and veggie burgers are either made from wheat or contain one of the these ingredients listed below.
Other hidden sources of gluten:
- Artificial color
- Baking powder
- Caramel color/flavoring
- Citric acid (can be fermented from wheat, corn, molasses or beets)
- Coloring
- Dextrin
- Diglycerides
- Emulsifiers
- Enzymes
- Fat replacers
- Flavorings
- Food starch
- Glucose syrup
- Glycerides
- Maltodextrin
- Modified food starch
- Natural juices
- Stabilizers
- Starch
- Wheat starch
Beer contains gluten, of course, but distilled liquors such as vodka can also be made from wheat or rye or barley. Depending on your sensitivity, you may need to steer clear of these. I recommend eliminating alcohol entirely during the first 30 days on any of my programs or until your symptoms have resolved. However, if you have eliminated your symptoms and want to enjoy alcohol occasionally, I usually stick with tequila, potato vodka, GF Rum or Organic/No Sulfites added wine and gluten-free beer made from Sorghum. Do not drink gluten-free beers that the gluten has been “removed”, b/c it’s still there and only a molecule can trigger antibody production which take 6 weeks to clear the system/blood stream! Check out a full list of gluten-free alcohol and foods on www.celiac.com
9. Mashed potatoes & Soups
Flour is sometimes added to thicken mashed potatoes. Often flour is added to thicken soups!
All bread, sprouted or not, that contains gluten(wheat in all forms both modern and ancient, Rye, Barley, Spelt, Kamut, and any oats that are not certified gluten-free can be contaminated with gluten.
You must read the ingredients! Licorice and many other solid candies are made from wheat flour. Wheat and gluten have many names they can be labeled as such as the botanical name Triticum or Triticum Vulgare(wheat germ oil)!