Avoiding gluten is something that you might think would be easy; stop eating anything that contains wheat and you will get better. It is not always that easy, sadly in this age of processed and prepackaged foods gluten is everywhere.  There are many not so obvious terms that can signal gluten in a product such as malt, graham, spelt or kamut, in addition to wheat, barley and rye.  On top of that there are a number of products that may contain gluten and it may not be readily apparent on the label.

Many of these types of products are ones that you buy every day, a good example is spices. The average person would consider these to be “pure” and safe but flour is often used to keep spices from clumping, so you will need to take some time to research manufacturers to see which ones do this and which do not. There are many products that contain what is called undeclared wheat, meaning wheat that does not show up on the label. For products such as these you will need to do your homework and know what products are safe or unsafe.

In many cases it is safe to assume that a product that is not labeled gluten free has gluten in it until you can prove otherwise. There are many lists kept on the internet which list products that are safe or unsafe. You should also take the time to find out what groups of products can be problematic, requiring extra care such as spices, condiments, dressings, and candy.  For instance many candies even if they have no flour listed on the label are often dusted with flour to keep them from sticking during the packaging process.

Cereals that are not labeled as gluten free but do not appear to have gluten in them are also suspect, cross contamination from other cereals made in the same factory can often be the culprits in cases such as these. Always be certain that any cereal or grain comes from a gluten free source. Ice cream often has gluten which keeps ice crystals from forming, shortening has vitamin E made from wheat germ, even lunchmeats, and ground beef labeled as all meat can potentially contain gluten.

Gluten is everywhere and used from everything from an anti sticking agent to a filler or texture enhancer. While laws do govern the labeling of products they are not yet strict enough to ensure that products not labeled gluten free do not have some form of hidden gluten in them, so the responsibility lies on the celiac person to thoroughly read labels and research products to ensure that what they eating is gluten free.