10 Places You Wouldn’t Expect to Find Gluten
As is covered comprehensively over at frontlineer.com, gluten is basically a protein in various cereal grains such as wheat among many others. The reason as to why it has become infamous in healthy eating circles is that it usually gunks up the lining of intestines, which in turn makes it more difficult for nutrients to be absorbed from food. This can lead to a number of health issues and complications and that is why we are seeing more people going gluten free nowadays. What most people don’t realize however is that gluten can be found in some surprising places, and not just in bread and similar cereal products. This article will look to highlight some of these surprising places where you wouldn’t expect to find gluten.
One of the most surprising place where you wouldn’t expect to find gluten is in Shampoo. Since gluten-containing ingredients like those made from wheat, rye and barley are thought to be good and healthy for your hair, many shampoo brands incorporate these ingredients and as such surprisingly have gluten. Given that whatever is scrubbed onto your scalp may get into your body, it is important to choose shampoo products that are gluten free.
Another place where you normally won’t expect to find gluten is in chewing gum. To prevent them from sticking onto their packages, some chewing gum brands are coated with flour. This therefore presents a route for gluten to be introduced onto the chewing gum. Given this development, it is important you check carefully the information on the package or on the brand’s website to find out if indeed a particular chewing gum has gluten or not.
The next place that will surprise you as being one that contains gluten is in flavored potato chips. Normally, these shouldn’t contain gluten, given potatoes themselves are gluten free, as is revealed in discussions on the same on frontlineer.com. However, most flavorings that are added to the potato chips contain gluten. Processing of the potato chips may also result in them getting contaminated with gluten. Ensuring that your favorite brand of potato chips is gluten free is therefore important.
Another surprising place you are likely to find gluten is in puddings and pie filings. This is because most of them contain thickeners that are in fact gluten-based. With this in mind it is best to look for pie filling that is without thickeners, like those made from fruit. Those with gluten free thickeners such as arrowroot starch are also a good option; just ensure you stay clear of those with gluten.
Another very surprising place where you will find gluten, one where you wouldn’t expect to find gluten is in spelt. For years, there has been a misconception that spelt had very little levels of gluten when compared to other wheat varieties, with some even saying it was completely gluten free. Well, to burst that bubble, given that spelt is actually an ancient strain of wheat, it does contain just as much gluten as modern day wheat.
Another place you wouldn’t expect to find gluten is in chocolate. As is revealed in discussions over at frontlineer.com, while chocolate shouldn’t contain gluten, some varieties risk being contaminated with gluten due to manufacturing methods like those chocolates that are coated with biscuits. It is therefore important to carefully check labels and avoid chocolates that may contain products that may contain gluten such as biscuits.
Another equally surprising product that one wouldn’t normally expect to find gluten are corn flakes. This is because since the main ingredient in corn flakes is the gluten free corn, one wouldn’t expect to find gluten here. However, the presence of barley malt extract as a flavoring in many brands introduces the gluten factor. The levels of this flavoring may differ, with some having low levels which are safe enough for those on gluten-free diets to take, while others may have higher levels. It is therefore important to do your research on your brand and ensure if they are not completely gluten free, they are at least at low enough levels.
Another place you wouldn’t expect to find gluten is in instant coffee, given coffee beans don’t contain gluten. Many brands however use gluten as a bulking agent; added to this, powdered milk also contains wheat.
In canned soups is yet another place where you wouldn’t expect to find gluten. However, as is discussed over at frontlineer.com, most canned soups contain wheat-based thickeners as well as other preservatives that bring in the gluten factor. It is therefore important you look for alternatives such as organic soups that come in cartons as well as ensuring that their ingredients are strictly the vegetables or the meat bones and sea salt only.
Finally, another place where you wouldn’t expect to find gluten is in alcohol. This is because, while many alcohols are made with gluten-containing grains, it is usually expected that the distillation process they go through should theoretically get rid of the gluten proteins. This however is not always the case as not all companies put their alcohol through a thorough enough distillation process. This is why it is important to do your research in order to find gluten free brands, which are readily available in the market today.
The above are some of the surprising places where you wouldn’t normally expect to find gluten and it is our hope this information will be enlightening to you, with more on the same and then some to be found over at frontlineer.com.
