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What are the common hidden source of gluten that people often miss?

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Joined: 01/08/2013

Please share your expertise.

Kimberly's picture
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Joined: 04/16/2013
Proceed with caution!

One of the reasons I suggest newbies to gluten-free society learn to prepare simple meals and snacks on their own is simply because there are sooo many confusing labels. Did YOU know dextrin might contain gluten? If you did, I give you props, but most of us need to research and learn... and unfortunately suffer some bad reactions in the learning process. Simply put, I don't trust companies, labels, the FDA... admittedly, I'm a bit overzealous with my suspiciousness, but it's for good reason. My son's well-being is basically the most important thing in the entire universe to me. You mess with my kid, you mess with me.

So, if you're overwhelmed with the daunting reality that ALL of your favorite foods have gluten, pour yourself a glass of wine (it's gluten-free, in the U.S. anyway) or brew some tea (but be careful- some herbal teas may or may not contain malted barley), and relax by knowing you're going to find new favorites that don't destroy your insides!

Now, when speaking about hidden sources of gluten, I am going to address restaurants and packaged foods very differently. Since I am not extremely sensitive to gluten, at least compared to my son, I will begin with restaurants since I can actually go to them. My son, according to me (over-protective mommy) can only eat steamed rice, and I have to make sure they don't add anything at all to it, so I worry more about food labels with him.

When you make the decision to dine at a restaurant, you need to realize EVERYTHING on the menu. Yes, perhaps they have a gluten-free menu, but is the kitchen dedicated? I'm assuming not. Are they putting items with gluten on the same griddle or in the same fryer? If so, cross-contamination is a major factor. I haven't noticed cross-contamination being so much of an issue with myself, but with my son... yikes. You have to pay careful attention to anything with sauces- soy sauce, teriaki, wochestershire... gluten, gluten, gluten. Some vinegars contain gluten. Spices often have gluten-ridden anti-caking agents. If you are ordering items with shredded cheese, know that some shredded cheeses contain gluten (hidden in the flour sprinkled in the cheese to prevent it from sticking). I pretty much keep my restaurant habit to a minimum, only trusting a handful of establishments with my sensitive system. Unless the restaurant is owned and operated by an allergen-free owner who suffers from similar issues themselves, I generally question everything. Scratch that, actually, I always question everything.

Now onto food labels... one of the major reasons why I spend most of my time in the kitchen. I need to know exactly what is in my food, and the names of some of the ingredients makes this quite challenging. Some of the more blatant examples of gluten- wheat, malt, barley, rye, bulgur, kamut, bleached flour, bread flour, triticum vulgare, spelta, modified food starch... they sound grainy and avoidable to me at least. But then there are the questionables- buckwheat (I hear it's gluten-free, but having "wheat" right in the title scares me), modified starch (it might have gluten), brown rice syrup (with rice in the title it feels safe, but maybe it's not). Not to sound pessimistic, but root beer, spices (unless they're Frontier brand I don't feel comfortable yet), and ground coffee have all had reports at some point in time of having traces of gluten. Fortunately, at least in the U.S., companies are required to put allergens on their labels, but I need to reiterate exactly how little trust I have in this system.

Processed foods in general, scare the heck out of me. Cereal additives, flavorings, hydrolized vegetable protein (HVP), vegetable protein, hydrolized plant protein (HPP), maltodextrin- do I even want to know what these things are? There is a chance they contain gluten. I know I don't want to take the risk. For a while, I made a habit of calling manufacturers (many companies have a toll-free number right on the label), but latley my personal rule of thumb is I'd rather try to make it myself rather than investigate the company and its protocol.

Food items I feel are often overlooked- processed meats, condiments, non-stick cooking sprays (propellants in general tend to have gluten in the propellant), extracts (the alcohol in them often contains gluten), and licorice... sorry, most of it contains wheat. I find that over the years, I have a comfort zone I don't like to cross much. There are many dedicated companies now that offer safe practices I have grown to trust. Beyond those, though, I prefer to have control in my own kitchen.

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Kimberly gf mommy