Take a look at this well-explained list of food additives to avoid on a gluten-free diet.
We believe that you have all heard the term ‘gluten-free diet’ at least once in your life. This can sometimes be quite confusing for many because it isn’t a diet in the way that most people understand it, that is, to help get rid of excess weight. In fact, it’s about something else entirely, a kind of lifestyle that helps you heal your gut and allow it to finally start absorbing all the nutrients you need from your diet.
To make it easier for you to find your way when checking all the items in your shopping cart, here is a list of food additives to avoid on a gluten-free diet. So let’s go into details!
Food Additives to Avoid On a Gluten-Free Diet
It seems to us that most people don’t understand that there is something more than eliminating bread from the diet. These proteins can be found almost everywhere from wheat to rye, barley, and triticale, and therefore it is of great significance to learn to read food labels to avoid these gluten-containing ingredients. Here is all you need to know.
The Most Common Ones
As you might guess, all types of wheat flour are among the most common gluten additives. Apart from them, this list also includes cracker meals, groats, kamut, matzo, semolina, spelt, vital gluten, and finally, hard to believe, our beloved soy and teriyaki sauce.
Speaking of which, we know that some of you will have a hard time getting the soy part down, which is why we are bringing you a comprehensive soy-free diet plan that we are sure you’ll love.
Experts also note that it is necessary to largely avoid malt in all its forms, regardless of whether it is syrup, aroma, or extract because it is made from barley, which is not gluten-free at all. We always strongly recommend that you pay special attention to the label on the back of the product because it mostly reveals all the secrets, it’s just important that you know how to read and interpret everything on it.
For instance, if you notice flour, even at the very end of the list, it would be best to put the product back on the shelf because it is mostly wheat flour that allergy sufferers should avoid at all costs.
Avoid the following at all costs:
- flour of all types (e.g. durum, einkorn, emmer, kamut, spelt)
- malt
- cracker meal
- groats
- matzo
- semolina
- soy sauce
- teriyaki sauce
The Less Common Ones
Now we run into a problem. Namely, most of you are familiar with the most common ones because they turn on red lights in our brains every time we name them.
However, what to do with lesser-known ones such as Abyssinian hard, dextrimaltose, dinkel, fu, mir, disodium wheatgermamido peg-2 sulfosuccinate, farina, roux, etc.? Believe us, there are a lot of them. The most honest advice we can give you is to print a list of all lesser-known additives to help you make a safe purchase.
Pay attention to these ingredients unknown to most of us:
- abyssinian hard
- brewer’s yeast
- cereal binding
- cereal extract
- dextrimaltose
- dinkel
- edible starch
- einkorn
- emmer
- filler
- phew
- peace
- chilton
- disodium wheatgermamido peg-2 sulfosuccinate
- farina
- roux
- rusk
- seitan
To Be or Not To Be; Questionable Ones
We understand that you probably already feel a little overwhelmed or like you have to play detective to determine if the product you want to consume is safely gluten-free. But don’t worry, that’s exactly why this list of food additives to avoid on a gluten-free diet was created.
Therefore, we would like to emphasize that some ingredients may or may not contain gluten. This all probably sounds confusing to you, but in that case, the best thing you can do is contact the manufacturer to verify that the product is gluten-free.
These are the additives that carry a red flag next to them:
- monosodium glutamate
- modified food starch
- vegetable protein
- plant protein
- vegetable gum
- maltodextrin
- maltose
- caramel
- broth
Unavoidable Cross-Contamination
It is always necessary to keep in mind that, as with anything else, a naturally gluten-free product can become contaminated with gluten during the manufacturing process, that is, in other words, cross-contamination can occur unintentionally.
To avoid this, focus on whole, unprocessed and fresh foods. You know what they say, prevention is better than cure.
To Conclude
This was a list of food additives to avoid on a gluten-free diet. Print it and take it with you on your next grocery shopping trip.
When push comes to shove, keep following our posts for more information on how to navigate food labels, food additives, and other food ingredients. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to tell us more in the section below.
Via personal experience, I find Kroger (in house/generic) brand soy sauce to be gluten-free.