Things you might not think of containing gluten‏

When you go on a gluten-free diet and are beginning the learning process of what you can and cannot eat, you might not think of things that don't present an obvious reason to contain gluten. Below are a few of those items I had to learn about on my own.

  1. Toothpaste  ̶̶  Crest, Colgate and Aquafresh claim to be gluten free; Sensodyne does not guarantee that it is gluten free.

  2. Gum on envelops and stamps

  3. Communion wafers  ̶̶   and don't drink wine from a communal cup either. All those lips touching that cup are glutened with communion wafers and God knows what else.

  4. Broth/soup  ̶̶  unless you make it yourself or use a specifically gluten-free brand such as Pacific or Trader Joe’s

  5. Imitation crab  ̶̶  has wheat in it

  6. Soy sauce and teriyaki sauce  ̶̶  both have wheat in them

  7. A kiss  ̶̶  if the person you’re kissing has been drinking beer or eating gluten-filled foods

  8. Semen  ̶̶  he is what he eats, and you may react to exposure to his bodily fluids

  9. Lipstick, lip gloss, lip balm  ̶̶  Carmex guarantees its products are GF. Lots of lipsticks claim to be GF but I don’t have a lot of information on this.

10. Chocolate  ̶̶  if it comes from a facility that dusts their conveyor belts with flour to keep it from sticking

11. Vitamins, herbal supplements and medications  ̶̶  prescription and over-the-counter

12. Rice prepared by someone other than you  ̶̶  people (and restaurants) often cook rice with broth, which is usually not gluten free 

13. Processed meats/sandwich meats

14. Condiments, seasonings and salad dressings

15. Ice cream (some brands)

16. Potato chips (some brands) 

17. Anything fried in the same vat of grease as foods with gluten  ̶̶  e.g. corn chips at almost any Mexican restaurant

18. Dishwashing detergent  ̶̶  this one I just learned about. It never occurred to me that my detergent might contain gluten.

Some people are more sensitive to gluten than others, so some folks may not be affected by some of the items listed above, while others might be struggling to figure out why they keep having reactions even when they believe they’re totally avoiding gluten. You just have to determine what you can and cannot tolerate.