Keep the basic list below on hand as a reference so you can avoid foods containing gluten when shopping and eating out.  Contact your local Celiac group for detailed lists of foods in your local area.

If you live in the US, you can get up-to-date listings for various processed food, restaurant food and medications here: Clan Thompson’s Gluten-Free Food & Drug Lists.

You might also be interested in my post Gluten Free Foods List

Foods Containing Gluten – Gluten Grains

Wheat – all varieties including spelt, kamut, durum, semolina, graham, faro, emmer, einkorn. Avoid all forms including whole grains, refined, berries, germs, brans, flours, sprouted and fermented. Note: more research needs to be done on ancient varieties of wheat like einkorn, but until it has been shown that it’s safe for Celiacs and gluten intolerant people, it’s best to avoid it.

Barley -  all varieties and forms including anything that has ‘malt ‘as an ingredient. Malt foods include malt vinegars, malted milk drinks and candies, beer, and brown rice syrup.

Rye – all varieties and forms

Triticale – a hybrid of wheat and rye created in laboratories during the late 19th century

Gluten is used as an additive and/or ingredient in thousands of processed foods and personal care items. Always check labels and confirm with manufacturers to find out if they are using gluten in their products.

Note: Sometimes you will see “corn gluten” or “rice gluten” listed as an ingredient in foods. Gluten in both of those cases refers to the protein part of corn and rice,  NOT the problematic proteins found in the gluten grains that gluten intolerant people must avoid.

Perhaps you’ve also seen the term “glutinous” to describe rice. Glutinous in that case simply means sticky. Glutinous rice is also called “sweet rice” or “sticky rice”. Glutinous rice isn’t a gluten grain.

Potential Sources of Gluten In Processed Foods and Drinks

If the label lists any of the foods/ingredients/additives below and the product isn’t certified gluten free, be cautious. Please confirm with the manufacturer that gluten is not present before purchasing and consuming.

baking powder

beer (unless labeled gluten free, ALL beer must be avoided)

breading mixes

brown rice syrup

canned meat/fish in broth

caramel color (usually from corn, but check)

cheese sauce

cocoa mixes

condiments like ketchup and mustard (gluten is often used as a stabilizer)

dry-roasted nuts

deli meats

dextrin (usually from corn but confirm)

emulsifiers

frozen french fries (can be in the coating)

frozen burgers

gravy

hot dogs

hydrolyzed plant protein (HVP)

licorice (both black and red)

modified food starch

mono and di-glycerides

natural flavorings

rice products with seasoning packets + some imported rice (may have been dusted with wheat flour)

seiten (powdered wheat gluten found in many vegetarian products, including meat and cheese substitutes)

stabilizers

starch

soy sauce (usually made by fermenting soy and wheat. You can buy wheat free tamari instead)

sausages (wheat is often used as a ‘filler’. The package may not list it if it isn’t a standard brand. Ask if in doubt)

spice and herb blends (pure spices and herbs are gluten-free, but when assembled into mixes sometimes gluten is added)

texturized vegetable protein (TVP)

Remember, ANY processed or restaurant food can contain gluten either because gluten foods are in the ingredients or via cross contamination during processing and cooking. Ideally you should buy products that are certified gluten free or are very unlikely to be contaminated. Please see my post Gluten Free Foods List

You can also purchase a gluten testing kit to test foods that you’re unsure about.

Spelt (shown above in whole berry form) is sometimes used to create ‘wheat free’ baked goods

Is spelt gluten free? is a common question asked by people who are eliminating wheat and/or gluten from their diet. A growing number of food manufacturers and bakeries are using spelt flour in baked goods, labeling the products ‘wheat free’ and thus good for wheat intolerance. Spelt is also called a health food because it has a higher protein content than wheat.

Some people say that their body handles spelt well so it’s a good wheat substitute. They believe that they have ‘wheat allergy’ otherwise known as ‘wheat intolerance’ but no issues with gluten overall.

Yes, spelt contains gluten *, the problematic related proteins found in wheat, rye, barley, triticale and kamut that people who are sensitive must avoid.

Spelt is actually a relative of wheat. It contains less gluten than wheat, but definitely enough to be a problem for people who are gluten intolerant.

The gluten content of spelt is one of the reasons why it’s used as a wheat alternative. Gluten in wheat is responsible for producing high rising bread (this is why professional bakers will sometimes add ‘vital wheat gluten’ to bread dough as an enhancement). Spelt has enough gluten in it to produce baked goods that are similar to wheat based ones.

Spelt bread is very similar to wheat bread

Why are some people who have wheat intolerance fine with spelt?

Allergies and intolerances are usually to the protein components in food, but no food has just one kind of protein in it. Therefore, wheat and spelt and other ‘gluten’ grains aren’t only composed of the proteins that are referred to as gluten. Someone who has wheat intolerance might not react to spelt because they are reacting to one of the other proteins in wheat. 

However, if  they know that they react to wheat then there’s good reason to be VERY cautious about spelt. They may, in fact, be reacting to gluten, just not as visibly or obviously because there is less gluten in spelt than in wheat.

What are the possible dangers of eating spelt?

The damage that the problematic proteins referred to as ‘gluten’ cause is very serious and can happen at a microscopic level. Your body won’t have a chance to heal unless you stop consuming ALL gluten for a long period of time and stay off it for good. It is not uncommon for gluten intolerant people to be experiencing damage that can’t be readily felt or seen in obvious ways but is adding up over time and contributing to autoimmune disorders and other ailments. Many people don’t realise that gluten issues don’t always manifest in Celiac disease and the ‘gluten rash’ otherwise known as dermatitis herpetiformis because most doctors aren’t up to date on this either.

We can’t know 100% what’s going on at all times inside our bodies and deep within our cells. I speak from experience and observation because I’ve misdiagnosed myself many times, as many people have, based on symptoms that I associated with things that I knew or believed at the time or what I ‘sensed’.  I didn’t know for sure that I had issues with gluten until I was in my 30s. Finally with the help of a support group, I started to wonder if my issues were due to gluten. Eventually I was properly tested by Enterolab thanks to the urging of several caring people who were highly educated about gluten issues. A big thank you to them. This has made a difference for me.

So take care of yourself and listen to your body, but open yourself up to the fact that you may have a problem with gluten even if you feel that you are not reacting to spelt compared to wheat. Consider being tested for gluten intolerance at a respected lab like Enterolab no matter what any other test has told you (yes, the standard blood test for Celiac is not good enough to diagnose problems. Please read Gluten Intolerance Testing: 6 Problems with the Standard Tests and 2 Solutions). Even with careful testing you may not know all of the subtleties of what is causing what, but it’s a solid start. If you can’t afford testing, going on a 100% gluten free diet for at least 1 month, preferably longer, may tell you a lot more than any test can.

Good News

There are MANY delicious substitutes for gluten grains. You don’t need to eat spelt to enjoy a quality wheat free baked good. You can find great gluten free foods and ingredients at Amazon <– there is some fun stuff to play with if you click on that link – it opens a post I wrote about Amazon. Gluten Free Mall is also a good resource.

And if you love to bake, investing in a good grain mill like the one below to quickly create gluten free flour and flour mixes is a smart thing to do. It will save you money in the long run and you’ll have the freshest ingredients to work with.

See my post on the best grain mill

* in the past, the term ‘gluten’ was used for the protein portion of any grain, including rice, so if you see ‘rice gluten’ or ‘corn gluten’ listed on a package or in an old recipe book, it usually is referring to the protein in corn or rice, not the same class of proteins found in wheat, spelt, kamut, rye, barley and triticale that are damaging for many people. Why? Using the term ‘gluten’ to describe the proteins that sensitive people, like Celiacs, react to is a fairly recent thing.