How do I find gluten on nutrition labels?

What to look for and what is safe

Finding gluten in foods can sometimes be harder than you think. So, here are some hints for recognizing it easily!

On each nutrition label, companies are required to list all the ingredients that are included or possibly came into contact with. The first thing to look at are those ingredients at the very bottom that are bolded.

Usually, if the food has gluten in it, there will be a "contains wheat" warning. But this doesn't always mean that there can't be hidden glutenous ingredients.

So what should I look for?

In one of my blog posts, "What is Celiac Disease", I go through several ingredients that are not often highlighted in nutrition labels and I will list them again here.

• Barley

• Malt

• Oatmeal

• Wheat Bran

• Matzo

• Bulgur

• Couscous

• Farina

• Seitan

• Wheat Germ

• Semolina

• Kamut

• Spelt

All of these ingredients contain gluten, yet even if some foods have them it won't always tell you that it has wheat in it. That's why it's so important to always check each ingredient before you buy!

It can take some time at first, but eventually you'll have trained your eye to find these ingredients in an instant.

How will I know something is gluten free?

When there are so many hidden ingredients and possibilities of contact with wheat products, it can be hard to feel confident that your food is safe to eat. But there are some foods that are easy to tell.

Completely gluten free foods always have a label on the packaging declaring that it's gluten free.

These labels are put on foods that are guaranteed to be gluten free. So if you see one of these on the packaging, then it is 100% safe to eat.

So now that you know what to look for and what things are safe or not, start practicing today! The next time you go to the store pick up some of your favorite ingredients and double check that it's really gluten free. Good luck!