We follow a pretty strict Paleo diet and are currently trying to switch to a couple of months of the even stricter autoimmune protocol but despite following a diet that is generally just meat and veg I still find some surprising sources of gluten and wheat. I am not trying to be super strict about reading the labels on pretty much everything and
The purpose of this article is to just keep a list of anything where the dreaded gluten bogeyman has had his sticky little fingers all over and where you simply would not have thought to check.
Contains Gluten (UK List)
- Baking Powder – Dr. Oetker
- Lemongrass & Ginger Green Tea – Tetley
- Cooked Turkey Breast – Bernard Matthews
- Pork Scratching / Pork Rind – most brands include wheat, soy & gluten
- Some brands of Beef Jerky – always check the label!
Contains Gluten (US List)
I am in the UK, so don’t really have anything for this list yet but please if you can drop a comment with all foods where some gluten has been sneaked in I can help to make this a useful resource for folks.
Gluten Exposure
If you are like us and doing your best to avoid gluten at every twist and turn then it is pretty annoying when it is sneaked into things like cooked turkey breast or green tea. So, lets start a policy of diligent label reading and see if we can’t get a solid list of unexpected sources of Gluten down here.
I am happy to do this for other countries so if anyone wants to maintain a page on the site for their country or just to send details over to me just get in touch.
All of this is still new to me. I’m still collecting information, ingredients and recipes before starting my Paleo adventure. My question is, How do you discover the hidden glutens? Is it included in the ingredients and admit it’s poison? Help!
PS…I’m from the US, and I will definately share any hidden gluten products I find.
Hi Darcy,
In the UK all foods must have the ingredients listed so it usually easy to see if a product contains wheat flour or some other gluten containing item. The problem is that gluten is appearing in many foods that wouldn’t immediately arouse suspicion, such as baking powder. Obviously for anyone who has coeliac / celiac disease even a tiny amount can be disastrous, I have even heard on a Robb Wolf podcast that some shampoos that contain gluten should be avoided just in case some reaches the mouth! It looks like the FDA in the US is working on a Gluten Free label so look out for that.
As for gluten being viewed as a poison, or at least a toxin, in the future, who knows? Coeliac / celiac disease is now affecting approx 1% of the population (in US & UK) whereas it was only a fraction of that 100 years ago, if it continues to rise at such a rate maybe the mainstream advice will eventually be to avoid gluten even if you don’t have any outward symptoms. In the mean time, for those of us who know the potential dangers of gluten, we have the knowledge to make that choice now.
Just found your site and have found it very informative. I have been doing Paleo since Feb. and have found it very healthful. Then 2 months ago I started getting a reaction to lemons, limes then all citric acid. Then Paprika. So I guess my body has started to let me know in no uncertain terms what it no longer wants in it. I started a very strick AI protocol yesterday and wow that takes even more thinking than just Paleo. Will be following you blog, you have very useful information. Thanks so much.