Gluten Free Engineer - Making Gluten Free Easy

Where Gluten Hides: Surprising Places You’d Never Expect

• Carrie Saunders • Episode 10

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You know to avoid bread, pasta, and baked goods—but what about soy sauce? Potato chips? Even some lip balms?! 😱

Gluten isn’t just in the obvious places—it hides in so many unexpected foods and products, making it even harder to avoid. If you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, knowing where gluten sneaks in can save you from frustrating reactions and flare-ups.

In today’s episode, I’m breaking down the surprising places gluten hides, the sneaky ingredients to watch for, and how to protect yourself from accidental exposure. If you’ve ever been “glutened” but had no idea where it came from, this episode is for you!


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Carrie Saunders:

Quick reminder before we get started on this episode this podcast is based on my personal experiences and isn't medical advice. You know how to avoid bread, pasta and baked goods, but what about soy sauce, potato chips, even some lip balms? Gluten isn't just in the obvious places. It hides in so many unexpected foods and products, making it harder to avoid. If you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, knowing where gluten sneaks in can save you from frustrating reactions and flare-ups. In today's episode, I'm breaking down the surprising places gluten hides, the sneaky ingredients to watch out for and how to protect yourself from accidental exposure. If you've ever been glutened but had no idea where it came from, this episode is for you. Welcome to the Gluten-Free Engineer Podcast. I'm your host, k Saunders.

Carrie Saunders:

In 2011, I was diagnosed with celiac disease a moment that changed everything, but I was determined not to let it hold me back. With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer the gluten-free lifestyle, breaking down recipes, safety tips, travel hacks and everything in between to rebuild a life I love. Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply choose to live gluten-free, this podcast is for you. Join me each week as we simplify the gluten-free lifestyle, make it fun and prove that you don't have to miss out on anything. Welcome back to the show.

Carrie Saunders:

Today we're talking about hidden places that gluten can be found, and let's first off start off as to why does gluten sneak into so many unexpected places? Well, first off, gluten is a cheap thickener, stabilizer and filler, so manufacturers use it in all kinds of foods, products and medicines as well. It can be hidden under different names, making it tricky to spot unless you know what to look for. We're going to put these in our show notes, but I'm going to read through some pretty common but less known hidden sources of gluten, because it can get really confusing when you're first starting out for sure. So some wheat-based gluten ingredients are such as wheat starch, hydrolyzed wheat protein, wheat germ, wheat bran, wheat berries, durum semolina spelt, mary's Durham Semolina Spelt, kamut Bulger. Those are some of the common other types of names for wheat type of products, that's, wheat-based gluten.

Carrie Saunders:

Now, some barley-based ingredients include malt, which could include malt extract, malt flavoring, malt vinegar, malt syrup, maltodextrin. In some cases not all cases, but sometimes maltodextrin is derived from barley. Also barley extract that one's a little bit more obvious barley enzymes and brewer's yeast, which is commonly found in beer and supplements. So that brewer's yeast can be a little bit tricky because you may not think that it has barley in it, but sometimes it can Also rye-based ingredients. Rye flour can be a little bit tricky because you may not think that it has barley in it, but sometimes it can Also rye-based ingredients. Rye flour that's a little bit obvious, but pumpernickel might not be. Triticale, which is a hybrid of wheat and rye, is also a rye-based ingredient.

Carrie Saunders:

So there are some other ingredients that might contain gluten and you're going to want to check labels. So modified food starch might contain gluten and you're going to want to check labels. So modified food starch could contain gluten. Typically in the United States it's usually corn-based, but in other countries it may come from wheat and it's possible it could come from wheat if you're in the United States as well.

Carrie Saunders:

Natural flavors that's one that's really iffy. You don't know what that natural flavor is and sometimes it contains a barley base of flavoring. So be cautious when it says natural flavors, especially if the product's not marked as gluten-free or certified gluten-free. Caramel color this is usually gluten-free, but there are some rare cases it can be derived from barley. Soy sauce Most brands of soy sauce contain wheat. You want to look for a gluten-free tamari instead, which is a soy sauce that has no wheat in it. Or you could use coconut aminos which is what we use in our family because several of us are soy sensitive that does not have gluten, nor does it have soy in it either. So this is quite a few lists of hidden sources of gluten, and it's really hard to remember sometimes, so I want to you know we're going to have this link in our show notes of the list of all the items. Now there are more out there. This is not an exhaustive list, but this is a common list of other places you're going to find gluten, other names for gluten and products, and you may not realize it.

Carrie Saunders:

Even naturally, gluten-free foods can be cross-contaminated during processing. So if you're a celiac, make sure that you're looking at that label and making sure it doesn't say processed in a facility that also processes wheat. Or if you're gluten intolerant and highly sensitive, look for that too. If you are celiac or highly gluten sensitive, you're best off getting something that is certified gluten-free, to be honest with you. And then we're going to talk about surprising foods that contain gluten. We already talked about this some soy sauce and teriyaki sauce, because most modern soy sauce in the United States and in many countries contain wheat. So do look at those ingredients. Whenever you go out to eat, at you know a Chinese restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, et cetera, you're going to want to ask what type of soy sauce they use and make sure that they're using a gluten-free soy sauce. There are many of them out there that do have that option available, where you can ask for coconut aminos if they have that too. So when you're eating recipes and out to eat that might have soy sauce in it, please be extra cautious.

Carrie Saunders:

There Also French fries and potato chips. This might be a little bit surprising to those that might be new to gluten-free, but potatoes are naturally gluten-free, as many of us know. But many times fries are coated with wheat flour to get them extra crispy and a lot of people don't realize that. Also, chips can contain wheat and or malt vinegar, and malt vinegar, as we talked about, is derived from barley. It also can be fried in a shared fryer with gluten containing ingredients too. So we need to be really careful with our potatoes, our French fries, our chips.

Carrie Saunders:

We have a local hot dog restaurant here that fries their fries in peanut oil and they do not fry anything else in the oil. And actually there's a little bit of a story behind that, because I helped them, help me, be safe eating at this place, even though they serve hot dogs on buns and things like that, and I was asking questions and making sure that they on buns and things like that, and I was asking questions and making sure that they didn't fry anything else in the fryer other than French fries. They assured me that's all they fried in there was French fries. So I was fine for probably a few years and then all of a sudden I started not feeling good when I was eating there and this is literally a two-person shop that runs this place, it's a wonderful little shop here in Athens, ohio and I happened to notice they had jalapeno poppers as a special, and so I asked them I'm like, hey, are you frying those jalapeno poppers and the fries and the oil with the fries? And they're like we are.

Carrie Saunders:

I was like, oh well, then I can't eat that anymore. That's why I don't feel good after I eat here. And their eyes got really big and wide and they're like, oh, we're so sorry. And then, guess what, a week or two later actually pretty much at that time. They stopped making. I think once they ran out of the jalapeno poppers they stopped having it as a special. And then within a week or two they told me they're like hey, we stopped frying them. We've changed our oil many times that we think you might be okay now. And so then I was able to start eating their fries again, because they're actually one of those places that actually does clean their frying oil really well and very often and very frequently, which is why their fries are the best in the world.

Carrie Saunders:

Ask questions, just in case. I got complacent and just assumed that they were still just using french fries in the fryer until I started not feeling good every time I ate there and then noticed their special that they had, which was jalapeno poppers. So don't be afraid to ask every time. That's a bit the moral to the story there, and if they're a small place like that, talk to them about it. They may be willing to do what I was surprised these people did, but they are all very kind too, so I'm not that surprised, because that's just who they are, you know to change their process and not do that so that I could eat there safely. So make sure you keep that in mind.

Carrie Saunders:

So let's go to the next set of items that could have gluten in it. Imitation meat and vegetarian products sometimes have gluten in it. Many plant-based meats use siaten hopefully I'm pronouncing that right which is pure wheat gluten. Some veggie burgers and meat substitutes also contain wheat as a binder. So please be extra cautious when you're getting vegetarian or vegan products. While they can be healthy and great for the environment in other ways you've got to be really careful as a celiac or gluten intolerant or somebody choosing to be gluten free for other reasons, because you could be getting wheat from a vegetarian or vegan products.

Carrie Saunders:

And then candy and chocolate. So we need to be looking religiously at our candy and chocolate. Not that we should be eating it that much, because it's not that healthy for us. As we all know, sugar is not great for us but sometimes they contain malt extract in there which is from barley, or they could have wheat-based fillers. So many of the mainstream candy companies will let you know if they're gluten-free or not. So be sure to do your research on that, and I'm going to have a future episode here soon on specialty candies as we come up approach the holidays. Easter will be coming up soon.

Carrie Saunders:

I'm recording this episode in March and Easter will be coming up soon here in the United States and there's other holidays too that have specialty. You know items that come out during the holidays. So I'll be doing a special episode specifically on holiday candy. Because it's different, because if something is gluten-free, many times it's the size and the type of product, so just keep that in mind. I'll just give you a little bit of a preview here. So just because you know a certain candy bar is gluten-free on their standard size, don't assume that a different version of it is also gluten-free. Always be researching that.

Carrie Saunders:

Also, look for licorice gummies and coated candies. They often use wheat starch in their ingredients. There's a very popular brand of gummy bears here in the United States and they might contain wheat. You don't know which starch they're using in your bag of gummies, so it's just best not to eat those at all. So please be careful with gummies, licorice and coated candies. And there's even some mints that have a coating of wheat powder on the outside to keep them from sticking together when they're in the little tin can. So please be sure and be diligent on candy and chocolate. It can really sneak in gluten on you.

Carrie Saunders:

I know one time at Halloween I was newly gluten free, was still learning, and I kept wondering why I felt bad when I was sneaking the kids Halloween candy. You know that mom that sneaks the Halloween candy yes, that's me. I'm sure all the moms out there understand what I did, because we all do it. And I kept wondering why do I feel like bad? And I found out a specific type of milky way and when I go into the candy episode specifically we'll talk about which ones. But a specific type of Milky Way had barley in it, had malted barley in it, but the other kinds didn't, which is why I was sometimes getting sick when I ate that specific candy bar. So make sure you're really double checking on any candy or treats that you're having.

Carrie Saunders:

And then the next category is spices and seasonings. Some seasoning blends contain wheat as an anti-caking agent. So you always want to check labels here and I recommend, if you're in question, stick with single ingredient spices instead of blends, because many times the wheat is in the blended ones, because they have several different spices in there and they need to make it an anti-caking so they don't, you know, glob together. So always make sure you're checking labels or using single ingredient spices. And then the next area is salad dressings and condiments. So many creamy dressings and sauces like ranch or Caesar use wheat or malt vinegar in them, and the wheat's there, to you know, have it be thickened and not separate, and the malt vinegar can be in there for flavoring. Some ketchup mustards and barbecue sauces also sneak in gluten as a thickener. So please be careful there.

Carrie Saunders:

Double check all the ingredients. Make sure it says gluten-free, make sure there's no suspecting ingredients in it. And then also soup and broth. So canned and restaurant soups often contain wheat flour as a thickener. So anytime you go out to eat if it's like any sort of soup, I wouldn't even assume Make sure it doesn't have wheat flour in it. Make sure it doesn't have soy sauce in it. That's also a common flavor enhancer in soups too.

Carrie Saunders:

And then we also want to be looking at bouillon cubes and flavored stock sometimes contain gluten. That's one of the reasons why I started on using the not chicken brand and the not beef brand and the veggie cube brand, just because I knew it was gluten-free. It labeled itself as gluten-free and then what I found was it tastes so much better than not chicken. So it's basically it's just really good, really seasoned bouillon cubes. And then the beef one's really good too, even though there's absolutely no beef in it. They're all vegan and they're just just taste so great. So many times you'll stumble upon something even better tasting when you're looking for something gluten-free. So that's something I highly recommend if you want to use some sort of broth, that makes great broth, and it's in my cream of chicken soup episode as well.

Carrie Saunders:

And then next oats and granola. So this is something people sometimes don't think about, because oats are naturally gluten-free. But the problem is most oats are cross-contaminated while they're processing. Many times the oats and the wheat is grown in neighboring fields. Many times they're harvested potentially together or with the same equipment and maybe go into the same facility and get manually sorted, and so gluten will actually get onto the oats when it's in that situation.

Carrie Saunders:

So you always want to make sure you're buying certified gluten-free oats. It's not a scam. They actually test it and make sure there isn't any gluten in those oats. Most of the time those oats are actually harvested and grown in a completely separate place and all the things that process it and touch it don't touch wheat, and that's how they can make sure it's safe, and then they test it afterwards as well. So make sure you're buying certified gluten-free oats.

Carrie Saunders:

And then on top of that is granola and oat-based snacks bars, because oats can be cross-contaminated. We need to make sure there isn't any hidden wheat or barley ingredients in there and we need to make sure that the oats they use are gluten-free oats as well. And many good brands are great at telling you whether they're gluten-free oats or it says certified gluten-free on the bar or on the granola bar or on the granola itself. So look for that. Don't assume that if they're oats they're gluten-free. Make sure it says certified gluten-free oats, or it says certified gluten-free oats, or it says uses gluten-free oats, etc. So make sure you're looking for words like that.

Carrie Saunders:

And then alcoholic drinks. You know, obviously beer has a gluten in it, unless it's a gluten-free beer. But also malt beverages and some flavored alcohols contain gluten. Sometimes those seltzers even though the seltzer itself is gluten-free, they use a malt flavoring in it to make it have a different taste. So make sure you're looking at these labels and making sure that they're gluten-free. So stick with gluten-free beer, wine, cider or distilled liquors that don't have any added malt flavoring. So make sure you're careful there. If you do choose to drink. Now there's some places and I hinted to this earlier in this episode where gluten still sneaks into that contain gluten, and this is something I've fought so many times over the years.

Carrie Saunders:

Medications and supplements Some pills contain wheat as a filler and they're not required to list that as an allergen, which absolutely blows my mind. Here in the United States I may I hope they do, and other countries are required to label that, but in the United States they're not required to. My pharmacist, thankfully, knows me and that's the first thing she looks for is gluten and any medicines that I might get prescribed. So make sure you're always checking the labels, asking the pharmacist, make sure they're doing their due diligence and actually looking this up. Sometimes they even have to call the manufacturer and most of them have no problem doing that. Don't feel like you're putting them out or, you know, make giving them extra work. It's their job to make sure you get safe medicine, so don't feel badly if you ask a special request because it is your health.

Carrie Saunders:

I actually about let's see about four years ago I had arthritis set in. I think I hinted on this in one of the other episodes and they were trying to find a medicine to help me with my arthritis. And we had so much trouble finding this medicine without weed in it. And then, when we finally did find the medicine without weed in it turns out I was actually allergic to something else in it. So then I still couldn't take it. But do your due diligence and make sure you don't, you know find something that has weed in it, because there's one medicine I didn't realize had weed in it. Before we switched to the one that didn't. I literally thought I could just like lay on the floor and go to sleep at any point in time. It had caused so much fatigue in me. So make sure you're double checking this.

Carrie Saunders:

And speaking of laying on the floor and just wanting to go to sleep, about, let's see, about nine years ago I was taking down here's another hidden source of gluten you might not think about. I was taking down wallpaper in our offices for our business, because there was wallpaper in my office, didn't think anything about it, but after, like you know, 30 minutes-ish or an hour, oh my goodness, I was so tired. I just like it was like flu fatigue. I just wanted to lay on the floor. I just want to lay on that carpet and take a nap, and so I took a break. I thought, oh, maybe I'm just not feeling good. I'm tired. You know, a couple of days later, come back and start working on the on the wallpaper again Happens again. I get so tired after about 30 minutes. I just want to lay down. I wanted to just take a nap. I wanted to sleep. I couldn't do anything. I didn't feel like lifting my arms up. I couldn't do anything.

Carrie Saunders:

Turns out, wallpaper paste is made with wheat. I was breathing and getting probably into my digestive system too, because when we breathe things in, they end up getting in our digestive system as well. I was breathing in all this wheat vapors and it was making me so sick and so tired. So wallpaper is another thing you need to avoid if you're celiac especially, and if you're highly gluten intolerant. So if you ever need to remove wallpaper, don't do it. Have somebody else do it, pay somebody else to do it. I think my husband had to finish it because I just couldn't do it. Once I figured out, because we had a steamer. You know, you got this paste everywhere. The paste was on my hands. I was probably getting it in me because it was in my hands too. Even if I was washing my hands, you know, who knows how I got it in there. So just don't do it on the wallpaper. It was a shock to have it in there, but then it also kind of made sense at the same time.

Carrie Saunders:

And then another hidden sources of gluten is we need to be diligent about our makeup and our lip balm. So some lipsticks, lip balms and glosses contain gluten-based ingredients, which obviously is a problem because they can be accidentally ingested, and I honestly recommend that we also go as far as skincare and healthcare products. So while gluten can't technically be absorbed through your skin, lotions, shampoos and body washes with gluten can cause reactions if they get into your mouth, like from hand to mouth contact or washing your face. You know, it's pretty normal, I feel like for most of us to wash our hands and then we might use some lotion because our hands feel dry after we wash them. And then maybe we go eat some chips or some gluten-free pretzels or something, and here we have this gluten-containing lotion on our hands that we're using to eat with. So we also need to be looking at what is we're putting on our body as well, especially if we're celiac, just to make sure we aren't accidentally ingesting and playing. Along with that is toothpaste and mouthwash. Some oral care products contain gluten as a binder, so check for gluten-free brands here. I find this not quite as common, but it is something to definitely double check just in case, because that's obviously a place you're going to potentially accidentally swallow. Which is toothpaste and mouthwash, right?

Carrie Saunders:

And then if we have kids, we need to make sure we're careful with Play-Doh. That Play-Doh brand is made with wheat flour. There are off brands of Play-Doh that are not made with wheat flour. So look for brands of Play-Doh that are not made with wheat flour. So look for those instead. Also, kids craft supplies can have a wheat in it. A paper mache is many times used with a wheat type of paste, so also be looking at potentially craft supplies and kids modeling things like that to make sure that they don't have wheat in it as well, for your safety if you are handling it with them, and for theirs if they are the one with gluten issues as well. So how do we protect ourselves? Kind of a long-winded episode as far as all the many different places we could have gluten, but it comes down to reading labels carefully. If you see wheat, barley, rye, malt, brewer's yeast or any of the other types of words I used in the beginning of the episode, make sure you avoid it and look for gluten-free certifications, especially on prepackaged foods, supplements and personal care products. That's going to help you stay safe and stay healthy.

Carrie Saunders:

And then ask questions at restaurants. Even naturally gluten-free foods can be at risk for cross-contact. There was one restaurant here locally where I was eating hamburger buns regular hamburgers but they were toasting my bun. I found out because I was getting sick every time I ate there, or pretty much every time so I started asking questions and they toasted the bun in the same place. They toasted regular buns. So the server figured out we both figured out that we just need to not toast my buns. So always ask questions, even if they've been safe before. But you know they have gluten-containing products in that restaurant. Make sure they're still keeping up with the practices that you already questioned about before. Don't forget to ask again.

Carrie Saunders:

Use a gluten-free dining app like Find Me Gluten-Free, which we're a sponsor of, to find safe restaurants near you too, and, when in doubt, skip it. Honestly, I hate to say that, but it's better to be safe than the risk of accidental exposure, especially if you have a severe gluten intolerance or celiac disease. So hopefully that helps you mitigate any issues of getting cross-contaminated. And if there are other ways that you have found surprising ways that you have accidentally been gluten, click on that text, carry button in your show notes in your podcast app and drop me a text and I'll be sure to feature it on the show, because I love getting feedback from all you listeners out there. So make sure to let me know if there's something else surprising that you've ran into, let me know your story and maybe even, if you're interested, maybe we can also do a little interview and a chat on the show if you would like. So you're always welcome to email us at hello at theglutenfreeengineercom too.

Carrie Saunders:

Gluten hides in more places than you might expect, from soy sauce to skincare to children's play products. If you're gluten-free, staying informed and reading labels is your best defense against accidental exposure. The more you know, the safer and healthier you can be. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Gluten-Free Engineer. If you found value in this story, please share it with someone who might need encouragement on their own gluten-free journey. For more tips, recipes, resources and even links to my YouTube channel. Head on over to theglutenfreeengineercom. It's your one-stop hub to make gluten-free living simple, fun and full of flavor. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss out on an episode, and we will see you next week. The Gluten-Free Engineer podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I share my personal experiences and stories about living with celiac disease and navigating a gluten-free lifestyle. This podcast does not provide medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional for medical questions, concerns or advice specific to your health.

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