Hidden Sources Of Gluten

If you have celiac disease, you know that you have to make sure that your food doesn't come into contact with gluten at all. If you touch a gluten-containing food, you must wash your hands with soap and water before eating your own gluten-free food, or you can get a reaction just from the residue on your hands.

The fact that a reaction can happen with such minimal ingestion is the reason that inedible products can also cause a reaction. Whether a certain type of gluten-containing inedible product will cause a reaction depends on your lifestyle, your activities of daily living and your personal habits. It is up to each person to determine if a type of product may pose a risk.

Most people with celiac disease do not get a reaction from merely touching gluten. The reaction generally happens when the residue on your hands makes it's way onto your lips or into your mouth. This can be easier than you might think.

Unfortunately, inedible products don't have the same labeling laws and restrictions. Sometimes a product will have gluten in it, but it won't be labeled as such. Many manufacturers simply don't have the ability to fully verify all of their ingredients because one ingredient can come from several sources.

Inedible products can sometimes be the culprits in a "mystery glutening", a glutening (reaction) where the source has been difficult to identify. If you believe that you may be getting glutened by an inedible product, and the manufacturers of the suspected products aren't able to confirm whether or not they have gluten in it, you're going to have to do some detective work.

You can get some good advice and information on inedible products at online celiac support groups. Many times, a quick search of the message board archives can produce quite a bit of information on the specific brands and items you're concerned about.

If nobody has any experience with the products you're concerned about, you can do one of two things - switch to products that are trusted to be gluten-free by others in the celiac community, or, after not using the products for a period of time, reintroduce them one by one to determine which one is causing a reaction. Individual products should be reintroduced several days apart from each other because reactions can sometimes take a few days to manifest.

Hair Care Products

There are many ways to get glutened by inedible products. Unfortunately, a majority of hair care products contain gluten. In the case of shampoos and conditioners, many people believe that any gluten in the product will not get into their mouths because they don't allow the rinse water to run down their faces.

However, the mist-like spray that comes back to the face off of the shower wall or shower curtain can land on the lips and be licked off. Most of the time you don't even realize you're doing this. Pay attention to this the next time you shower, and see if it's true for you.

Cosmetics

Cosmetics, especially lipsticks, lip balms, nail polish and artificial nails, can also be a source of glutening. The more obvious source is lip balms and lipsticks. If either of these products contains gluten, any time you lick your lips, drink or eat, a small amount of the lip balm or lipstick is ingested. Nail polishes and artificial nail products can be a source of gluten if you touch your food, during preparation or eating, with your hands.

Foundations, powders, blushes and bronzers can settle on your lips during application. They also can be a source of gluten if you absent-mindedly touch your face and then forget to wash your hands before eating.

Precautions To Take With Hidden Sources Of Gluten

In the case of most of the other types of inedible products, the concern is it getting on your lips or in your mouth after getting it on your hands. Washing your hands with confirmed gluten-free soap and water before you eat, and getting into the habit of not touching your lips or mouth with your hands may help keep you from being glutened in this manner.

In the case of pet food, especially dry pet food and treats, many of them contain gluten. You would need to use the same precautions you would use in handling any other type of gluten-containing food.