Wheat Where?

On this whole gluten free journey I have been surprised where wheat or gluten products might turn up. You might be surprised too.

Soy sauce- it's not all soy. Go to the pantry and pick up your bottle. See- wheat. Bummer. There is wheat free soy sauce. However, I am only allowed to have sea salt, so soy sauce is staying away from my pantry. Actually many sauces contain wheat products- teriyaki sauce, Worchestershire, and most steak sauces.

Spice blends- this can be a sad one for me. Many of the steak seasonings or seasonings with "smoke flavor" have some form of gluten. And of course the ever present MSG- the G stands for glutemate = gluten. So I make most of my own spice blends. There plenty out there that are gluten free, but I am wary of "natural flavor". Shiver down my spine!

Salad dressing and marinades- I stay away from these especially when eating out. Gluten products are often used as thickeners. Again it can be as small as that "natural flavor" or it can be all out labeled. Some products are labeled gluten free. I can breathe a sigh of relief when I see that! I also stay away from anything marinated at restaurants because of this.

Communion wafers or crackers- I had forgotten about this until I went to church on Sunday. Some churches are starting to have a gluten free tray or allow people to bring in their own. I will say that I broke mine into a tiny piece but it had me concerned all day! Next time I will plan ahead. This does however make visiting churches a bit interesting.

Shampoo and soap- Wheat derivatives are often used in hair care. On my very nice Jason's shampoo bottle it was listed clearly- hydrolyzed wheat protein. And I have been wondering why my scalp issues haven't cleared up!! I have switched brands now. Sorry Jason's. I also changed my facial cleanser, and it has made a difference. It is amazing how it is the small things that have a big impact.

Lotion, sunscreen and beauty products- Yep. Lotion. Often same as the shampoo.  Or have you ever seen tocopherol listed on an ingredients list? It is vitamin E, but is often derived from wheat. And there are lots of other words like that to look for. Gotta check your source and that can be time consuming. My eyes have been much less irritated since I stopped wearing makeup. There is gluten free makeup out there, but again, you have to do a lot of research.

Ok, my brain is tired. I am sure that there is something else out there that I will remember later. We'll just add to the list then. Until then I encourage you to do some label reading and start noticing where wheat turns up or gluten. Once you learn to recognize it you won't wonder why people are starting to get sensitive to it. It is everywhere!!!