Eating Gluten-Free and Still Experiencing Symptoms? New Testing Reveals Harmful Contaminants (And Gluten!) in Samples of Gluten-Free Foods

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, and it is used widely to create a certain texture, thickness and flavor in breads, pastas, crackers, flours, baking mixes and other foods. 

It is now common knowledge that consuming gluten can be damaging to your intestines, which can cause a domino effect of other issues because the health of your gut is tightly linked with your overall wellbeing. It is simply hard to digest. 

Over recent years, a gluten-free diet has become quite popular amongst people that are trying to heal from all kinds of physical ailments and feel better in general.

Anytime there is a surge of interest in a certain diet, processed food companies clamor to meet the demand and market their products appropriately to maximize profits. This has led to many more choices on the shelves of grocery stores that are gluten-free, and excessive labeling of the products that are gluten-free.

The process of going gluten-free can be overwhelming. Afterall, we love our breads, crackers and other snacks! Food companies have come out with many gluten-free substitutes to feed our cravings. When choosing one of these gluten-free packaged foods, it is important to remember that "gluten-free" does not mean healthy. Always check the ingredient label to evaluate if the product will meet your specific needs! 

Consumers will commonly choose to switch to gluten-free products when they experience the following conditions:

• Celiac Disease (a life-threatening condition), Gluten sensitivity or intolerance
• IBS, Gas, Bloating and other GI discomfort
• Brain Fog
• Inflammation, Joint Pain, RA
• Autoimmune conditions (Hashimoto's disease, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Grave's Disease, Addison's Disease, Diabetes, etc.)
• Dermatitis and other skin disorders
• Weight Retention and obesity

20 million people in the U.S and 330 million people worldwide are regularly buying gluten-free foods!

It is increasingly obvious as new studies surface around gluten and wheat products that the difficult to digest gluten protein may not be the only problem here, and the looming elephant in the room is the how these gluten containing grains are grown and processed. What is it about wheat that is making people sick?

This scientific review suggests that glyphosate (an endocrine disrupting carcinogenic pesticide sprayed on wheat pre-harvest to dry it out) may be the cause of such prevalent wheat intolerance. 

Another interesting development is that about half of people that are cutting out gluten, are still experiencing symptoms. There are so many factors that lead from health to disease for each individual person, but could one of these factors be that packaged gluten free products are not as healthy as we are led to believe they are?

New testing of 46 samples of different gluten-free products for glyphosate/ AMPA, 236 pesticides, minerals and gluten is shining more light on what is really in some of these processed foods.

Moms Across America is an organization that works towards cleaning up the food supply for the benefit of future generations. You'll hear me mention them a lot as they continue to test different foods for pesticides, heavy metals and nutrients, a pivotal part of the process of holding food companies and our governmental agencies accountable for providing nutritious and at the very least not poisonous food options. We deserve to be able to find healthy uncontaminated foods at the grocery store!

The results of the testing of gluten-free foods were alarming, showing that most samples had glyphosate and other pesticide levels that were far exceeding what is allowed and some samples actually contained gluten! Sadly, even organic samples had pesticide contamination. 

I was asked to review the mineral content of all samples and found that they were all significantly low in mineral content as well. So not only high in poison, but low in nutrition as well. Which definitely doesn't help your body deal with all the pesticide exposure.

Check to see how your favorites tested here. This is a link to the test results.

To learn more about these results and more information around the importance of testing like this, see this video from Food Integrity Now that gives all the highlights of what they found.

Here is a quick rundown from the MAA website...

The lowest in glyphosate:

1. Edward & Sons rice crackers (Not Detectable ND)
2. Lesser Evil Popcorn (ND)
3. LiveGFree cornbread mix (Trace)
4. MadeGood strawberry crispy squares
5. Tinkyada brown rice pasta
6. Udi’s soft white sandwich bread
7. Barilla penne pasta
8. Shar’s plain NY-style bagels
9. Whole Foods brand 365 sandwich bread
10. Shar Artisan Baker white bread

The lowest in pesticides overall:

1. Schar Artisan White bread
2. Pacha Organic Buckwheat bread
3. Simple Kneads Quinoa bread
4. 365 Whole Foods Market sandwich bread
5. Mountain High Organic Macaroni
6. Banza Cavatappi pasta (note: had the highest level of glyphosate)
7. Simple Mills almond crackers
8. Katz fudge brownie muffin snacks
9. Siete cassava flour tortillas
10. LiveGFree cornbread mix

The most contaminated with glyphosate:

(1 being most contaminated)

1. Banza Cavatappi pasta
2. Bob’s Red Mill flour
3. Flax4Life chocolate brownies
4. Pamela's Figgies and Jammies mission fig cookies
5. Kind Kids Chewy Chocolate Chip bars

The most contaminated with pesticides:

(1 being most contaminated)

1. King Arthur Gluten-flour
2. Milton’s sea salt crackers
3. Simple Mills Brownie mix
4. Pamela's gluten-free flour mix
5. Go Macro berry granola bar

Regarding the gluten content:

"3 out of 46 samples, namely Simple Mills Brownie mix (31.7), Made Good Soft Baked Double Chocolate cookies (56.1), and Simple Mills almond flour crackers (59.4), had levels above the FDA allowable 20 ppm of gluten and should legally be recalled. The Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO) states that gluten-free food should have less than 10 ppm. Moms Across America has reported these violations to the FDA and we will report back on the steps that will be taken.

3 additional samples had levels of gluten above 10 ppm. Jovial spaghetti (10.6), GoMacro berry granola bar (15.9), and Shar pretzels( 14.3) and may be advisable to be avoided by people with Celiac."

So where do we go from here? If you have been diagnosed with any of the above conditions, and you think gluten may be a problem for you, a good start is to know what foods are naturally gluten-free, so that you can lean into an organic (pesticide free ideally) whole food diet. 

Here is a list of naturally gluten-free foods:

(Buy them organic, to avoid exposure to pesticides. And if it is a processed form, always check ingredients.)