David PerlmutterPresident,, Perlmutter Health Center · Board-Certified Neurologist | Functional Medicine Pioneer | #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author | International Speaker | Host of The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

Dr. Perlmutter Identifies Some Common Gluten Hideouts

21 Aug 2013 · 1 min

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In this segment, Dr. David Perlmutter discusses why patients who believe they are strictly gluten‑free may still experience a range of symptoms—including skin, joint, neurological, and gastrointestinal problems. He explains two key points: (1) gluten‑sensitive individuals often react to other foods, which can be screened for, and (2) many foods that do not appear to contain gluten actually do, due to cross‑contamination or hidden gluten in additives. He lists the primary gluten‑containing grains (wheat, barley, rye) and notes that oats are frequently contaminated because they are milled in facilities that also process wheat. He also highlights that certain flavor enhancers such as MSG and various food additives may contain gluten, making label reading insufficient for truly gluten‑free diets.

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You know, I've had the experience in my office of patients who we've identified as being very sensitive to gluten, and they believe that they've gone 100% gluten-free, and yet they're still having issues— skin issues, joint issues, brain issues, gastrointestinal issues— and they wonder why that may be. And there are 2 things to consider. First, we do know that gluten-sensitive people are oftentimes sensitive to other foods, and we can actually screen them for that. But beyond that, the bigger problem is that many foods that aren't necessarily looking like they contain gluten may actually contain gluten. We know that gluten is found in wheat, of course, but also in barley and in rye, and very frequently in oats because oats are oftentimes milled in a factory that does wheat as well. Certain flavor enhancers like MSG can contain gluten. As can various other types of food additives. So oftentimes reading the label may not be revealing in terms of products that contain gluten.