Almonds and Gluten-Free Diets: What You Need to Know

Question
Hello,

Do almonds contain gluten?

And if a product label says "gluten-free", but it contains wheat, is it
still safe for being following gluten-free diets?

Thank you,
Jennifer

Answer
Some gluten-free foods are not wheat free but can be included in a gluten-free diet.

Gluten is a class of proteins found in the plant family including wheat, oats, barley, rye, and triticale. Almonds don't have any significant amounts of these proteins, this is why bread baked of almond flour lacks elasticity. However, almond-based products can contain hydrolyzed  grain starches. If you are on a gluten-free diet, you might want to avoid textured vegetable proteins, grain vinegar, soy sauce, flavorings, binders and fillers found in vitamins and medications. In these cases, choose products that have 'gluten-free' note on their labels.

Hope it helps,

Tanya Zilberter, PhD
dietandbody.com