William Hung, American Idol (almost)

Nothing breaks my heart more than to see things like this posted online…

“Chocolate is gluten free!”

“Rum is gluten free!”

“Oatmeal is gluten free!”

“Lunchmeat is gluten free!”

“Margaritas are gluten free!”

“Corn chips are gluten free!”

“Soy sauce is gluten free!”

“Potato chips are gluten free!”

And so on…

Blanket statements like that are kind of like saying “American Idol is full of awesome, face-melting singers!” Well, a few are, but most are not. It just depends on who it is.

I think about all the people out there just getting diagnosed with Celiac disease or some form of gluten intolerance seeing this type of advice and I just cringe, knowing that a whole lot of people are about to get sick and have no idea why.

Just like American Idol, there are all types of (fill in the blank of that broad category of foods that are supposedly gluten free here.) Yes, a lot of lunchmeat (for example) is in fact gluten free. A lot is not. The real answer of course depends on asking many questions:

• Who is the manufacturer?
• When was it made?
• Is there a chance of cross contamination?
• In the case of spirits and distilled things (I just love the ‘Rum is gluten free!” blanket statement) does the maker add any colorings or flavorings after distillation?
• Does the manufacturer even know if their ingredient suppliers use gluten?
• In the case of potato or corn chips, how are the made? Ever watched corn tortilla chips getting made in a Mexican restaurant? Rolled, pounded, and dusted with flour in many cases.
• And so on…

Be careful out there folks, let’s not make people more sick than they already are.