The Importance of Gluten-Free Certification in Supplements
, by Sandesh Prasannakumar, 7 min reading time
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, by Sandesh Prasannakumar, 7 min reading time
Celiac disease, lactose intolerance, and people choosing to eat gluten-free for various reasons are today common for many individuals. People with celiac disease or those who are gluten intolerant experience severe health complications when they take gluten products. This means avoiding gluten in your diet which calls for reading the labels in order not to consume gluten in disguised forms.
Supplements are no exception. Supplements often contain naturally gluten-free ingredients, however, some can contain gluten from other ingredients or from being contaminated during the manufacturing process. This makes gluten-free status a crucial factor in supplement safety, which must be established in order to confirm its safety for consumption. Gluten-free certification goes a step further in giving that added guarantee.
Gluten is a group of proteins that are usually obtained from grains such as wheat, barley, and rye. It is used to hold foods such as bread together and provide their characteristic yet chewy consistency. The question is that for the majority of individuals, gluten is harmless but for those who have been diagnosed with celiac disease or NCGS it is actually the opposite: it initiates an abnormal immune response and inflammation. This may lead to small bowel ulceration over time and results in malnutrition and symptoms involving the gastrointestinal tract as well as systemic effects. The only line of treatment is to maintain a complete gluten-free diet.
Celiac disease is an inherited autoimmune disease that exists in about 1% of the population. For people with celiac disease, whenever they take foods containing gluten, it leads to the destruction of the small intestinal villi required for nutrient absorption. The symptoms of this type of cancer are diarrhoea, abdominal pain, bloating, fatigue, and weight loss. The only curative approach that one has to ensure that he or she follows the letter is a gluten-free diet.
However, non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) also has the same kind of digestive problems and other symptoms, for instance, headaches, mental fog and skin problems. The process is not fully known, and there will be no intestinal damage. Specific conditions may present similar symptoms to the above, such as irritable bowel syndrome. For some reason, NCGS is less painful when people steer clear of gluten.
This is not always the case especially in supplements since reading labels is insufficient. Some of the common sources of contamination are manufacturing facilities, equipment, and some of the additives that may be used in the preparation of the materials. This makes independent gluten-free certification critical for both quality and safety:
Unfortunately, failure to undergo testing and getting certification may result in supplements bearing labels that are gluten-free when in the real sense they are much riskier than what they portray to be. Celiac and gluten-intolerant people in particular rely on such seals to ensure that they can safely incorporate supplements into their meal plans.
There are a few well-recognized programs for verifying the gluten-free status of supplements in the United States and Canada:
These are the third-party certifiers that also conduct tests, and also, facility and structure inspections. They ensure that precautions against cross-contamination from raw material and processing utensils to final products have been established. When any risky grains are dealt with within similar facilities, then the detection level should be down to 10-20 ppm.
On becoming certified, companies can use trusted labels such as NSF Gluten Free or UL Gluten Free. This makes guesswork redundant for consumers. Re-testing as well as re-certification also occur every year to ensure that the certifications are still valid.
When purchasing supplements, celiac and gluten-sensitive consumers should watch for these key things:
If this information is not available or if there is any question, it is recommended that the manufacturer of the product should be consulted for further details before buying. Knowledge is power and essential as far as the health and quality of your life and mind are concerned.
It is also the case in gluten-free where attentiveness regarding accidental cross contaminations from processing details plays a defining role. This means vouching for supplements as gluten-free – not merely by analysing the ingredients – but by certifications. Results and facility control validation allow those suffering from celiac disease, NCGS, and wheat allergies to have faith in product safety and efficacy.
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No, only those supplements with ingredients originating from gluten-containing grains such as wheat, barley, or rye would require certification. Most of the ingredients used in the supplements are naturally gluten-free and therefore the supplements DO NOT contain gluten. However, certification is necessary to ensure the quality of the work done by such workers.
Gluten is most commonly used in the forms that are added in supplements such as binders, fillers, and flow agents that are formulated from wheat, barley, rye, malt, and brewer’s yeast. One of the problems may be cross-contamination between different varieties.
I agree with Lisa stating that vitamins and minerals in their pure form will not contain gluten. Yet cross-contamination can happen at the manufacturing level as well. Gluten-free certification also adds extra confidence that the facility and equipment are sanitised or managed correctly.