The gluten-free diet trend has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, which might leave you questioning which common foods and drinks contain gluten.
Milk (cow’s milk and other mammal milk) is gluten-free, and the vast majority of non-dairy milk alternatives are also gluten-free. The exceptions to this are barley milk and spelt milk, which contain gluten.
We’ll explain all things related to milk and a gluten-free diet below!
What is gluten?
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten helps provide elasticity and chewiness to baked goods and also helps trap steam to assist in the leavening (rising) of baked goods.
So why is gluten such a big deal? First, people with Celiac disease (an autoimmune disease) experience pain and inflammation in their digestive tract when they eat gluten. The good news is that Celiac disease is somewhat rare and estimated to impact around 1 in 133 Americans.
Some people find that they are intolerant of gluten. What is gluten intolerance? It means you might not have as severe of a reaction as someone with Celiac disease when you eat gluten, but you might experience stomach upset and other adverse health changes when you eat gluten.
Is milk gluten-free?
“Regular” milk (from cows and other mammals) is naturally gluten-free. However, with so many non-dairy milk alternatives on the market, the answer isn’t always so straightforward.
The simple answer is that most milk alternatives are gluten-free as long as they don’t contain wheat, rye, or barley.
For instance, most of the popular milk alternatives are made from nuts, seeds, or coconut – and none of those sources contain gluten.
Which milk is not gluten-free?
We’ve established that most milk is gluten-free – so which milks are not gluten-free, then? Not many – only two from our master list of 52 types of milk!
Barley milk
Barley milk isn’t a common milk – Golden Wing is the main commercial manufacturer of barley milk at the time this article was written.
One of the benefits of barley milk is that it has the most calcium and vitamin D of most milk alternatives, with one cup providing 50% of the daily value for both nutrients. It also provides 8% of the daily value for iron, making barley milk an excellent choice for vegans or plant-based dieters.
One of the potential downsides of barley milk is that it isn’t gluten-free since barley is one of the three grains that contain gluten.
Sorghum milk
Sorghum is an ancient grain that is considered a type of wheat. While sorghum contains less gluten than most wheat grown today, it still contains gluten. Not only that, but sorghum milk is the only milk not suitable for those with a wheat allergy (barley contains gluten but is wheat-free).
Oat milk?
A quick note on oat milk: oats are naturally gluten-free as long as they haven’t been cross-contaminated with gluten (which can happen on shared production equipment). If you have gluten intolerance, you’ll usually be fine to consume oats that aren’t certified gluten-free because any trace levels of gluten would be very low.
However, if you have Celiac disease, it’s a good idea to stick with certified gluten-free oat products to ensure you’re not getting any traces of gluten – but that’s the case with any product that could have traces of gluten in it.
What about additives in milk?
If you’re a user of plant-based milk already, you’ve probably noticed the added thickeners and preservatives that can be present. Are they gluten-free?
The good news for gluten-free dieters is that the most common milk additives are gluten-free, such as:
- Added calcium
- Added vitamin D
- Carrageenan
- Gellan gum
- Guar gum
- Locust bean gum
- Natural flavors
- Xanthan gum
FAQs:
Milk, cheese, cream, yogurt, and other variations of these (e.g. sour cream and cottage cheese) are gluten-free. Gluten is rarely added to dairy products unless it’s mixed with other ingredients, such as cookies and cream ice cream, for example.
While milk is gluten-free, some people with Celiac disease may experience lactose intolerance when drinking cow’s milk. For that reason, they may choose to drink non-dairy milk alternatives – but everyone is different.
Cheese is gluten-free, but products that contain cheese (such as pizza) may not be gluten-free. That’s why it’s always important to check the label and choose certified gluten-free products if you’re on a strict gluten-free diet.
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