Sugar is added to a lot of foods: granola bars, breakfast cereals, bread, soup, and even condiments like ketchup and salad dressing. If sugar is in so many foods, are you eating gluten, too?
Plain sugar itself does NOT contain gluten. However, sugar is often added to foods that contain gluten, such as a cookie made with wheat flour.
We’ll give you a refresher course on what gluten is, what things it’s found in, and why sugar doesn’t contain gluten in this article!
What is gluten?
Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten helps provide elasticity and chewiness to baked goods. It also helps trap steam to assist in the leavening (rising) of baked goods, which is what gives bread its chewy texture that we all know and love.
Why has gluten gotten so much attention in recent years?
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.)
The other reason gluten has gotten a lot of attention is because some people find that they are intolerant of gluten.
What is gluten intolerance? It means that you experience stomach upset and other adverse health changes when you eat gluten, but not to the extent of someone with Celiac disease.
Is sugar gluten-free?
There are several types of pure sugars, including:
- Fructose
- Galactose
- Glucose
- Lactose (the natural sugar in milk)
- Maltose
- Sucrose
These sugars are present in different foods and drinks. For example, sucrose (table sugar) is found in desserts like cakes, while fructose is a naturally occurring sugar in fruit. Honey, another sweetener, is made of glucose, fructose, and water.
The sugars themselves are gluten-free since pure sugar doesn’t contain wheat, rye, or barley. That doesn’t mean that all foods with sugar in them are gluten-free though – which we’ll explain next.
Are all sugary foods gluten-free?
Sugar is added to a lot of processed foods and drinks. Sugar is often combined with gluten, so sugar is often in foods that aren’t gluten-free.
For instance, pizza sauce usually contains added sugar, which can be combined with a wheat pizza crust, so gluten and sugar are in the same product. That doesn’t mean the sugar contains gluten, though – the sugar is still just sugar.
Sugar is also found in gluten-free foods, so gluten-free doesn’t necessarily mean healthy (it’s a common misconception!). Gluten-free cake is still high in sugar and not any better for you than non-gluten-free cake, after all!
FAQs:
Honey does not contain gluten. It’s comprised of fructose, glucose, and water.
Brown sugar is gluten-free and contains molasses, which gives it its dark color.
All types of pure sugars and sweeteners are gluten-free. If you’re looking at a sugary product like candy, you’ll need to check the ingredients label to ensure it doesn’t contain gluten.
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