What Does Gluten-Free Actually Mean?

What Does "Gluten-Free" Mean?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. A product labelled gluten-free contains none of it, or in the UK, contains no more than 20 parts per million, the legal threshold set for foods carrying that claim. In supplements, gluten tends to sneak in through the same route as dairy: not the "active" ingredient itself, but the fillers, binders and coatings used to hold a capsule or tablet together. Some starches used for exactly that job are wheat-derived, which is easy to miss unless someone's actually checking.

Why We Bother Checking

For people with coeliac disease, gluten isn't just uncomfortable, it triggers a genuine immune reaction that damages the gut lining. That's a different league of seriousness compared to a mild sensitivity, and it's why gluten-free labelling is actually regulated rather than left to marketing teams to decide.

Plenty of people without coeliac disease still feel better avoiding gluten, or simply prefer to for personal reasons, and that's a valid call too. Either way, a supplement is meant to support your routine, not quietly work against it because nobody checked what the capsule shell was made from.

For the official picture on coeliac disease and gluten, see the NHS page on coeliac disease, and for how gluten-free labelling is actually regulated in the UK, the Food Standards Agency's allergen guidance is worth a look.

How We Actually Check This

We go through the full ingredient list, including the "other ingredients" section most people skip past, looking specifically for wheat-based starches, maltodextrin sourced from wheat, or anything else that could carry gluten into a supposedly gluten-free product. Where a brand has third-party testing confirming levels below the UK's 20ppm threshold, that carries a lot more weight with us than a badge with nothing behind it. No clear answer from the brand means no badge on our end, simple as that.

A Few Questions People Actually Ask

Does gluten-free mean zero gluten, or just "very little"?

In the UK it means under 20ppm, not necessarily absolute zero. For most people that distinction doesn't matter at all. For someone with coeliac disease, it's worth knowing that threshold exists, and checking whether a brand tests down to that level or just avoids obvious wheat ingredients.

Can gluten-free products still be made in a factory that also handles wheat?

Yes, and that's a genuinely fair concern around cross-contamination. Some facilities run dedicated gluten-free lines, others manage shared equipment with cleaning protocols instead. If cross-contamination risk matters to you specifically, it's worth asking the brand directly rather than assuming from the badge alone.

I think I might have coeliac disease. Should I just start avoiding gluten?

Speak to a GP before cutting gluten out, ideally. Coeliac disease is usually diagnosed while you're still eating gluten, so removing it beforehand can actually make testing harder. Get it checked properly first, then adjust from there.

Why "Gluten-Free" Matters