Makeup May Expose Celiac Patients to Gluten

There's a big focus on foods containing gluten, but we may be ignoring another source: makeup.

Anyone suffering from celiac disease, an autoimmune digestive disease, knows that a gluten-free diet is a must. Gluten-avoidance is the only known “cure” to date, after all. But amazingly, research suggests that sufferers—we’re talking at least 3 million Americans—may be unknowingly exposed to gluten every day via their makeup.

Per analysis of the top 10 cosmetic companies, zero companies included gluten information in their ingredient list. (That is if they revealed detailed ingredients at all—only two did!) That’s big news for celiac patients, who may experience symptoms like abdominal pain when exposed to gluten-containing ingredients—which includes any beauty ingredient derived from wheat sources (like vitamin E, which simply appears “vitamin E” on a label). The lesson here: Opt for truly “gluten-free” beauty companies, at least until the industry catches up with this health predicament!