Gluten-Free Fats: Is Butter Gluten-Free?
Whether you follow a gluten-free food diet or not, everybody needs fats. A popular fat in many people’s diets is butter. This dairy product is rich, delicious, and creamy. However, some companies put additives in butter that may trigger food sensitivity.
So, is butter gluten-free?
Is Butter Gluten-Free?
In its natural form, cow milk is a gluten-free food. As such, butter is naturally gluten-free. However, gluten can enter butter during the production process. For instance, if the manufacturer does not follow HACCP guidelines, then cross-contamination can occur.
According to this study, about 37.5% of sweet cream butter products did not contain gluten. The other 62.5% had two to five mg/kg of gluten. This amount is within the acceptable range for those with celiac disease.
For the most part, you will only find gluten in butter if the manufacturer adds flavoring or the butter contacts something with gluten. Check if your butter has any seasonings added and see if they contain gluten.
Many people spread butter on bread by rubbing the stick on the surface, leaving breadcrumbs behind. If you do not use gluten-free bread, you will contaminate your butter as knives that have touched food with gluten will add gluten to the butter.
Why Is Butter Gluten-Free?
Butter is gluten-free because it only contains dairy. This animal fat is made when you churn the cream from cow milk. Butter from goats, sheep, and other mammals does not have gluten.
Even if you aren’t following a diet, gluten-free food has many health benefits. While high butter consumption does significantly increase your LDL cholesterol, this condiment has many vitamins, such as:
Vitamin A: The high beta-carotene content can lower your risk of prostate and lung cancer, slow down vision loss, and reduce age-related macular degeneration.
Vitamin B12: This vitamin can regulate and boost your energy and digestive processes.
Calcium: The calcium content in butter can improve bone strength and prevent osteoporosis.
Vitamin D: This nutrient is necessary for bone development.
Vitamin E: Vitamin E reduces skin inflammation and UV ray damage. It also improves the healing of wounds in your skin.
Vitamin K2: This vitamin prevents artery calcification and can reduce cardiovascular disease risk.
Butter has trace amounts of phosphorus and potassium. Keep in mind that you would consume these vitamins and minerals in small doses, so eating butter will likely lack a significant effect on your nutritional intake.
If you consume butter in moderation, you can benefit from the conjugated linoleic acid, milk fat globule membrane, and short-chain free fatty acids.
What Butter Is Gluten-Free?
Most brands of butter are gluten-free. However, not all are certified gluten-free according to the BRC Global Standards, the Gluten-Free Certification Organization, or NSF International.
Typically, anything that includes “plain butter” in its list of ingredients will be gluten-free. If there are any additional ingredients, such as for flavoring, then there is the potential risk of a gluten presence.
With that in mind, it’s important to be vigilant about specific products, particularly if you have an autoimmune disease. If that’s the case, the best option is to limit yourself to anything that is “Certified Gluten-Free.”
What Butter Has Gluten?
On the other hand, what butter is not gluten-free?
For the most part, you will rarely find gluten-containing butter. Generally, it will happen from a manufacturing or packaging error. If you have celiac disease, try to stick to those certified gluten-free to minimize the chance of contamination.
Moreover, you can topically add gluten to butter from utensils that have touched gluten-containing products. Furthermore, spreading a stick of butter directly on bread with gluten will contaminate the condiment.
Overall, you probably won’t buy a fresh stick of butter that has significant amounts of gluten. Nonetheless, you should lean towards those with a certification to reduce the risk.
Is Almond Butter Gluten-Free?
Almond butter is a gluten-free food. Indeed, if you opt for the natural variety, it will only have one ingredient: almonds (and perhaps salt). Many companies are working to develop gluten-free sweets using almond flour.
All in all, you can easily add almond butter to your diet without accidentally consuming gluten. As always, look for a brand that is certified gluten-free to ensure it abides by HACCP guidelines. Also, go for natural almond butter to ensure it does not have dangerous additives.
Healthy Gluten-Free Fats
There are many other gluten-free fats that you can include in your diet. Some popular choices include:
Coconuts and coconut oil
Peanuts and natural peanut butter
Vegetable oil
Cashews and natural cashew butter
Olives and olive oil
Sunflower seeds and natural sunflower seed butter
Avocados and avocado oil
Macadamia Nuts and Macadamia Nut Butter
Sesame oil
Walnuts and walnut butter
Sunflower oil
Brazil Nuts and natural Brazil nut butter
Canola oil
Pistachios and natural pistachio butter
Natural tahini
Palm oil
Pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed butter
In their natural form, nuts and seeds do not have gluten. By opting for natural nut butter, you will mitigate the chance of gluten contamination as they will only have one or two ingredients.
Still, since vegetable oils contribute to cardiovascular disease risk, you will want to minimize these in your diet. Moreover, try to keep polyunsaturated fatty acids to a minimum to maintain good health.
Check the labels on these products. Read their ingredients and see if they are certified gluten-free. You don’t want to take any chances, especially if the company also produces gluten-containing foods. Make sure you double-check cooking sprays and flavored oils.
Conclusion
If you follow a gluten-free diet, perhaps because of an autoimmune disease like IBS or celiac, butter is an excellent source of fat. While you shouldn’t overdo it, butter has plenty of health benefits when consumed in moderation. Other gluten-free fats include oils, nuts, seeds, and nut or seed butter.
Try to stick with products that are certified gluten-free to ensure you do not have excess gluten. As well, look for items with minimal ingredients to reduce the risk of contamination. If possible, stick to natural and organic foods.