Are Sesame Seeds Gluten Free?

You may have heard about how sesame seeds have the potential of reducing high cholesterol and blood pressure, coupled with being a great source of protein. These are valid takeaways. However, would the presence of gluten shatter the whole mix?

Are sesame seeds really gluten-free?

What is gluten and what is its deal, anyway?

WHAT IS GLUTEN?

Gluten is an insoluble mixture of two proteins naturally contained in cereal grains, namely gliadin and glutenin. Alternatively, it may be more accurately regarded as a family of storage proteins indigenous to grains such as wheat, rye and barley. Wheat in particular has been one of the most consumed cereal grains all over the world. Without gluten in the equation, the dough would have no elasticity. Bread, pasta, pizza and other foods made from wheat flour would also be unimaginable, given that one would not be able to chew them.

IS GLUTEN HARMFUL?

Over the years, gluten has proven itself to be a controversial and divisive talking point. While some benefits of gluten have been identified, it has largely been associated with health risks in recent years. As extreme as it sounds, companies in the food industry have taken the pain to exclude gluten from their products, complete with notices on these products to that effect. Regardless of whatever stance has been taken, the gluten content does not sit well with everyone. The worsening of celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity attest to this. Some people also have allergic reactions to the protein content in wheat.

ARE SESAME SEEDS GLUTEN FREE?

In a bid to mitigate the likelihood of gluten inadvertently causing harm to more people, gluten-free diets have become common. Gluten-free diets, coupled with the gluten-free notices on food packaging and restaurant takeout menus, have now made it easier for people to eliminate gluten from their body systems. Having considered the potentially harmful effects of gluten, it is necessary to determine whether the highly nutritious sesame seeds contain gluten.

The truth is that you have nothing to worry about. While they remain a good source of plant protein, sesame seeds are gluten-free. This can simply be explained by the fact that the sesame plant has no link with the grasses in the Triticeae tribe, which produce the gluten found in cereal grains. Since the base plant produces no gluten, its seeds and its oil would certainly have no traces of the protein mixture. You can find out more about the health benefits of sesame seeds here.

THE NEXT STEP

Now that you know gluten’s potential effects and its absence in sesame seeds, you can feel confident about incorporating sesame seeds into your gluten-free diet and as a food distributor or caterer you can be confident about messaging your sesame seed food options as gluten-free. You can have peace of mind with the quality of the sesame seeds purchased from KODGAV. They form part of our leading plant-based products and we only source ethically and sustainably from sesame growers.

If you're reading from the UK or Europe, find out how you can access sesame seeds without price spikes caused by Brexit.