"Gluten-free" has become one of the most common labels in the grocery aisle, and one of the most misunderstood. For a small group of people, avoiding gluten is a medical necessity and getting it slightly wrong causes real harm. For a larger group, it's a reasonable experiment worth doing carefully. And for most people, it's a choice with no proven health benefit on its own.
This guide sorts out which group you might be in. It covers what gluten actually is, how celiac disease differs from a wheat allergy and from gluten sensitivity, why more people are being diagnosed later in life, what the research really says about gluten and fatty liver, and how to make a soft, workable dough from gluten-free flour.
What is gluten?
Gluten is a group of storage proteins found in wheat, barley and rye. The two main families in wheat are gliadins and glutenins. On their own they sit quietly in the flour. Add water and knead, and they link up into a stretchy, elastic network. That network is why wheat dough can be rolled thin without tearing, why a phulka puffs up on the flame, and why bread rises and holds its shape.
Gluten is present in every form of wheat, including:
- Atta, maida, sooji/rava, dalia and seviyan
- Ancient and heritage wheats such as khapli (emmer), spelt and durum. Khapli is sometimes described as easier to digest, but it contains gluten and is not safe for anyone with celiac disease.
- Barley (jau) and rye
- Malt, malt extract and many soy sauces
Oats don't contain gluten themselves but are very often contaminated with wheat during farming and processing, so only oats specifically certified gluten-free are suitable for people with celiac disease.
A few Indian kitchen staples carry hidden gluten too. Most commercial hing (asafoetida) is compounded with wheat flour, and many namkeens, biscuits, papads and ready masalas use wheat as a filler or binder.
Celiac disease, wheat allergy and gluten sensitivity are three different things
People use "gluten intolerance" and "gluten allergy" for almost any reaction to wheat. Medically there are three separate conditions, and the difference matters because it changes how strict you need to be.
Celiac disease (autoimmune)
Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition. In people who carry certain genes (HLA-DQ2 or DQ8), eating gluten triggers the immune system to attack the lining of the small intestine. Over time the finger-like villi that absorb nutrients flatten out.
The symptoms vary widely. Some people have the classic picture of diarrhoea, bloating and weight loss. Many don't. Celiac disease can show up instead as unexplained iron-deficiency anaemia, low bone density, fatigue, mouth ulcers, tingling in the hands and feet, an itchy blistering rash (dermatitis herpetiformis), or raised liver enzymes on a routine blood test.
There is no cure and no safe "small amount". The only treatment is a strict, lifelong gluten-free diet. Internationally, products labelled gluten-free must contain under 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten, and India's food regulator FSSAI uses the same 20 mg/kg threshold.
In India, a large study of more than 23,000 adults found celiac disease in about 1.2% of people in the north, 0.9% in the northeast and 0.1% in the south, a pattern that roughly tracks how much wheat each region traditionally eats. Many of those people had never been diagnosed.
Wheat allergy (what people usually mean by "gluten allergy")
"Gluten allergy" isn't really a medical term. What exists is wheat allergy, a classic food allergy where the immune system produces IgE antibodies against one or more wheat proteins, not only gluten. Reactions happen quickly, within minutes to a couple of hours, and can include hives, swelling, wheezing, vomiting and, rarely, anaphylaxis. It is more common in children, and many outgrow it.
People with a wheat allergy need to avoid wheat, but unlike people with celiac disease, they may tolerate barley and rye. That should be confirmed with an allergist, not assumed.
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity
Some people get bloating, abdominal pain, brain fog or fatigue after eating wheat, test negative for both celiac disease and wheat allergy, and feel better when they cut wheat out. This is called non-celiac gluten sensitivity. It is real in the sense that the symptoms are real, but the cause is still debated.
Gluten may not always be the culprit. In a well-known 2018 double-blind trial, people who believed they were gluten-sensitive reacted more to fructans (a type of fermentable carbohydrate found in wheat, onion and garlic) than to gluten itself. For some people, the answer may be a lower-FODMAP diet under a dietitian's guidance rather than strict lifelong gluten avoidance.
Why gluten problems often show up later in life
Celiac disease is often thought of as a childhood condition. It isn't. It can begin at any age, including in people who have eaten wheat without trouble for decades.
Studies from the UK and Finland suggest that roughly a fifth to a quarter of new celiac diagnoses are in people aged 60 and over. Older adults are also more likely to go undiagnosed for years, because their symptoms tend to be the quiet, non-digestive kind: anaemia, tiredness, poor appetite, constipation, bone loss or a slightly abnormal blood test. These are easy to put down to "just getting older". Researchers who study this have been blunt that old age by itself should never be accepted as the explanation for these symptoms.
So yes, problems with gluten genuinely can surface in your 40s, 50s and beyond. The important part is that the right response is a test, not a guess.
Gluten and fatty liver: what the research actually shows
Fatty liver (now often called MASLD, previously NAFLD) is very common in urban India, and it's natural to wonder whether gluten plays a part. The evidence here is more specific, and more interesting, than the claims that circulate online.
Celiac disease can affect the liver. Mildly raised liver enzymes are a recognised sign of undiagnosed celiac disease, which is why clinical guidelines list unexplained raised liver enzymes as a reason to consider testing for it. In many people these enzymes settle once they follow a strict gluten-free diet.
People with celiac disease have a higher risk of fatty liver. A Swedish national study that followed nearly 27,000 people with celiac disease against 130,000 matched controls found about 2.8 times the risk of a later fatty liver diagnosis. The raised risk held across age groups, including people diagnosed at 60 or older.
The link runs one way. There is no good evidence that developing fatty liver makes you gluten intolerant, or that cutting out gluten treats fatty liver in people who don't have celiac disease. For most people with fatty liver, what helps is gradual weight loss (even 5 to 10 per cent of body weight makes a measurable difference), more physical activity, less sugar and refined starch, and less alcohol.
A careless gluten-free diet can make things worse. This is the part most people miss. Several studies have found that people with celiac disease tend to gain weight, waist size and triglycerides after switching to a gluten-free diet. One Italian study found metabolic syndrome in about 29.5% of patients after they started the diet, and another found the rate of fatty liver went up by about 11%. The likely reason is what replaces the wheat: packaged gluten-free breads, biscuits and snacks are often made from refined rice flour, potato and tapioca starch, sugar and fat, and contain little fibre.
The takeaway is not "avoid gluten-free". It's that how you go gluten-free matters as much as whether you do. Whole-grain millets and pulses are a very different foundation from refined gluten-free starches.
Who should eat gluten-free flour?
You need a strict gluten-free diet if you have a confirmed diagnosis of celiac disease or dermatitis herpetiformis. For you, the flour must be gluten-free in practice, not just in its ingredients (more on that below).
You need to avoid wheat if you have a diagnosed wheat allergy. A gluten-free flour works well, but check the full ingredient list for your other allergens. Our gluten-free blend, for example, contains soya.
A gluten-free trial may be reasonable if you have ongoing symptoms after eating wheat and a doctor has already ruled out celiac disease and wheat allergy. Keep a symptom diary and review it with your doctor or a dietitian.
You probably don't need to go gluten-free if you have no symptoms and no diagnosis. There's no good evidence that avoiding gluten helps healthy people lose weight or improves liver health. What's genuinely worth doing is adding millets to your rotation alongside wheat, for variety in fibre, minerals and flavour.
One important rule: get tested before you cut out gluten
The standard first test for celiac disease is a blood test for tissue transglutaminase IgA (tTG-IgA), done together with total IgA. If it's positive, a gastroenterologist will usually confirm the diagnosis with a biopsy taken during an endoscopy.
Both tests only work while you're still eating gluten. If you go gluten-free first and feel better, the tests can come back falsely normal, and getting a reliable diagnosis later means eating gluten again for several weeks. So if you suspect celiac disease, see a doctor and get tested before you change your diet.
A gluten-free grain is not automatically a gluten-free flour
Millets like ragi, jowar and bajra are naturally free of gluten. The flour made from them may not be. Grains pick up traces of wheat in the field, in storage, during transport and, most often, in mills that grind wheat on the same stones.
This is a real problem in India. A 2020 study by the National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad tested 160 grain products bought in southern India and found that 37% of naturally gluten-free products had more than 20 ppm of gluten, the limit for a gluten-free claim. That included about a third of the ragi samples, a fifth of the sorghum (jowar) samples and every gram-flour sample tested. Oats were the worst affected.
For someone with celiac disease, those traces are enough to keep the intestine inflamed even when they feel fine.
Our millet flours and gluten-free flour contain no wheat, barley or rye, but they are processed in a facility that also processes wheat. If you have celiac disease, please talk to us before ordering so we can tell you exactly how your flour is handled. Our Gluten Free Flour has been tested at Equinox Labs, an NABL-accredited laboratory, which found gluten below the lab's detection limit of 1.0 g per 100 g, along with 12.29 g of protein and 10.48 g of dietary fibre per 100 g.
Our gluten-free and millet flours
Our Gluten Free Flour collection brings together flours made only from naturally gluten-free grains and pulses, all milled after you order:
- Gluten Free Flour, our everyday roti blend: 40% bajra, 30% ragi, 20% jowar and 10% soya. The soya adds protein and helps the dough hold together.
- Jowar Flour, mild and slightly sweet, the base of jolada rotti and bhakri.
- Ragi Flour, the grain behind Karnataka's ragi mudde and one of the richest plant sources of calcium among cereals.
- Bajra Atta, earthy and filling, rich in iron, traditionally eaten in winter.
If you're not avoiding gluten and simply want more grain variety, browse our freshly milled millet flours. Millets work well in rotation with wheat. They don't need to replace it.
Explore the Gluten Free Flour Collection
How to make soft gluten-free roti dough
Gluten-free dough behaves differently from wheat dough. There's no gluten network to stretch, so cold water gives you a crumbly dough that cracks at the edges. The fix is heat. Hot water partly cooks (gelatinises) the starch in the millets, and that cooked starch does the binding job gluten would normally do.
For about 6 to 7 rotis
- 2 cups (about 240 g) gluten-free flour
- About 1¼ to 1½ cups (300 to 360 ml) water
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ghee or oil (optional, for softness)
Method
- Boil the water. Bring the water, salt and ghee to a rolling boil, then turn off the heat.
- Add the flour all at once. Stir quickly with a spoon or spatula until there's no dry flour left. It will look lumpy. That's fine.
- Cover and rest for 5 to 10 minutes. The steam finishes softening the flour.
- Knead while it's still warm. Once it's comfortable to touch, knead with damp palms for 3 to 4 minutes until it's smooth and doesn't crack when you press it. If it cracks, add a spoon of hot water. If it's sticky, add a little flour.
- Keep it covered. Gluten-free dough dries out fast, so keep it under a damp cloth and only portion what you're about to cook. Unlike wheat dough, it doesn't improve with a long rest. Knead and cook within the hour.
- Roll between two sheets. Place a ball between two pieces of butter paper or a cut plastic sheet and roll gently, or pat it out with your palm the traditional bhakri way. Keep it slightly thicker than a wheat phulka.
- Cook on a hot tawa. Lay the roti on a medium-hot tawa, brush the top with a little water, and flip once you see small spots underneath. Press the edges gently with a folded cloth to help it puff.
- Serve warm. Gluten-free rotis firm up as they cool. Stack them in a cloth-lined casserole to keep them soft.
Tips if your dough keeps cracking
- Use water that is actually boiling, not just hot from the tap.
- Add 1 tsp of isabgol (psyllium husk) per cup of flour before adding the water. It forms a gel that adds flexibility.
- Grate in a little boiled potato or lauki, which adds moisture and softness.
- Choose medium-fine grind for rotis. Coarse flour suits bhakri and thalipeeth better.
Beyond roti
Gluten-free flours aren't only for chapatis. The same flours make:
- Dosa and cheela: mix with curd or water into a pouring batter. Ragi and jowar dosas need no fermentation.
- Ragi mudde: cook ragi flour into boiling water and shape into balls, served with saaru or sambar.
- Thalipeeth: mix the flour with onion, coriander, green chilli and spices, then pat directly onto the tawa.
- Porridge and malt: ragi in particular makes a smooth porridge for breakfast.
The short version
- Gluten is a protein in wheat (including khapli), barley and rye that gives dough its stretch.
- Celiac disease is autoimmune and needs a strict, lifelong gluten-free diet. Wheat allergy and gluten sensitivity are different conditions with different levels of strictness.
- Celiac disease can start at any age, and many people are diagnosed after 60, often with symptoms like anaemia or fatigue rather than digestive problems.
- Celiac disease raises the risk of fatty liver, but fatty liver doesn't cause gluten intolerance, and going gluten-free isn't a treatment for it.
- Get tested before you cut out gluten.
- If you do go gluten-free, build it on whole millets and pulses, not refined gluten-free snacks.
- Use boiling water for gluten-free dough, knead it warm and cook it soon.
This article is for general information and isn't a substitute for medical advice. If you think you might have celiac disease, a wheat allergy or a liver condition, please speak to your doctor.
References
- Makharia GK et al. Geographic variations in the prevalence of celiac disease in adults in India, presented at the International Celiac Disease Symposium, 2015 (23,331 adults). Summary: Beyond Celiac
- Reilly NR, Lebwohl B, Hultcrantz R, Green PHR, Ludvigsson JF. Increased risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease after diagnosis of celiac disease. Journal of Hepatology, 2015;62:1405–1411. PDF
- Tortora R et al. Metabolic syndrome in patients with coeliac disease on a gluten-free diet. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2015;41(4):352–359.
- Coss-Adame E. Impact of the gluten-free diet on patients. Revista de Gastroenterología de México, 2020 (summarising Ciccone et al. and Remes-Troche et al.). Link
- Freeman HJ et al. Recent advances in celiac disease. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 2011;17(18):2259–2272. Link
- Beyond Celiac. Celiac disease over the span of life. Link
- Skodje GI et al. Fructan, rather than gluten, induces symptoms in patients with self-reported non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Gastroenterology, 2018;154:529–539. PubMed
- National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad. Gluten contamination in labelled and naturally gluten-free grain products in southern India. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A, 2020. Summary: FoodNavigator
- American College of Gastroenterology celiac disease guideline (2023), summarised in American Family Physician, 2024. PDF
- FSSAI gluten-free standard (20 mg/kg), Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, amended 2021. Summary: Team France Export