Is levothyroxine gluten-free?
Looks mostly clean — worth verifying with the maker. Mostly yes — but worth a quick call to the manufacturer for some generics. Of 15 product labels we checked, 10 are clean, 2 are confirmed gluten-free by the maker, and 3 contain an inactive ingredient (typically a source-ambiguous starch) whose botanical origin isn't fully disclosed. None contained confirmed gluten.
Drug context
About levothyroxine
Levothyroxine is synthetic thyroid hormone used to treat hypothyroidism, sold under brand names including Synthroid, Levoxyl, Unithroid.
Why this matters
Different manufacturers, different ingredients
Generics of levothyroxine use the same active ingredient, but they aren't required to use the same inactive ingredients. Your pharmacy may switch which manufacturer they dispense between fills, sometimes without telling you. The list below shows each manufacturer's product label as a separate entry, because that's the granularity that actually matters when you're celiac.
The labels
The 15 we checked
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01Mylan manufacturer-attested gluten-free
Manufacturer confirmed gluten-free (Plogsted 2019-04-23)
View source label → -
02UDL/Mylan manufacturer-attested gluten-free
Manufacturer confirmed gluten-free (Plogsted 2019-04-23)
View source label → -
03Lannett worth a call to confirmView source label →
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04Neopharma worth a call to confirmView source label →
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05Sandoz worth a call to confirmView source label →
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06Coupler LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · FD&C BLUE NO. 2 · FD&C RED NO. 40 · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MANNITOL · SODIUM BICARBONATE · STARCH, CORN
View source label → -
07Coupler LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · D&C RED NO. 27 · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MANNITOL · SODIUM BICARBONATE · STARCH, CORN
View source label → -
08Coupler LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MANNITOL · SODIUM BICARBONATE · STARCH, CORN
View source label → -
09NCS HealthCare of KY, LLC dba Vangard Labs nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients ACACIA · ALUMINUM OXIDE · CELLULOSE, MICROCRYSTALLINE · D&C RED NO. 27 · D&C YELLOW NO. 10 · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 · FD&C BLUE NO. 2 · FD&C RED NO. 40 · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · LACTOSE, UNSPECIFIED FORM · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · SILICON DIOXIDE · SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A POTATO · STARCH, CORN
View source label → -
10NorthStar RxLLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CELLULOSE, MICROCRYSTALLINE · CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · D&C YELLOW NO. 10 · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 · FD&C BLUE NO. 2 · FD&C RED NO. 40 · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · SILICON DIOXIDE · SODIUM STEARYL FUMARATE
View source label → -
11IBSA Pharma Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients GLYCERIN · WATER
View source label → -
12IBSA Pharma Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients GELATIN, UNSPECIFIED · GLYCERIN · WATER
View source label → -
13Bryant Ranch Prepack nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients D&C RED NO. 27 ALUMINUM LAKE · D&C YELLOW NO. 10 · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · SILICON DIOXIDE · SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A POTATO
View source label → -
14NuCare Pharmaceuticals,Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CELLULOSE, MICROCRYSTALLINE · CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · SILICON DIOXIDE · SODIUM STEARYL FUMARATE
View source label → -
15Proficient Rx LP nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · D&C YELLOW NO. 10 · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MANNITOL · SODIUM BICARBONATE · STARCH, CORN
View source label →
Try it live
Or screen levothyroxine right now
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Background
What “gluten in a medication” actually means
Gluten enters drugs through their excipients — the inactive ingredients used to bind, coat, fill, or stabilize the dose. The main concern is wheat starch as a filler. Source-ambiguous starches (plain “starch”, pregelatinized starch, sodium starch glycolate, modified starch) get flagged for verification because their botanical origin isn't always disclosed on the label.
The 2024 Mangione et al. pediatric NDC analysis (689 NDCs across the top 100 pediatric medications) found 1.5% contained gluten outright; another 25.7% couldn't be confirmed either way. Liquid and oral-suspension formulations carry disproportionate risk because wheat starch is a common thickener. Full methodology →
Keep checking