The education of a gluten-free newbie

I did an Internet search to see whether maltodextrin contained gluten, and boy, did I get a surprise.  "Maltodextrin, a common food additive, is a type of sugar that’s made by breaking down starch. (Despite its name, maltodextrin does not contain malt.) Whether maltodextrin is gluten-free depends on what kind of starch it came from. In the United States, maltodextrin is usually made from rice, corn, or potato. In Europe, maltodextrin is frequently made from wheat."  But on the other hand, "Dextrin, a common additive that’s made by heating starch, can come from corn, potato, arrowroot, wheat, rice or tapioca."

So let me get this straight--the "malto" part is probably gluten-free in the U.S., but the dextrin part is a problem?!  Just how many ingredients do I have to research to determine whether something is safe for me to eat?  Looks like “Googling” ingredients is going to become my new hobby.