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Questa è l'eccezione: lui mangia tutto tranne il glutine.

Questa è l'eccezione: lui mangia tutto tranne il glutine.
This is the exception: he eats everything except gluten.
From Lesson 249:Prepositions of exception (tranne, eccetto)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Questa è l'eccezione: lui mangia tutto tranne il glutine.

Could I use eccetto instead of tranne in this sentence?
Yes! Tranne and eccetto are completely interchangeable and both mean 'except'. Tranne is very common in everyday conversation, but saying eccetto il glutine would be perfectly correct here too.
Why does the Italian sentence use il glutine when the English translation just says 'except gluten'?
In Italian, general categories and broad concepts (like 'gluten' in general) require a definite article (il, la, etc.). Using a preposition of exclusion like tranne doesn't change this rule, so you still need the il before glutine.
Why use Questa instead of the default Questo at the start of the sentence?
Because the word 'this' points directly to l'eccezione, which is a feminine noun. Demonstrative pronouns must match the gender of the noun they refer to, so it becomes the feminine Questa.
Both eccezione and glutine end in -e. How can I tell which gender they are?
Words ending in the suffix -zione (like eccezione) are almost always feminine in Italian. For other nouns ending in -e, like glutine, you simply have to memorize their gender. This is why it is highly recommended to always learn the article (il glutine) along with the noun!

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