Xanthan Gum

[AshleyS]

I have recently made brownies, cookies, and pie crust from gluten free mixes and have had problems the entire night

after I ate them. The pie crust mix contained Xanthan Gum and I know that it is a big trigger for Celiacs. But the other two gluten free mxies did not have Xanthan and they kept me running to the bathroom each night. Does anyone else have similar symptoms?

Any comments or advice?

Thanks

[raisin]

What brand were these products?

[AshleyS]

What brand were these products?

The two w/o Xanthan Gum were Arrowhead Mills. And the Pizza Crust was Bob's Red Mill (?) I believe.

[raisin]

The two w/o Xanthan Gum were Arrowhead Mills. And the Pizza Crust was Bob's Red Mill (?) I believe.

Arrowhead mills has made me sick every single time I have had their products. It is all cross-contaminated to some degree.

Bob's is 100% gluten-free unless someone tampers with it, but if you had dairy/soy (pizza=cheese?) more people (almost all celiacs) react to that than Xanthan. Chocolate is another common allergen to look into, too.

[AshleyS]

Arrowhead mills has made me sick every single time I have had their products. It is all cross-contaminated to some degree.

Bob's is 100% gluten-free unless someone tampers with it, but if you had dairy/soy (pizza=cheese?) more people (almost all celiacs) react to that than Xanthan. Chocolate is another common allergen to look into, too.

Yeah I made it with soy cheese, which I always eat and never have a problem with. The only thing I can contribute it to is the Xanthan.

Thanks!

Cross-contamination makes sense..

[Jackchick]

Very new here. But I got lists from this site of non-safe and safe gluten foods. Xanthum gum is on the safe list and is not on the not safe. So are you saying the xanthum gum was probably only because of cross-contamination and not it, itself?? I'm a big salad eater and love bleu cheese which is *wait for it* got xanthum in it? I am very itchy (still got DH rash) later that day. And had D______

all day. Culprit??

[raisin]

You're misunderstanding;

When I said cross-contamination, I meant the brand Arrowhead Mills produces both gluten and gluten-free foods on the same line, which makes many (but not all) celiacs sick.

Xanthum gum is a binding agent used in many gluten-free breads. it is naturally gluten free. It's rare to be allergic to it.. even for celiacs.

Blue cheese is usually not gluten-free, and many celaics cannot digest dairy because the protein is so similar to gluten. Lactose Intolerance is also one of the most common symptoms of celiac.

[JNBunnie1]

Also consider whether Bob's pizza mix has bean flour, and think whether you've had any beans at all lately. It could just be a bean/gas thing for that one.

[dilettantesteph]

Bob's Red Mill products affect very sensitive celiacs. They are made in a mixed facility. They are very careful and do extensive cleaning and testing to ensure gluten free status, but still some very sensitive people have to steer clear.

[TrillumHunter]

Bob's Red Mill products affect very sensitive celiacs. They are made in a mixed facility. They are very careful and do extensive cleaning and testing to ensure gluten free status, but still some very sensitive people have to steer clear.

No longer true. They are made in a dedicated facility and batch tested. Bob's Red Mill has done all it can to prevent cross contamination issues.

Did you use dedicated equipment? Spatulas, wooden spoons and mixers may harbor gluten.

[AshleyS]

I have heard that Xanthan Gum does have a big effect on some celiacs. I was curious because when I ate the bob's red mill, I had bad effects and Xanthan is the only culprit..

[ksymonds84]

I have heard that Xanthan Gum does have a big effect on some celiacs. I was curious because when I ate the bob's red mill, I had bad effects and Xanthan is the only culprit..

You are correct but fortunately only for some celiacs. Xantham is grown on corn so there is also the allergy to corn connection. I am not allergic to xantham but it does cause me intolerance problems similar to gluten. It took me tons of trials and errors to discover the connection to xantham because its in almost all gluten free goodies so one would assume it was safe. There is an excellent article on this website homepage discussing xantham and how it can be a problem for some celiacs.

[MaryJones2]

Kathy is correct. Most Xanthan Gum is derived from corn. It can also be derived from soy, etc. Namaste products use Xanthan Gum that is carbohydrate free and is not made with soy or corn (although I'm not sure where it comes from).

[happygirl]

And - many blue cheeses are gluten free.

[Felidae]

Xanthum gum. Very interesting. Maybe that is the culprit for me. I haven't had problems in years, but for the past few months somethimg is very wrong. I do a lot of baking with xanthum being the common ingredient.

[kbtoyssni]

No longer true. They are made in a dedicated facility and batch tested. Bob's Red Mill has done all it can to prevent cross contamination issues.

If a Bob's Red Mill product ways gluten-free, then it is made in the gluten-free facility. There are a few flours made by Bob's that you'd think would be gluten-free like the soy flour, but it's made in the non-gluten-free facility so it isn't labeled gluten-free.

[emcmaster]

Xanthan gum kills me. I have almost a worse reaction to Xanthan gum than gluten, if you can imagine.

[AshleyS]

Xanthum gum. Very interesting. Maybe that is the culprit for me. I haven't had problems in years, but for the past few months somethimg is very wrong. I do a lot of baking with xanthum being the common ingredient.

Xanthan is most likely your problem then. I have been baking with Guar Gum instead and it makes a world of difference! Guar does the same thing as xanthan in recipes and it won't hurt you!

[TrillumHunter]

Hmm, think xanthan might be a problem for me as well. I've been having some issues after Friday night pizza night. I thought it was the tapioca. I bought the guar gum and used it Friday and, lo and behold, no issue on Saturday morning.

Kinda stinks because many gluten-free products have xanthan....

[larry mac]

Xanthan gum is a very common thickener used in many, many food items. Just about every food product that's thickened (without using wheat flour as the thickener) has xanthan gum, guar gum, or often both. Ice cream, salad dressings, and mayonaise for instance.

I use both in my baked goods, half & half, 'cause xanthan gum is so expensive, and guar gum can be found for far less if you look around. Couldn't tell a difference in the finished product.

Obviously never had a problem with either one.

best regards, lm

[Felidae]

Hmm, think xanthan might be a problem for me as well. I've been having some issues after Friday night pizza night. I thought it was the tapioca. I bought the guar gum and used it Friday and, lo and behold, no issue on Saturday morning.

Kinda stinks because many gluten-free products have xanthan....

It really does suck and you are right xantham is in so many products. This is really a difficult disease/intolerance.

I thought years ago that tapioca was causing me problems. Now I have to rethink everything. I need to go buy some guar gum and start baking again. I really hope xantham is the problem too. I getting a little tired of being sick again!