Xanthan Gum Reaction?

[stephkb]

I made chocolate chip cookies a couple of nights ago, and the next day started feeling bloated and gassy and my lymph nodes feel swollen. This is how I usually feel when I get gluten, however usually it's worse. I used Bob's Red Mill all-purpose flour in the cookies and xanthan gum. I haven't introduced anything new to my diet, and when I think bad to making these cookies before it was right after I was diagnosed and I had a reaction but thought it was to something else. And now I'm thinking back to other reactions I thought were gluten since I was diagnosed and think some of them were probably xanthan gum too. Does anyone else have this problem? I looked online and saw that it sometimes an stomach irritant. I just don't know what to do, it is in so many allergy free gluten free products and recipes, and our family has such a restricted diet as it is (my son has multiple food allergies). I really don't want to add xanthan gum to the list even though that is what I am suspecting! Does anyone have this problem, do you have a good substitute for xanthan gum?

[irish daveyboy]

........I looked online and saw that it sometimes an stomach irritant. I just don't know what to do, it is in so many allergy free gluten free products and recipes, and our family has such a restricted diet as it is (my son has multiple food allergies). I really don't want to add xanthan gum to the list even though that is what I am suspecting! Does anyone have this problem, do you have a good substitute for xanthan gum?

Hi Steph,

Follow this link and read the article, Xanthan Sensitivity - Could it be Complicating Your Celiac Disease Recovery?

Open Original Shared Link

If Corn is one of your son's sensitivities, then have a look at Caryn Talty's site (healthy-family.org)

Open Original Shared Link

Gur Gum is just as effective a binder as Xanthan.

Best Regrds,

David

[stephkb]

Hi David,

Thank you so much for that article, that sounds exactly like what I am experiencing. Even though I really don't want to have another food added to the list of foods we can't eat I guess it is better to know what is going on! My son is allergic to milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, and tree nuts. Not corn that we know of, but the website you sent still looks like it has some helpful information on it.

Thanks again,

Stephanie

Hi Steph,

Follow this link and read the article, Xanthan Sensitivity - Could it be Complicating Your Celiac Disease Recovery?

Open Original Shared Link

If Corn is one of your son's sensitivities, then have a look at Caryn Talty's site (healthy-family.org)

Open Original Shared Link

Gur Gum is just as effective a binder as Xanthan.

Best Regrds,

David

[larry mac]

May I suggest something?

Try making Betty Crocker gluten-free Cookie Mix. It has no Zanthan Gum, is super easy, and really good.

When I do bake from scratch, I use half Zanthan and half Guar. Works good, and is cheaper than all Zanthan. I personally don't have a problem with Zanthan or Guar gums. Did your other family members have a problem with the cookies?

best regards, lm

[stephkb]

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the tip on the Betty Crocker cookies, I have not tried those yet, but it sounds great. I will definitely be trying Guar gum as well.

My husband has been having stomach problems for some time that we haven't been able to figure out, so it is hard to say whether the cookies caused any new issues for him, and they didn't contain any milk or eggs that could have gone bad, just applesauce.

Thanks again,

Stephanie

May I suggest something?

Try making Betty Crocker gluten-free Cookie Mix. It has no Zanthan Gum, is super easy, and really good.

When I do bake from scratch, I use half Zanthan and half Guar. Works good, and is cheaper than all Zanthan. I personally don't have a problem with Zanthan or Guar gums. Did your other family members have a problem with the cookies?

best regards, lm

[ksymonds84]

I agree with Larry Mac on trying the Betty Crocker one's. There's very little ingredients to them and they are very tasty! I have a problem with BRM not because of xantham (wondered about xantham too but wasn't the culprit) but because my digestive system can't handle the garbanzo and fava beans that they tend to use in many of their mixes. Makes me feel glutened everytime, even though not really glutened. Hope you figure it out.

[sandsurfgirl]

Xanthan gum messes me up and it makes my lips tingle, which scares me because I worry that it could be a serious allergy.

[stephkb]

I will definitely check those out, I also think I'm going to try the cookies without the xanthan gum (they may not hold up at all, but I'll just eat anyway). I want to test and see if it's actually the xanthan causing my problems afterall. I saw my doctor yesterday and she suggested the garbanzo bean flour could be causing the issue, and thought an experiment eating the cookies with and without the xanthan gum would be a good way to test.

Thanks again for the response, glad I'm not the only one having trouble figuring this stuff out.

I agree with Larry Mac on trying the Betty Crocker one's. There's very little ingredients to them and they are very tasty! I have a problem with BRM not because of xantham (wondered about xantham too but wasn't the culprit) but because my digestive system can't handle the garbanzo and fava beans that they tend to use in many of their mixes. Makes me feel glutened everytime, even though not really glutened. Hope you figure it out.

[stephkb]

Ya, that doesn't sound good. My lymph nodes swelled up so that made me think maybe it was an allergy, but I'll have to test and see if that is it. Have you tried guar gum? I was wondering if you have a reaction to xanthan if you could also have a reaction to guar or if they are totally different things.

Thanks for the reply.

Xanthan gum messes me up and it makes my lips tingle, which scares me because I worry that it could be a serious allergy.

[sandsurfgirl]

Ya, that doesn't sound good. My lymph nodes swelled up so that made me think maybe it was an allergy, but I'll have to test and see if that is it. Have you tried guar gum? I was wondering if you have a reaction to xanthan if you could also have a reaction to guar or if they are totally different things.

Thanks for the reply.

Did you see my new thread? I challenged xanthan gum and it was fine. So now I have to challenge tapioca and see if it was that. It also could just be my damaged gut having trouble digesting stuff.