Safety Of Xanthan Gum?

[MerrillC1977]

I have been reading a lot about Xanthan Gum lately, because well....it seems to need to go into most gluten-free baked goods. My research tells me that xanthan gum can be used as a laxative, as a cholesterol lowering agent and as a blood sugar lowering agent.

See:

Open Original Shared Link

and

Open Original Shared Link

Last night, for example, I made a chicken pot pie - there was 2 teaspoons (6 grams) of xanthan gum in the crust....The pie was cut into 6 servings, so we each ate about 1 gram of XG last night. There's 2/3 of a gram of XG in 2 slices of my gluten-free bread. Some things I bake don't contain XG at all and so are fine.

But I am worried that we are eating too much of it, being that one of these links above says the safe limit is 10mg/kg per day. At my weight, my daily limit would be 3/4 of a gram.....meaning I had too much last night and 2 slices of bread on any given day would put me very near the limit.

Thoughts?

[mamaw]

I have used xanthan gum for over ten years . Some who have corn issues could have problems.. If you are worried you are consuming to much switch to Guar Gum....

[auzzi]

Xanthan gum is widely used, not just in gluten-free products, but in medications, cosmetics & toiletries, as well as ordinary foods like sauces, dressings, icecream etc. It is also a primary thickener, emulsifier and binder in most low-fat/no-fat dairy products ..

Xanthan gum is polysacharide or complex carbohydrate. It is made up of glucose, mannose [a type of glucose] and glucuronic acid[derived from glucose].

* Glucose is a primary source of energy in the body.

* Mannose, although it is also a type of glucose, is not metabolized in the body, and passes straight through..,

* Glucuronic acid binds with "foreign" substances in the body, making them water-soluble which allows the body to eliminate them through the urine or faeces.

Reading those articles, the words to notice are the number of times "might" is used: and "possibly" .. It's not terribly scientific or informative.

I think about my DN: she's diabetic coeliac .. and has been for 20-odd years .. Xanthan gum has not any effect on her insulin intake ...

If you want to read: try this Open Original Shared Link

The WHO study was focused on weight-loss, so the amount was predetermined, and they didn't go any higher ...

[MerrillC1977]

I have used xanthan gum for over ten years . Some who have corn issues could have problems.. If you are worried you are consuming to much switch to Guar Gum....

Guar Gum is even worse, imo.

[fantasticalice]

This is from Blackbird Backery by Karen Morgan, one of the newer gluten-free cookbooks:

Guar Gum is made from the guar bean. Water-soluble fiber, recommended for overall intestinal health.

It has very little odor, I perfer it to the more pungent-smelling xanthum which is fermented corn.

[MerrillC1977]

Guar Gum has a high incidence of laxative effects.

[larry mac]

The only safety issue I have is "does it contain wheat, barley, or rye gluten"? If not, it's good to go.

I've been safely eating it (and guar gum) for 5 years.

best regards, lm