7 Responses to xanthan and guar gum

1. benny_120 on 2007-12-28 10:47:08.709341

   I have never used the xanthan gum so I cannot answer your question but will ask one of mine. What is wrong with just using the guar gum? Too much of a laxative? We have never had a problem with its laxative qualities. Betty

2. brain_7 on 2007-12-28 09:33:42.397092

   There is nothing wrong with guar gum for most people. SOME have issues with it because it is higher in fiber and therefore MAY have a laxative effect. It is in the legume family if that is an issue but its a great cheaper alternative to xanthan. :-) Jay

3. darleen_30 on 2007-12-29 02:49:44.190012

   I wanted to make a comment about guar gum. Most people feel they need to spend the bucks on xanthan gum, because they fear the laxative effect of guar. I mention it in my book as did every other book on gf cooking and baking. Since then, I've learned a bit more and my thoughts have changed. Parents of ASD kids are horrified at the thought of a laxative effect, because so many of their children seem to suffer from diarrhea. I say "seem" because it usually turns out not to be what it seems. According to the work being done by Drs. Andy Wakefield and Simon Murch (in the UK), most of these runny kids actually have terrible constipation! What comes out in the diaper as "diarrhea" is just the liquid bit that can get around impactions. If you do a simple abdominal x-ray of many of these kids you find impacted feces. And these are kids whose parents swore they had diarrhea. (Sorry to be so graphic but I think this is important.) Anyway, my point is simply that we shouldn't fear the effect of guar gum. It's used in lots of foods and unless you see a negative result there is no reason not to use it for most families. There will always be some who don't tolerate it or for whom it does have a laxative effect. But it is certainly worth trying. LL

4. benny_120 on 2007-12-29 12:49:30.554027

   They are interchangeable, Andrea. Betty

5. timothy_2 on 2007-12-30 08:51:36.614293

   That was the case for us Lisa. Alex had encopresis (leaking of stools) and his pants were always stained in that region, but it turned out that rather than having diarhhea, he actually had impacted to stool most of the way up to his waist (inside the digestive tract) of course. He was therefore malabsorbing many nutrients AND the only way he could pass stool was the liquid that would make it past the impactions. 6 months of mineral oil was the prescribed treatment plus an increase in fibre intake - eating the peels on the fruits/veggies, more legumes and gf cereals. I don't use any of the gums because I don't usually need them, but for those who do, both guar gum and slippery elm products are an effective and useful alternative. BL ****************************** * v'col netivotcha shalom * ******************************

6. darleen_30 on 2007-12-30 13:43:39.821198

   In a message dated 8/10/01 2:45:28 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Luvee77@... writes: That was the case for us Lisa. Alex had encopresis (leaking of stools) and his pants were always stained in that region, but it turned out that rather than having diarhhea, he actually had impacted to stool most of the way up to his waist (inside the digestive tract) of course. My point, which I think I actually failed to make, was that the guar gum might actually help a bit! Mineral oil is the best way to deal with it as you found out. LL

7. timothy_2 on 2007-12-30 21:17:33.133664

   Yes, and I was trying to agree - grin! Someone gave me xanthan gum about a year ago and I have never used it yet. I prefer other binders in our bread baking but for many who do use gums as binders guar works as well as the more expensive xanthan. BL ****************************** * v'col netivotcha shalom * ******************************

Leave a Reply