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Guar Gum

Guar Gum

Aid Overall Health

If you are reading labels you have probably stumbled across guar gum before and wondered what it was. Guar gum comes from the guar bean. The guar bean is a legume; 80% of the world’s guar beans come from India.

Guar beans are used for human consumption and cattle feed in many Asian countries. To make guar gum, the beans are husked, milled and screened. The final product you are left with is an off-white colored powder known as guar gum.

Now that you have an understanding of what guar gum is you may be wondering if it’s safe. Guar gum is regarded as a safe food additive by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Guar gum is used as a thickener, stabilizer, and additive. It can also be used as a supplement to treat medical issues such as high cholesterol, diabetes and stomach ailments, but needs to be monitored by a doctor.

Some commercial manufacturing uses for guar gum include toothpaste, creams and lipsticks. In these products guar gum improves the texture and makes them shelf stable.

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Summary

Guar Gum Uses in Food Guar gum is an amazing product with many uses in the food industry. It has eight times the thickening power of common starches such as corn starch, and is a fraction of the price. This makes guar gum ideal in foods like salad dressings, sauces, gravies, and soups. ... more

Guar Gum Uses in Food

Guar gum is an amazing product with many uses in the food industry. It has eight times the thickening power of common starches such as corn starch, and is a fraction of the price. This makes guar gum ideal in foods like salad dressings, sauces, gravies, and soups.

Guar gum also creates a smooth consistency in products such as yogurts. Because of its economical cost and availability, manufacturers can keep prices lower.

Guar gum also prevents ice crystallization in frozen foods. This keeps your ice cream smooth by binding the fats and preventing water molecules from separating. Without an ingredient like guar gum, your ice cream would become a soupy mess on the way home from the store! When you put it back in the freezer the water molecules would create little ice chunks.

Guar gum is also used in baking applications. It allows traditional dough to retain moisture and improves elasticity and smoothness in the dough. In gluten-free baking applications it can provide the structure lost from not using traditional flours.

Guar gum is widely available in supermarkets nationwide. This makes it an ideal product for people with gluten issues or Celiac disease who want to bake gluten free items at home. Adding a small amount to your dough or batter helps trap air much as gluten would; this improves the texture and rise of the dough.

Medical Uses for Guar Gum

Guar gum is a water soluble fiber that has shown effectiveness in treating conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes, and stomach ailments. Guar gum is also used in liquid medications as a thickener and in pills as a binder.

Guar gum works by binding with water and insoluble fiber in the stomach to help control absorption of cholesterol. This helps lower levels of bad low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and total levels. It does not affect the good high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or triglycerides.

Diabetics have been shown to have improvement in after meal blood sugar spikes when they take guar gum. Guar gum seems to lower glucose absorption rates. Guar gum also slows digestion rates and therefore helps combat the after meal blood pressure drops in diabetics.

Guar gum has also been used to treat conditions such as diarrhea and constipation. The gum can absorb extra moisture present in stools to relieve and shorten episodes of diarrhea.

Guar gum has been used with great success in feeding tube patients. Guar gum can also soften hard stools allowing them to pass easier.

Guar Gum and the FDA

Guar gum should not be used for weight loss. In 1991, the FDA banned guar gum from being used in weight loss supplements. This is because extremely high doses of guar gum caused intestinal blockages.

Guar Gum Side Effects

Possible side effects of using guar gum are abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, and gas. According to WebMD these side effects should pass after a few days of beginning supplementation.

You should use a guar gum supplement only as recommended! High doses or failure to drink the amount of recommended water can cause a blockage in your esophagus or intestines.

You should not take it if you have a narrowing of your esophagus or intestine. Because guar gum affects blood glucose levels, you should also discontinue use of guar gum as a supplement two weeks prior to having surgery.

Guar gum can interact with certain medications by slowing their absorption or binding to them and not allowing them to absorb at all. Make sure you check with your doctor before taking guar gum if you are on any medication or have a preexisting medical condition.

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Other

  • Side Effects
  • Other Names
  • Uses
Gas
Nausea And/Or Diarrhea
Abdominal Pain
Blockage Of Esophagus Or Intestines
Cyamopsis psoraloides
Binder
Constipation
Diabetes
Diarrhea
Food Additive
Lower LDL
Cholesterol