-Dr. N.D. Victor Carsrud, DC, MS, DABCI, DCBCN
"It's Gluten Free, it must be good for you..."
For many on a Gluten free diet, Xanthan gum has been a bit of a lifesaver. Marketed by companies such as Bob's Red Mill as a great thickener/substitute for gluten, it's widely used in the GF community. It's acceptance spreads even wider than the GF circles, as it's used widely by neonatologists and others to thicken water and other fluids for premature babies, the elderly, and those with swallowing issues.
Xanthan gum is produced by a bacteria, Xanthomonas campestris, as it breaks down various sugars, and is responsible for that thick, black slime occasionally found on broccoli and other vegetables that have gone a bit bad. It's usage in foods and in industry to keep the viscosity of fluids is widespread, and is considered "safe" by the FDA.
That should have been my first clue. In my humble opinion, the FDA only nominally labels something as dangerous once it's actively caught fire inside someone's mouth, dissolved the packaging that it's in, or has cost the pharmaceutical industry a small percentage of profit. (Oops, did I say that out loud?) One has to look no further than thalidomide or nutrasweet/aspartame for starting examples among many where FDA assumptions of safety should be taken with a grain of salt, assuming that's still safe as well.
And my own personal experience with moving into gluten free likewise should have been a big hint. I seemed to do well with adapting to most gluten free options, but found that anything with high levels or usage of xanthan gum left my gut twisting far worse than even gluten did.
That should have been my first clue. In my humble opinion, the FDA only nominally labels something as dangerous once it's actively caught fire inside someone's mouth, dissolved the packaging that it's in, or has cost the pharmaceutical industry a small percentage of profit. (Oops, did I say that out loud?) One has to look no further than thalidomide or nutrasweet/aspartame for starting examples among many where FDA assumptions of safety should be taken with a grain of salt, assuming that's still safe as well.
And my own personal experience with moving into gluten free likewise should have been a big hint. I seemed to do well with adapting to most gluten free options, but found that anything with high levels or usage of xanthan gum left my gut twisting far worse than even gluten did.
The Other Shoe Drops...
Everything comes with a price. So it should not have come as any surprise that there are risks that go along with Xanthan gum too. Indeed, my intestines did a little writhing of their own as I read a story from the New York Times this morning explaining potential complications and death (yes, death), from exposure of Xanthan gum by development of a terrible condition called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).
It only makes sense then that if fatalities in children finally make the news, the bigger issue beneath is how many negative side effects are seen that are unreported or passed over in those that are using xanthan gum as an alternative to gluten due to food sensitivities?
To my Clinical Nutritionist Brain it should have made sense that anything secreted by a bacteria as a defensive product would most likely wreck havoc upon the immature immune system in the intestine, or in those whose intestines are ravaged by other issues such as gluten intolerance or celiac. But as with all people caught up in the paranoid search for the hidden sources of gluten, I'd missed a potentially obvious conclusion - that everything that is not my enemy is not necessarily my friend. Do not mistake me, gluten is still a dangerous and inflammatory grain which has been shown to have deleterious effects in up to a third of the American population. But that doesn't mean that all alternatives are safe.
In the case of Xanthan gum, there is a subpopulation whose gut cannot handle the additional load of potentially exacerbating bacterial products, and might well explain some of the negative side effects occasionally seen as those patients transfer onto a gluten free lifestyle. And while I'm not saying that's the case with every gluten free patient, you should likely take a measured observation of how you react when making that change and trying out things with high levels of xanthan gum in it.
My best to you in better health, and we hope this helps,
Dr. Victor
Check out the original source article at:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/warning-too-late-for-some-babies/
It only makes sense then that if fatalities in children finally make the news, the bigger issue beneath is how many negative side effects are seen that are unreported or passed over in those that are using xanthan gum as an alternative to gluten due to food sensitivities?
To my Clinical Nutritionist Brain it should have made sense that anything secreted by a bacteria as a defensive product would most likely wreck havoc upon the immature immune system in the intestine, or in those whose intestines are ravaged by other issues such as gluten intolerance or celiac. But as with all people caught up in the paranoid search for the hidden sources of gluten, I'd missed a potentially obvious conclusion - that everything that is not my enemy is not necessarily my friend. Do not mistake me, gluten is still a dangerous and inflammatory grain which has been shown to have deleterious effects in up to a third of the American population. But that doesn't mean that all alternatives are safe.
In the case of Xanthan gum, there is a subpopulation whose gut cannot handle the additional load of potentially exacerbating bacterial products, and might well explain some of the negative side effects occasionally seen as those patients transfer onto a gluten free lifestyle. And while I'm not saying that's the case with every gluten free patient, you should likely take a measured observation of how you react when making that change and trying out things with high levels of xanthan gum in it.
My best to you in better health, and we hope this helps,
Dr. Victor
Check out the original source article at:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/warning-too-late-for-some-babies/
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