Anything Wrong With Locust Bean Gum?

[Jewbermensch]

I've found a great organic ice cream brand with a great coffee flavor. Tastes clean and leaves me feeling pretty good. The only questionable ingredient they use is Locust Bean Gum. Is anybody aware of any danger with frequently consuming it?

 

[jitsmonkey]

all gums are to be avoided

 

[Jewbermensch]

all gums are to be avoided

I know that is the line of thinking, I just haven't seen any studies that suggest problems with anything but carageenan. Regardless, better safe than sorry I suppose, especially if I can find a brand without additives.

 

[ecstatichamster]

there are such studies. They are bad for our digestion.

all gums seem to slow down digestive processes:
https://bmcgastroenterol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-230X-3-12

Effects of Locust Bean Gum on Glucose Tolerance, Sugar Digestion, and Gastric Motility in Rats | The Journal of Nutrition | Oxford Academic

and this to me probably applies to all gums:
Carrageenan Induces Cell Cycle Arrest in Human Intestinal Epithelial Cells in Vitro | The Journal of Nutrition | Oxford Academic

 

[Lilac]

Ray calls the gums "glue."

 

[DDK]

Ray calls the gums "glue."

Casein and Gelatin are also "glue"

 

[boxers]

I have ate gums at every meal and gone months with no gums. Didn't notice much of a difference , but still try to avoid them just incase.

 

[ANDREW CHIN]

I've found a great organic ice cream brand with a great coffee flavor. Tastes clean and leaves me feeling pretty good. The only questionable ingredient they use is Locust Bean Gum. Is anybody aware of any danger with frequently consuming it?

According to this link, locust bean gum is only used at an amount of .1-.2% in ice cream. My opinion is that it won't make much of a difference at that amount. At 5%, it might be a different story, but I don't believe any processed food on the market uses that much.
Locust Bean Gum in Ice Cream

Here's Chris Kresser's take on guar gum, locust bean gum, gum arabic, etc.
https://chriskresser.com/harmful-or-harmless-guar-gum-locust-bean-gum-and-more/

 

[Jewbermensch]

According to this link, locust bean gum is only used at an amount of .1-.2% in ice cream. My opinion is that it won't make much of a difference at that amount. At 5%, it might be a different story, but I don't believe any processed food on the market uses that much.
Locust Bean Gum in Ice Cream

Here's Chris Kresser's take on guar gum, locust bean gum, gum arabic, etc.
https://chriskresser.com/harmful-or-harmless-guar-gum-locust-bean-gum-and-more/

Thanks for the reply. I stopped eating ice cream since this post pretty much but good to know it's probably not an issue

 

[Literally]

IIRC correctly this gum and emulsifier issue made the cover of Nature about 4-5 years ago. I have the paper somewhere. They collectively identified a strong correlation between frequent consumption of gums and emulsifiers and obesity and other health problems. The mechanism was supposedly chronic removal of the mucous membranes in the digestive systems.

If you buy the mechanism, I don't see a problem with occasional use if you tolerate it well. The problem is these gums and emulsifiers are in so many products that people eating a processed diet will be constantly disrupting their mucous membrane, which you can imagine could be really bad -- it's there for a reason.

I personally use xanthan gum very occasionally for home cooking and making e.g. body wash and stuff like that. As long as it's occasional, I am not at all worried. When I was regularly eating ice cream I decided that I didn't want to be having the gums weekly and just stuck with Hagen Dasz.

 

[lvysaur]

If you buy the mechanism, I don't see a problem with occasional use if you tolerate it well. The problem is these gums and emulsifiers are in so many products that people eating a processed diet will be constantly disrupting their mucous membrane, which you can imagine could be really bad -- it's there for a reason.

This is the problem, the gums are almost worse than PUFA, because at least you can avoid PUFA through buying whole foods and ingredients. They're putting the gums in everything made of liquid.

What's more, is that our supposedly 1st world country also considers many emulsifiers a "processing ingredient" if under a certain percentage weight, meaning it can be omitted from an ingredient list. Meaning that ingredient lists may not even matter.

I could even see that study conclusion being mostly correlational (IE: people who eat more junk food tend to eat more products with guar gum), but the sheer ubiquity and secrecy of use is beyond obnoxious.

 

[VitoScaletta]

Bump

This is the problem, the gums are almost worse than PUFA, because at least you can avoid PUFA through buying whole foods and ingredients. They're putting the gums in everything made of liquid.

What's more, is that our supposedly 1st world country also considers many emulsifiers a "processing ingredient" if under a certain percentage weight, meaning it can be omitted from an ingredient list. Meaning that ingredient lists may not even matter.

I could even see that study conclusion being mostly correlational (IE: people who eat more junk food tend to eat more products with guar gum), but the sheer ubiquity and secrecy of use is beyond obnoxious.

Well said.