Hey fam! I’m back from my hiatus (miss me?). I took some time off to spend with family for holidays and birthdays and reconnect with the loved ones in my life. It was lovely. Something I didn’t take off from doing? Nourishing my body in the best way possible.
That’s why I wanted to start this series on the ingredients I avoid as a nutrition coach. This is not to label any ingredient as “bad” or completely off-limits, I don’t want anyone to get too wrapped up in avoiding this long list of “toxic” substances. However, it is good to know what goes best with your body and try to have more of that, while having less of the things that don’t serve it as well.
Today’s focus:
Xanthan gum
Xanthan gum is an additive derived from a fermented carbohydrate, and you can find it in anything from almond milk to construction pastes, to breads, to shampoos. It is used as a thickening agent and emulsifier for liquids, which means it keeps them from separating (no one wants clumpy almond milk, right?).
This additive cannot be found in nature, and it was first manufactured in a lab the 1960s. When it was first studied on people and deemed safe for consumption, we did not have the right bacteria in our stomachs to digest it. It was thought of as undigestible, just something that would go straight through you and not affect your diet.
This new study conducted by researchers from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and the University of Michigan Medical School shockingly discovered that humans who live in industrialized countries have actually adapted to the additive and we now have the proper bacteria in our guts to digest it.
Knowing that our gut is not only responsible for our hormones, moods, metabolism, and providing our body with pretty much every nutrient that it requires to function, makes me steer clear of anything that will alter my microbiome. This, and the fact that this ingredient is relatively new in our diets and the long-term effects of its consumption are still unknown gives it a big PASS for me.
It is still unfortunately present in many items found in health food stores, so it’s almost impossible to avoid completely, unless you completely avoid any processed foods (including dairy-free yogurts, protein powders, keto ice cream, etc.). If you search hard enough, you can find the rare xanthan-free product, however, it does take some effort, especially if you’re dairy-free, as most dairy-free products use it to give their foods a creamy, dairy-like consistency.
If you have no other option, try to find the product with xanthan gum lowest on the list of ingredients.
My favorite xanthan-free, all-natural (yet) processed products:
Protein powder:
Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein Powder is just one of many that this brand has. I love their vanilla protein, as it’s versatile enough to have alone with soymilk, in a berry or green smoothie, or in pancakes, but the chocolate one is excellent during a deep cut to have on its own with water.
Dairy free milk:
Elmhurst 1925 Dairy Free Milks has almond, walnut, oat, hazelnut, and cashew variations with just 2-3 simple ingredients. If you’re more of a creamer kind of person, they have some delicious creamers, as well (highly recommend the pistachio one).
High-protein yogurt:
Siggi’s Plant-Based Coconut Blend . Sure, it does not have as much protein as Silk’s greek alternative, but all of the ingredients are clear, organic, and absolutely divine on the taste buds.
Dairy-free cheeses
Treeline cheeses have a wide array of fantastic cheeses of all sorts. I’d recommend any of them.
Citations:
Matthew P. Ostrowski et al, Mechanistic insights into consumption of the food additive xanthan gum by the human gut microbiota, Nature Microbiology (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-022-01093-0
