Xanthan Gum — Is This Food Additive Healthy or Harmful?

Xanthan gum is a common food additive used to thicken and stabilize products. While it may offer some health advantages, excessive intake can lead to digestive complaints.

Surprisingly, items as different as wallpaper adhesive and salad dressing share a common ingredient.

That ingredient is xanthan gum — a substance you may not recognize by name but probably eat several times each week.

Because it appears in numerous industrial items and has been associated with respiratory and gastrointestinal issues, many people worry about its safety.

However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies xanthan gum as safe to eat as a food additive. Its use as a supplement and as an ingredient in gluten-free products is also becoming more widespread.

It might even provide health perks, such as reducing cholesterol and blood glucose.

This article reviews the available evidence on xanthan gum to decide whether it’s harmful or helpful for your health.

What is xanthan gum?

Xanthan gum is an often-used food additive that functions as a thickener and stabilizer in many recipes.

It’s produced when sugars are fermented by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris. The fermentation yields a viscous broth, which is solidified by adding alcohol, then dried and milled into a powder.

When the powder is mixed into a liquid, it disperses rapidly and forms a stable, viscous solution. This quality makes it an excellent thickening, suspending, and stabilizing agent across a range of products.

First identified by researchers in 1963, xanthan gum has since been extensively studied and deemed safe. Consequently, the FDA has approved it as a food additive and has not set a maximum limit for its presence in food items.

Although manufactured, xanthan gum is a soluble fiber. Soluble fibers are carbohydrates the body cannot digest; they absorb water and transform into a gel-like material in the digestive tract, slowing digestion. Therefore, xanthan gum is not broken down by the body and provides no calories or nutrients.

Where is xanthan gum found?

Xanthan gum appears in foods, personal care items, and industrial goods.

Food products

Xanthan gum improves texture, consistency, mouthfeel, shelf life, and appearance in many foods.

It also stabilizes products so they tolerate varying temperatures and pH levels, prevents separation, and helps them pour smoothly from containers.

It’s commonly used in gluten-free baking to lend elasticity and lightness that gluten typically provides.

Common foods containing xanthan gum include:

• salad dressings
• baked goods
• fruit beverages
• soups
• ice cream
• sauces and gravies
• syrups
• gluten-free items
• low-fat foods

Personal care products

Xanthan gum also appears in many cosmetics and personal care formulations. It gives them a thick texture while allowing them to flow from their containers, and helps suspend solid particles in liquids.

Typical personal care products with xanthan gum include:

• toothpaste
• creams
• lotions
• shampoo

Industrial products

Because it tolerates different temperatures and pH levels, adheres to surfaces, and thickens liquids while maintaining flow, xanthan gum is used in various industrial applications.

Examples of industrial products that contain xanthan gum include:

• fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides
• tile, grout, oven, and toilet cleaners
• paints
• fluids for oil drilling
• adhesives such as wallpaper glue

Xanthan gum may lower blood sugar

Research indicates xanthan gum can reduce blood glucose when taken in substantial amounts.

It likely turns stomach and small-intestine contents into a thick, gel-like mass. This slows digestion and alters the rate at which sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream, reducing post-meal blood sugar spikes.

A study in women reported that eating rice with added xanthan gum led to significantly lower immediate blood glucose levels than rice without it.

Other health benefits

Xanthan gum has been associated with other possible health effects, though many of these are unlikely without supplemental doses.

Potential benefits include:

• Lower cholesterol: A 1986 trial had five men consume ten times the recommended xanthan gum amount daily for 23 days; their cholesterol dropped by about 10% on subsequent tests.
• Weight management: Some people report feeling fuller after taking xanthan gum. It may increase satiety by delaying stomach emptying and slowing digestion.
• Anti-cancer effects: An animal study with melanoma showed marked slowing of tumor growth and longer survival. Human trials are lacking, so evidence is weak.
• Improved bowel regularity: Xanthan gum helps draw water into the intestines, producing softer, bulkier stools that are easier to pass. Studies have shown it can significantly increase stool frequency and volume.
• Thickening liquids: It’s used to thicken beverages for people who have swallowing difficulties, such as some older adults or those with neurological conditions.
• Saliva substitute: Sometimes used as a saliva replacement for people with dry mouth, though studies report mixed effectiveness.

Xanthan gum can cause digestive issues

For most individuals, the primary adverse effect tied to xanthan gum is gastrointestinal upset.

In high doses, xanthan gum has been associated with the following:

• more frequent bowel movements
• increased stool output
• softer stools
• more gas
• changes in gut bacteria

These effects tend not to appear unless intake reaches around 15 grams or more — a level hard to achieve from ordinary diet alone.

Additionally, xanthan gum’s impact on gut microbes might be beneficial, as many soluble fibers alter the microbiome in ways that support growth of advantageous bacteria. These fibers act as prebiotics.

Still, further research is necessary to clarify xanthan gum’s role as a prebiotic.

Some people should avoid or limit it

Although xanthan gum is safe for most, a few groups should avoid or restrict it.

People with severe wheat, corn, soy, or dairy allergies

Xanthan gum is produced from sugars that may be derived from sources such as wheat, corn, soy, or dairy.

People with serious allergies to these ingredients should avoid xanthan gum-containing foods unless they can verify the sugar source.

Premature infants

A xanthan gum–based thickener called Simply Thick was added to formula and breast milk for premature infants.

In such cases, infants developed necrotizing enterocolitis, a potentially fatal condition in which the intestines become inflamed, damaged, and can begin to die.

While Simply Thick is safe for adults, it’s not appropriate for infants because their digestive systems are still immature.

Those on certain medications or planning surgery

Xanthan gum can lower blood sugar.

This could be dangerous for people taking diabetes medications that raise the risk of hypoglycemia. It may also be a concern for individuals scheduled for surgery.

These people can consume foods with xanthan gum in normal amounts but should avoid large intakes until more is known about its blood-sugar effects.

Is it safe to consume?

For most people, eating foods that contain xanthan gum appears safe.

Although present in many products, it typically comprises only about 0.05% to 0.3% of a food item.

A typical person consumes under 1 gram of xanthan gum daily. Intakes up to 20 times that amount have been shown to be safe in studies.

Indeed, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives assigned it an acceptable daily intake of “not specified,” a designation used when an additive has very low toxicity and food levels are so small they don’t pose a health risk.

However, inhaling xanthan gum powder should be avoided. Workers who handled it in powdered form experienced flu-like symptoms and irritation of the nose and throat.

So although you likely eat products that contain xanthan gum, typical intake is so low that you’re unlikely to notice significant benefits or adverse effects.

The bottom line

Xanthan gum is a widely used additive for thickening, suspending, and stabilizing. It’s found in many foods and consumer products and appears safe for the majority of people.

It may confer health benefits when consumed in higher amounts, but those doses can also raise the likelihood of digestive side effects.

Importantly, such high intakes are hard to reach through an ordinary diet and would probably require xanthan gum supplements.

While many studies support its safety as a food ingredient, relatively few human trials have examined its use as a supplement.

For now, the evidence points to xanthan gum being safe to eat in the amounts typically present in foods.