Guar Gum and Xantham Gum

[Polly]

Hi Friends,

Kari mentioned that she thinks she had trouble with one or both of these. I think I do too (maybe guar more than xantham but not sure), but will be waiting a while more on LEAP before officially testing them.

It's unfortunate that they are used in so many of the GF foods. I think guar gum comes from the seed of a legume plant and xantham gum is extracted from corn kernels. Mary Beth, correct me if I'm wrong here. So both are at very high risk for folks like us who can react to minute amounts of legumes and corn.

I am wondering now how many times in the past I was reacting to these two additives and not to the actual food. Again, the beauty of the LEAP diet - testing pure foods one at a time. Maybe I'll have some other surprises (like coconut - I have probably never had any "pure" coconut).

Love,

Polly

[mbeezie]

Polly,

Based on what Joe found out a few months ago, xanthan gum can also be derived from soy. I agree that often additives are the problem. Maybe I should suggest that Signet add these to their panel of chemicals.

Mary Beth

[harma]

Hello Polly,

love to read your updates on the MRT testing and how well you are doing on it. About guar gum and Xanthan gum, I know from the past I have troubles with both, I avoid both, same story with carrageen. Also I suspect pectin, when it is added to fruit juice (quite common in Jordan). Actually I don't understand why, but all those thickener additive seems to bother me and sure I am not the only one.

[Polly]

Harma,

We are so much alike! I cannot do carrageenen either, and recently I have been suspecting pectin. I can't find a jelly or jam without pectin, and I think I am reacting to it. Each time in the past mo. I've eaten jam (using a "safe" fruit) on a rice cracker I've had a soft BM the next day. And the only other ingredient in the jam has been sugar, which I am OK with. Hmmmmm. I've stopped jam for now and will test sometime later. I think Mary Beth told me pectin is not usually reactive.

Do you have any idea how pectin is made? I think I read it often comes from citrus peels. I am reactive to grapefruit (but not lemon or orange, weird?!), so maybe I have eaten pectin from grapefruit peels unknowingly??? It certainly is an exhausting process for those of us who are so sensitive to ferret out safe foods, isn't it?

Mary Beth,

Excellent idea! I think that would give a big bang for the buck. Especially because I'll bet many who elect to do MRT have had longstanding problems, have already eliminated gluten, and have been eating those GF foods that contain guar and xantham gums.

Hugs,

Polly

[tex]

From Wikipedia, (In the Sources and Production section, note the 30% pectin content of citrus peels):

Pectin (from Greek πηκτικός - pektikos, "congealed, curdled"[1]) is a structural heteropolysaccharide contained in the primary cell walls of terrestrial plants. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot.[2] It is produced commercially as a white to light brown powder, mainly extracted from citrus fruits, and is used in food as a gelling agent particularly in jams and jellies. It is also used in fillings, sweets, as a stabilizer in fruit juices and milk drinks and as a source of dietary fiber.


Biology

In plant cells, pectin consists of a complex set of polysaccharides (see below) that are present in most primary cell walls and particularly abundant in the non-woody parts of terrestrial plants. Pectin is present not only throughout primary cell walls but also in the middle lamella between plant cells where it helps to bind cells together.

The amount, structure and chemical composition of pectin differs between plants, within a plant over time and in different parts of a plant. During ripening, pectin is broken down by the enzymes pectinase and pectinesterase; in this process the fruit becomes softer as the middle lamella breaks down and cells become separated from each other. A similar process of cell separation caused by pectin breakdown occurs in the abscission zone of the petioles of deciduous plants at leaf fall.

Pectin is a natural part of human diet, but does not contribute significantly to nutrition. The daily intake of pectin from fruits and vegetables can be estimated to be around 5 g (assuming consumption of approximately 500 g fruits and vegetables per day).

In human digestion, pectin goes through the small intestine more or less intact. Pectin is thus a soluble dietary fiber.

Consumption of pectin has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels. The mechanism appears to be an increase of viscosity in the intestinal tract, leading to a reduced absorption of cholesterol from bile or food.[3] In the large intestine and colon, microorganisms degrade pectin and liberate short-chain fatty acids that have positive influence on health (prebiotic effect).[citation needed]


Chemistry

Pectins are a family of complex polysaccharides that contain 1,4-linked α-D-galactosyluronic acid residues. Three pectic polysaccharides have been isolated from plant primary cell walls and structurally characterized. These are:

* Homogalacturonans

* Substituted galacturonans

* Rhamnogalacturonans

Homogalacturonans are linear chains of α-(1-4)-linked D-galacturonic acid.[4]
Substituted galacturonans are characterized by the presence of saccharide appendant residues (such as D-xylose or D-apiose in the respective cases of xylogalacturonan and apiogalacturonan) branching from a backbone of D-galacturonic acid residues.[4][5]
Rhamnogalacturonan I pectins (RG-I) contain a backbone of the repeating disaccharide: 4)-α-D-galacturonic acid-(1,2)-α-L-rhamnose-(1. From many of the rhamnose residues, sidechains of various neutral sugars branch off. The neutral sugars are mainly D-galactose, L-arabinose and D-xylose, the types and proportions of neutral sugars varying with the origin of pectin.[4][5][6]

Another structural type of pectin is rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II), which is a less frequent complex, highly branched polysaccharide.[7] Rhamnogalacturonan II is classified by some authors within the group of substituted galacturonans since the rhamnogalacturonan II backbone is made exclusively of D-galacturonic acid units.[5]

Isolated pectin has a molecular weight of typically 60–130,000 g/mol, varying with origin and extraction conditions.

In nature, around 80% of carboxyl groups of galacturonic acid are esterified with methanol. This proportion is decreased more or less during pectin extraction. The ratio of esterified to non-esterified galacturonic acid determines the behavior of pectin in food applications. This is why pectins are classified as high- vs. low-ester pectins – or in short HM vs. LM-pectins, with more or less than half of all the galacturonic acid esterified.

The non-esterified galacturonic acid units can be either free acids (carboxyl groups) or salts with sodium, potassium or calcium. The salts of partially esterified pectins are called pectinates, if the degree of esterification is below 5% the salts are called pectates, the insoluble acid form, pectic acid.

Some plants like sugar beet, potatoes and pears contain pectins with acetylated galacturonic acid in addition to methyl esters. Acetylation prevents gel-formation but increases the stabilising and emulsifying effects of pectin.

Amidated pectin is a modified form of pectin. Here, some of the galacturonic acid is converted with ammonia to carboxylic acid amide. These pectins are more tolerant of varying calcium concentrations that occur in use.[8]

To prepare a pectin-gel, the ingredients are heated, dissolving the pectin. Upon cooling below gelling temperature, a gel starts to form. If gel formation is too strong, syneresis or a granular texture are the result, whilst weak gelling leads to excessively soft gels. In high-ester pectins at soluble solids content above 60% and a pH-value between 2.8 and 3.6, hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions bind the individual pectin chains together. These bonds form as water is bound by sugar and forces pectin strands to stick together. These form a 3-dimensional molecular net that creates the macromolecular gel. The gelling-mechanism is called a low-water-activity gel or sugar-acid-pectin gel.

In low-ester pectins, ionic bridges are formed between calcium ions and the ionised carboxyl groups of the galacturonic acid. This is idealised in the so-called “egg box-model”. Low-ester pectins need calcium to form a gel, but can do so at lower soluble solids and higher pH-values than high-ester pectins.

Amidated pectins behave like low-ester pectins but need less calcium and are more tolerant of excess calcium. Also, gels from amidated pectin are thermo-reversible – they can be heated and after cooling solidify again, whereas conventional pectin-gels will afterwards remain liquid.

High-ester pectins set at higher temperatures than low-ester pectins. However, gelling reactions with calcium increase as the degree of esterification falls. Similarly, lower pH-values or higher soluble solids (normally sugars) increase gelling speed. Suitable pectins can therefore be selected for jams and for jellies, or for higher sugar confectionery jellies.


Sources and production

Apples, guavas, quince, plums, gooseberries, oranges and other citrus fruits, contain large amounts of pectin, while soft fruits like cherries, grapes and strawberries contain small amounts of pectin.

Typical levels of pectin in plants are (fresh weight):

* apples, 1–1.5%

* apricot, 1%

* cherries, 0.4%

* oranges 0.5–3.5%

* carrots approx. 1.4%

* citrus peels, 30%

The main raw-materials for pectin production are dried citrus peel or apple pomace, both by-products of juice production. Pomace from sugar-beet is also used to a small extent.

From these materials, pectin is extracted by adding hot dilute acid at pH-values from 1.5 – 3.5. During several hours of extraction, the protopectin loses some of its branching and chain-length and goes into solution. After filtering, the extract is concentrated in vacuum and the pectin then precipitated by adding ethanol or isopropanol. An old technique of precipitating pectin with aluminium salts is no longer used (apart from alcohols and polyvalent cations; pectin also precipitates with proteins and detergents).

Alcohol-precipitated pectin is then separated, washed and dried. Treating the initial pectin with dilute acid leads to low-esterified pectins. When this process includes ammonium hydroxide, amidated pectins are obtained. After drying and milling pectin is usually standardised with sugar and sometimes calcium-salts or organic acids to have optimum performance in a particular application.[9]

Worldwide, approximately 40,000 metric tons of pectin are produced every year.[citation needed]


Uses

The main use for pectin is as a gelling agent, thickening agent and stabilizer in food. The classical application is giving the jelly-like consistency to jams or marmalades, which would otherwise be sweet juices. For household use, pectin is an ingredient in gelling sugar (also known as "Jam Sugar") where it is diluted to the right concentration with sugar and some citric acid to adjust pH. In some countries, pectin is also available as a solution or an extract, or as a blended powder, for home jam making. For conventional jams and marmalades that contain above 60% sugar and soluble fruit solids, high-ester pectins are used. With low-ester pectins and amidated pectins less sugar is needed, so that diet products can be made. Pectin can also be used to stabilize acidic protein drinks, such as drinking yogurt, and as a fat substitute in baked goods. Typical levels of pectin used as a food additive are between 0.5 – 1.0% - this is about the same amount of pectin as in fresh fruit.

In medicine, pectin increases viscosity and volume of stool so that it is used against constipation and diarrhea. Until 2002, it was one of the main ingredients used in Kaopectate, along with kaolinite. Pectin is also used in throat lozenges as a demulcent. In cosmetic products, pectin acts as stabilizer. Pectin is also used in wound healing preparations and specialty medical adhesives, such as colostomy devices. Also, it is considered a natural remedy for nausea. Pectin rich foods are proven to help nausea.[citation needed]

In ruminant nutrition, depending on the extent of lignification of the cell wall, pectin is up to 90% digestible by bacterial enzymes. Ruminant nutritionists recommend that the digestibility and energy concentration in forages can be improved by increasing pectin concentration in the forage.

In the cigar industry, pectin is considered an excellent substitute for vegetable glue and many cigar smokers and collectors will use pectin for repairing damaged tobacco wrapper leaves on their cigars.

Pectin is also used in jellybeans.

Love,
Tex

[Polly]

Tex,

We can always count on you for the REAL scoop - thanks so much.

All,

I forgot to add that Mary Bath suggested I call the company to inquire about what their source of pectin is.

Polly

[Kari]

Polly,

One of my go to items for extra calories was Amy & Brian's All Natural Coconut Juice - it is 100% juice with no preservatives. The only ingredient listed is "Young Coconut Juice". It is a very refreshing beverage when cold, and I grew to savor it. I still have a couple of cans in the refrigerator, waiting for when I work up my courage to try pure coconut again . It's a little pricey, but well worth it!!!

Love,
Kari

[Kari]

Mary Beth - what a great idea - let us know if you have any success with that. If these items where included in the MRT test, it might have prevented my latest flare ...........

Love,
Kari