Is Xanthan Gum Bad for You?
Xanthan gum is a thickener. The FDA's food additive regulation, 21 CFR 172.695, describes it as a polysaccharide gum derived from Xanthomonas campestris by a pure-culture fermentation process and purified by recovery with isopropyl alcohol, and says it may be used in food in line with good manufacturing practice as a stabilizer, emulsifier, thickener, suspending agent, bodying agent or foam enhancer.
At large doses it acts as a laxative. In a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in 1993, eighteen volunteers took 15 grams of xanthan gum a day for 10 days, and the researchers found it to be a highly efficient laxative agent that significantly increased stool output, frequency of bowel movements and flatulence, with variable effects on transit time.
Gut bacteria can digest it. A 2022 study in Nature Microbiology reported that the ability to digest xanthan gum is surprisingly common in industrialized human gut microbiomes, and appears to depend on a single uncultured bacterium in the family Ruminococcaceae.
Sources checked September 15, 2026. Every point below links the page it came from.
The sources behind this answer
- Regulatory filingUnder 21 CFR 172.695, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide gum derived from Xanthomonas campestris by a pure-culture fermentation process and purified by recovery with isopropyl alcohol. US FDA, 21 CFR 172.695 (eCFR) ↗
- Regulatory filingUnder 21 CFR 172.695, xanthan gum is used in line with good manufacturing practice as a stabilizer, emulsifier, thickener, suspending agent, bodying agent or foam enhancer. US FDA, 21 CFR 172.695 (eCFR) ↗
- StudyA 1993 British Journal of Nutrition study gave eighteen volunteers 15 grams of xanthan gum a day for 10 days and found it a highly efficient laxative, significantly increasing stool output, frequency of defecation and flatulence. British Journal of Nutrition, via Cambridge University Press ↗
- StudyA 2022 Nature Microbiology study reported that the ability to digest xanthan gum is surprisingly common in industrialized human gut microbiomes and appears to depend on a single uncultured bacterium in the family Ruminococcaceae. Nature Microbiology, via PubMed Central ↗
Sources checked September 15, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.