From harmless to helpful?
Update on Gum Arabic
Doctor's Note
For more on food additives, check out these videos:
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Artificial Food Colors and ADHD
Seeing Red No. 3: Coloring to Dye For
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But What is differences between Gum arabic and Gum Acacia, is it the same??
Hi Gum,
I am a volunteer for Dr. Greger. Thank you so much for your question.
I believe they are the same–Acacia is the genus name of the plant.
Wish you’d do a piece on the various gums (locust bean, guar, arabic, tara, gellan) used as food stabilizers. Vis a vis the “Wal-Mart Ice Cream won’t melt!” fiasco… As certain alterna-medicine sites Like Mercola & NaturalNews seem to
keep banging the drums about “ooh, gums are totally dangerous!”
Personally, I’m more concerned by the levels of sugar & saturated
fat in the ice cream bars than the food stabilizers used to make them not run all over your hand in 2 minutes… (Not like these bars haven’t been in every gas station and convenience store freezer in nearly the same formulation since the beginning of time, with none the worse for wear.)
http://www.theskepticsguide.org/just-chill-it-doesnt-matter-that-your-ice-cream-sandwich-wont-melt
Have generally found that most gums are considered harmless:
http://chriskresser.com/harmful-or-harmless-guar-gum-locust-bean-gum-and-more
Just hoped maybe you could to some degree settle the matter with actual science…
Hi Michael. Ask and you shall receive! (I just wish I could work quicker…) See if these help: http://nutritionfacts.org/topics/gum-arabic/
I know we have some info on carrageenan, too: http://nutritionfacts.org/topics/carrageenan/
The main point with these are not that they are healthful, but if there is a small amount in healthful products (soymllk or other fortified foods come to mind) no reason to avoid those foods completely. Check out the video I may have the message wrong. As for the others you mentioned I’ll look into posting more about stabilizers, but I agree with you “concerned by the levels of sugar & saturated fat in the ice cream bars”
Thanks,
Joseph
Thankee muchly!
Look forward to it. ^_^
Which are the best prebiotics foods to consume
Are there any herbs, natural creams or food to help prevent or reverse Gum Disease in addition to brushing and flossing?
I don’t see any update :( on Gum Arabic
Are the claims for dental health benefits of gum arabic valid?
I’ve never seen any claims about dental benefits of gum arabic, but can evaluate them if you link some claims that you’re referring to.
Dr. Ben