For patients with GI issues with the large intestine (IBS, spastic colon, ulcerative colitis), I have seen a pattern that foods with carageenan and xanathan gum, both polysaccharides used as emulsifiers, worsen GI issues and pain. However, the supplement Inulin seems to helpful for patients. Is there something about the molecular structure of carageenan and xanathan gum that results in more harm than other polysaccharides? Are carageenan and xanathan gum more prone to causing oxidative damage in the large intestine?
These are quite informative:
Zhang, S., Zhang, Z., & Vardhanabhuti, B. (2014). Effect of charge density of polysaccharides on self-assembled intragastric gelation of whey protein/polysaccharide under simulated gastric conditions. Food & function, 5(8), 1829-1838.
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/getauthorversionpdf/c4fo00019f
This is the RG link:
Article Effect of charge density of polysaccharides on self-assemble...
Hartikainen, K., & Katina, K. (2012). Improving the quality of high-fibre breads. In Breadmaking (pp. 736-753). Woodhead Publishing.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/food-science/soluble-dietary-fiber
This is the RG link:
Chapter Improving the quality of high-fibre breads
Your microbiota are better at digesting inulin than caragheenans or xanthan gum. And inulin is so fragile it may already have been degraded in the stomach.
Inulin is fermented by bacteria that normalize the colon and is considered a prebiotic. Prebiotics may improve gastrointestinal health as well as potentially enhance calcium absorption. Inulin is classified as a prebiotic because of its ability to stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacteria
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Microbiology