09/24/2026
XANTHAN GUM & GUT HEALTH: NEW RESEARCH WORTH WATCHING
Xanthan gum is one of the most common thickeners and stabilizers in the modern food supply.
A new study published in PLOS ONE investigated what happened when adult rats consumed xanthan gum for 10 weeks.
Researchers found increased inflammatory activity in the colon, including changes involving TNF-α and IL-1β, along with alterations in proteins involved in the intestinal barrier. The higher-dose groups had significantly greater intestinal inflammation than controls. Researchers also observed changes in portions of the gut microbiome.
Interestingly, xanthan gum did not significantly change body weight, adiposity, glucose or the measured blood lipid profile.
That’s an important reminder that something can potentially influence physiology without immediately showing up on the scale or routine bloodwork.
What it does provide is another reason to continue investigating how the additives routinely incorporated into our food supply may interact with the gut, immune system and intestinal barrier.
My takeaway isn’t to become afraid of a single ingredient.
It’s much simpler:
Eat mostly real food.
When the majority of your diet consists of meat, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and other minimally processed foods, you naturally reduce your exposure to many emulsifiers, gums, stabilizers and additives without having to obsess over every label.
Food quality matters.
And sometimes what isn’t in your food is just as important as what is.
Study: Silva Rischiteli et al., PLOS ONE, 2026.
