Honestly, I never used to think too much about xanthan gum. I’d see it on the back of hot sauce bottles and the occasional salad dressing, and my brain would just glide right past it.

Then I had to change how I eat.

Going gluten-free meant suddenly reading labels like it was my job in my gluten-free breads, cookies, mixes, pasta, and sauces. And very quickly, I started noticing something, even when I was careful about gluten, my gut still wasn’t happy, and it turns out, xanthan gum might have been the problem.

That’s when I learned a few things:

• Not all xanthan gum is actually guaranteed gluten-free, depending on how and where it’s processed.

• Gums in general, xanthan, guar, and bean gums, can be rough on digestion for some people, especially if you’re sensitive or just not used to them.

However, removing gums from gluten-free baking isn’t exactly the easy route. Without gluten, everyone assumes you have to lean on xanthan or some other gum as the binder, or you’re doomed to sad, crumbly bread.

But here at Brimly, we kept coming back to the same question: Why are we so dependent on something our bodies clearly don’t love?

So, we decided to do things differently.

We don’t use xanthan gum, guar gum, or bean gums in our baking or cooking. Instead, we aim to build recipes around real, natural ingredients and techniques. It’s more work, but it feels better, for us and for the gluten-free community, who already have to think about so much every time they eat.

So… What Are These Gums, Exactly?

When you strip away the marketing and the cute packaging, gums are basically highly functional thickeners and stabilizers.

Xanthan Gum

Xanthan gum is produced by fermenting a sugar solution (often from corn, sometimes from other sources) with a bacterium called Xanthomonas campestris. The bacteria eat the sugar and produce a kind of slime, which is then purified, dried, and ground into a powder.

That powder, now known as xanthan gum, thickens, stabilizes, and helps mimic gluten’s stretchy, cohesive feel in doughs and batters.

You’ll find it in:

• gluten-free baked goods

• sauces and dressings

• plant-based milks

• frozen desserts, drinks, and more

Guar Gum

Guar gum comes from guar beans. The inner part of the seed is milled into a fine powder that thickens when it hits water. It’s a soluble fiber and is used to thicken and stabilize items such as:

• gluten-free baked goods

• some sauces

• dairy products and dairy-free alternatives

Because it’s cheap and very effective, it’s a favorite in food manufacturing.

Bean Gums (Like Locust Bean / Carob Bean Gum)

“Bean gum” usually refers to things like locust bean gum (carob bean gum), which is made from the seeds of the carob tree. The seeds are dried and ground, and the gum is used for its gelling and thickening properties in:

• ice creams and frozen desserts

• cream cheeses and spreads

• some plant milks

Most people never think twice about any of this. It’s just part of the modern food system: you want smooth, thick, stable, “never separates” texture? Throw a gum at it. But when you’re gluten-free, and especially when you’re sensitive, you start to notice how your body feels.

Why Gums Are in Basically Every Gluten-Free Aisle

From a food science point of view, I get the appeal. Take gluten out of a recipe and you lose:

• elasticity

• chew

• structure

To make up for that, most gluten-free products lean hard on gums, especially xanthan. Gluten-free flours (rice, corn, sorghum, nut flours) don’t have that same stretch, so xanthan gum comes in as the “fake gluten”. This is because it helps doughs trap air, hold shape, and not crumble.

And it isn’t just breads:

• Salad dressings use gums so the oil doesn’t separate.

• Plant milks use gums so they feel creamy without actual cream.

• Ice creams use gums to reduce ice crystals and make each scoop feel smooth instead of icy.

In other words, gums are everywhere because they make products:

• easier to mass-produce,

• more stable on shelves, and

• more “perfect” in texture, even when they’re low-fat, dairy-free, or gluten-free.

From a manufacturing standpoint, it all makes sense. From a human body standpoint, it gets messier.

The Part We Don’t Talk About Enough: Your Gut

On paper, a lot of these gums are “generally recognized as safe.” That means that at the levels usually used in food, regulators don’t see a major toxicity risk. But feeling okay and passing a regulation are not always the same thing.

Here’s the big thing, most of these gums act like highly fermentable soluble fibers. Your body doesn’t really digest them; your gut bacteria do. And when gut bacteria feast, they produce gases and other byproducts. For some people, that’s fine. For others, it’s… not great.

Commonly reported side effects from gums (especially in larger amounts or in sensitive people) include:

• bloating

• gas

• abdominal discomfort

• loose stools or diarrhea

When I started eating more gluten-free packaged products, I noticed that despite avoiding gluten, I was still dealing with weird digestive issues. That heavy, bloated, “something is not sitting right” feeling after meals. Once I pulled back on products loaded with xanthan and guar gum, things calmed down. And I hear versions of that story all the time from others who are gluten-free or have gut issues; they feel like they’re doing everything “right,” yet something still feels off.

The Gluten-Free Label Isn’t the Whole Story

Now let’s talk about how they’re made. Xanthan gum is created by fermenting a microorganism with a sugar source.

That sugar can come from:

• corn

• soy

• dairy (like lactose)

• or even wheat-derived glucose, especially in some regions outside the U.S.

Because of the intensive processing step, most of the time the final xanthan gum powder doesn’t contain measurable proteins from the original source. But if your body reacts to tiny amounts the source and processing environment can still matter.

A few key concerns:

• Some xanthan gum on the market is made with wheat-based sugars or processed in facilities that also handle gluten-containing ingredients.

• If it isn’t made on a dedicated gluten-free line or tested, cross-contamination is possible, even if the ingredient itself should be gluten-free.

Guar gum and locust bean gum are derived from legumes and are naturally gluten-free in terms of their source. But they share a similar manufacturing reality. If facilities process other allergenic or gluten-containing ingredients, there’s always a risk unless it’s explicitly controlled and certified.