Guar gum: what it is and where it is used

Guar gum - what is it? This issue began to bother the population of the CIS countries after the public began to pay attention to the content of chemical additives in food. Among the fearing are not only modified starch and citric acid, but also guar gum. What is it and how much it can harm a person's health? Let's understand and answer this question with all possible objectivity.

Guar gum - what is it?

To understand what properties this additive has, one should study the chemical nature of this substance. Guar gum, called tar or guar, is a carbohydrate compound. It is extracted from the juice (exudate) with damage to the bark of the plant or when processing the fruits of pea. A similar chemical composition is possessed by such substances as agar-agar and gum arabic. The same properties of the thickener due to its viscosity and has guar gum. What is this in terms of industrial use? In the production of both food products and various consumer products, it is often necessary to thicken and chew various mixtures and solutions to impart viscosity to them. The ability to stabilize the consistency of various products inherent in a substance such as guar gum (its use in the paper industry as glue, emulsion and suspension has long become an integral part of the process) is very important in the industry.

Where do they add gum?

The food industry still remains the main sphere, where this substance is in great demand. The extract of the pea-tree fruit as a stabilizer and thickener is very popular also because it is low in calories, has no pronounced taste. For example, it is added to dairy products to achieve a more dense consistency; In ice cream, so that ice formed in it at a higher temperature and the ice crystals did not spoil the texture of the delicacies; In the billets for the preparation of hard cheeses - to increase the yield of finished products. In baked goods, guar gum (its price is very affordable) can improve the taste and color of the crust. The meat industry uses this additive to make mincemeat easier to work with. The gum has the property of improving the ductility, and also increasing the shelf life of the products. This additive is approved for use in Russia and is recognized as safe. But still you need to consider that its content should not exceed the recommended level. Otherwise, the gum can adversely affect human health.

Guara and the body

This substance is popular in various vitamin supplements and dietary supplements because of the ability to reduce appetite and cholesterol. Also guar - an easy laxative, can remove from the body some toxins. But an overdose of this substance threatens with the appearance of nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain. Therefore, you need to carefully consider the choice of food additives and give preference to more famous and reliable manufacturers.