MrsStick Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Hi guys - I didn't see anything on the forums about guar gum so I wanted to post this here so anyone who has these same issues in the future can find it. Guar gum is the devil. Seriously. It started with my store no longer carrying the coconut drink hubby prefers in his smoothies (he doesn't like the full on coconut milk so we compromised with an unsweetened "coconut drink"). We grabbed another brand, figuring it would be worth a shot. BIG MISTAKE. I have Celiac's so I have a proclivity towards having a sensitive digestive system. But I've never had anything this bad happen before. About twelve hours after I tried it for the first time I started having stomach cramps. I went to the bathroom...for almost half an hour. Cramps, terrible flatulence that brought liquid out with it, with the occasional 'rabbit pellet'. Half an hour of that, and the toilet water looked very pale...I didn't think about the coconut milk since it had been pink/purple in the smoothie (banana, frozen berries, and the coconut milk). I woke up at 0430 the next morning with the same cramps and it was almost 45 minutes straight on the toilet with the same issues. It took 4 days without this coconut milk in my diet for everything to work itself out, during which time I finally figured out the cause. I'd suspected several other things (I'd made my hubby a gluten free cake for his birthday - maybe something in that? Maybe the brisket I'd eaten that was a week old?) in the interim but finally pinned down the smoothie and, thus, the new coconut milk. A quick google search showed many other people with similar reactions to guar gum. So I have now dumped out that thing of coconut milk and will use almond milk in smoothies if the store doesn't resume buying the old brand. I dumped the jar of guar gum my mother in law sent me as she was cleaning out the gluten free stuff in her pantry (she got all of it to make me Christmas cookies but it never panned out. And guar gum will never be in my diet again. Ever. If you have a sensitive digestive system, steer clear of that crap! So NOT worth it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted March 25, 2015 Administrators Share Posted March 25, 2015 Oh, yikes!!!!!! That's a violent reaction!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evaq Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I felt odd clicking "like" on this post because I definitely did not like what happened to you. Major dislike. How awful! I'm glad you managed to pinpoint the culprit and thank you for sharing your findings (as a heads up) for the rest of us. I hope you and guar gum never cross paths again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsStick Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 ladyshanny - I know. Even with my Celiac's I've never had anything that bad. Nasty stuff! Evaq - I hope the same thing! I just wanted to be sure this was here in case someone else has the weird experience I did. It seems that those with IBS/IBD or related conditions tend to have a higher rate of this reaction to the gum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edesia Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I'm sorry you had such a horrible reaction. I read your post, yesterday. Coincidentally, I experienced some intestinal distress later in the day, after lunch and through the evening. I have been eating W30 and clean, so It seemed really, really odd and unexpected. The only thing different about my eating yesterday was that I added a 1/4 cup of coconut milk to the soup I had for lunch. Sure enough, I looked at the ingredients on the can (Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk) and the only two ingredients were coconut milk and guar gum. I would not have even suspected this as the culprit had I not read your post, but it's the only thing I ate that wasn't something I eat regularly. I did not have nearly as bad a reaction as you did, but there was a noticeable problem (gassy, burping). I do not have any known medical conditions, such as Celiac's. My system is still not back to normal this morning. At some point, I might test this product again, just not anytime soon. Thank you for the heads up and I hope you are feeling better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina Marie Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Thanks so much for sharing - I'm wondering if that is the reason I was having issues during my first w30 - I used a lot of coconut milk and had the same issues. I just googled guar gum - and the industrial applications - scary ... something that can be put in food and used industrially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsStick Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 @Edesia - sorry you're feeling bad. I hope that your reaction continues to get better quickly. I think my reaction was as bad as it was because I do have Celiac's, which means my intestines have a predilection towards having...issues. I am feeling better now though! And I'm glad that this post helped you out. @Tina Marie - I agree. The side effects/industrial applications are scary. I was not very amused during my research as I learned more about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edesia Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 MrsStick - I am feeling better, thanks, and glad you are as well. My stomach stopped gurgling mid-morning sometime. I decided to eat pretty bland today. Wild salmon has always been my "healing" food, so I had it for lunch and will have it for dinner, too. I'm glad I only had a small amount of the coconut milk, yesterday. I am a little perplexed about why I had this reaction this time, but never before. Hmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina Marie Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 wondering if you have found any coconut milk without guar gum ??? I can't find any here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkor Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 wondering if you have found any coconut milk without guar gum ??? I can't find any here. Aroy-D http://www.amazon.com/Aroy-d-Coconut-Milk-100-Original/dp/B00JUB8N3G Mae Ploy http://www.amazon.com/Mae-Ploy-Coconut-Milk-Pack/dp/B00AGQ3DGQ/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina Marie Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 thank you ! we have some brands but they are water - with some coconut. not the real deal. I will check those out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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