That's a Mouthful: Xanthan Gum

Last week we talked all about wax and the week before it was maltodextrin. Now I'm looking at gum. Not chewing gum, mind you. I'm talking about other gum, gum that you would not immediately think of when you hear the word "gum". This gum comes from a somewhat less familiar source.

Xanthan gum is used mostly as a thickening and stabilizing agent, much like other gums you might find on food packaging. I'm thinking carrageenan (source: red seaweed), corn starch (source: cat videos) (Ed. note: No. Just...just no. Ridiculous!),  guar gum (source: guar beans) and locust bean gum (source: not the obvious; don't worry, no locusts were harmed in the making of this gum; it actually comes from carob seeds). All of these are generally used in many similar types of products for many of the same purposes.

But xanthan gum has a more interesting provenance. Unlike the aforementioned gums, xanthan gum isn't derived from plant or animal sources. It comes from a bacteria. Technically a polysaccharide, xanthan gum comes from the bacteria xanthomonas campestris, which causes brown and black spots on vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and leafy greens.

Xanthan gum is used to keep ingredients from separating in cosmetics, salad dressings and other similarly saucy products. It's also a common fake blood ingredient, to get that sticky splatter every good film shoot needs. In its powder form the gum is also a key ingredient in gluten-free flour blends. In ice cream, xanthan gum works to prevent ice crystals from forming.

Interestingly, xanthan gum is heavily used in the oil industry, to thicken drilling mud, which helps carry chunks of earth up to the surface. Despite its many applications and uses as a food additive, the oil industry remains the biggest xanthan gum user.

The internet also says that xanthan gum is used as a laxative, as a way to lower blood sugar and cholesterol in individuals with diabetes (though shouldn't be combined with diabetes meds) and as a saliva substitute for dry mouth sufferers, but side effects abound. It can cause gas and bloating, but in its powder form might suffer lung problems, nose and throat irritation and flu-like symptoms. It isn't advisable to consume more than 15 grams a day of the stuff.

Hopefully this helps you with your future gum-based decisions. If not, well, I'm at a loss because I don't know much more about gum than this.

That's a Mouthful: Carnauba Wax

Got a tall, refreshing glass of maltodextrin handy? Great! Sit back and enjoy this week's installment of That's a Mouthful. This time, we're wrapping out brains around something you probably ingested a lot of, especially as a kid: carnauba wax. Sounds tasty doesn't it? Let's see what it's all about.

Welcome to 2012

Hey folks! Happy 2012! It's a new year, in a relatively new millennium and we always like to think we've shrugged off the unenlightened thinking of the past and moved in a progressive way towards a more open, accepting and loving society. But perception is rarely reality. Consider the following news items from this, the third week of our new year.

Now That's a Mouthful

I just got the idea today to do an occasional, ongoing series dissecting obscure food ingredients. And I'm not talking about mangosteens, though they are one of the most divine fruits ever found on this space rock. I'm talking about the processed food confusion, the unknown ingredients, the scientific tongue-twisters. Those terms that frequently pop up in the middle of ingredient lists and don't sound like food. Some are long, clinical sounding terms, others are short but equally unknown quantities.

Head of State in the Clouds

As the world now knows, early Saturday morning quirky North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il died under circumstances that some are now questioning. There’s been some speculation as to the dictator’s last words, but what happened after he uttered his last words was unknown. What the world doesn’t know, at least until now, is that late Saturday night, I got a phone call. It was Kim Jong-Il. What follows is a transcript of our conversation. It reveals the uniquely intriguing psychology of a man who had invested so much into his own personality cult that he himself fell victim. Did Kim indeed possess the near god-like powers ascribed to him in his biography? Are the seemingly mystical occurrences following his death evidence of the demise of a deity? How was he able to call me when he had been dead for almost a full day? Regardless, in the strangely candid conversation, the odd little man opened up.

There's Something in the Water

There are countless stories of animals "predicting" earthquakes through strange behaviour. Stories abound of critters acting strange before major seismic events. In particular, amphibians, reptiles and fish have been observed changing their normal patterns ahead of quake, but scientists have struggled to find a definitive explanation.

The common theme through many explanation attempts has been that fluctuations in the electromagnetic field have spurred the odd actions of animals. But now, a team of researchers believes they may have identified a different potential explanation based on chemical reactions.

Pee for Energy and How to Cure Ebola with Nanomedicine

Pee. Piss. Stinky apple juice. Golden delicious. We have a lot of names for urine, but apparently, power could be a new one. Our yellow liquid waste product is a potential source of energy, as a new paper by British scientists suggests we can squeeze a lot of untapped power out of the roughly 2.5 litres we each produce per day.

With humans making about 6.4 trillion litres of pee each year, and farm animals contributing between 18 and 24 trillion to the collective toilet annually, it's a vast untapped resource. The British researchers have suggested that the chemicals found in everyday urine would be very effective if used in the cathode half of a microbial fuel cell, reacting with bacteria in the anode half.

Having published initial findings, the team of scientists is looking to research the concept on a grander scale, devising a prototype system that could power your home, business or even a small village. Of note is the pleasant side-effect of the pee battery: it cleans the urine, reducing the burden on water treatment infrastructure.

Just point me towards a bucket.

No segue!