Comments on: Top 7 Favorite Gluten and Corn-Free Baking Mixes http://healthy-family.org/caryn/253/our-top-5-favorite-gluten-and-corn-free-baking-mixes Staying healthy in our modern world Sun, 06 May 2012 08:03:34 +0000 hourly 1 By: Ashley Morelli http://healthy-family.org/caryn/253/our-top-5-favorite-gluten-and-corn-free-baking-mixes#comment-1599 Ashley Morelli Sun, 12 Jun 2011 22:37:53 +0000 http://healthy-family.org/caryn/253#comment-1599 Hi, I just would like to say I've been using your website for almost 2 years now to navigate gluten and corn free products and information. Our son was diagnosed at 4 months old with severe corn allergy, and more were to follow. We had quite a bumpy road but your website, coupled with two others, has made it do-able when you're a newbie and you just don't know where to turn. I would like to say that I found a 'cheaper' Guar Gum! We recently ran out of our original bottle by Authentic Foods which cost me close to 7.00 I believe for 1 or 2 oz. I recently was able to acquire an 8 oz. bag of Bob's Red Mill Guar Gum for about 5.00 at a local family run health food store. I'm not sure what it might cost elsewhere - but it could be less in other places too. Thanks for what you do! Ashley Morelli Hi,

I just would like to say I’ve been using your website for almost 2 years now to navigate gluten and corn free products and information. Our son was diagnosed at 4 months old with severe corn allergy, and more were to follow. We had quite a bumpy road but your website, coupled with two others, has made it do-able when you’re a newbie and you just don’t know where to turn.

I would like to say that I found a ‘cheaper’ Guar Gum! We recently ran out of our original bottle by Authentic Foods which cost me close to 7.00 I believe for 1 or 2 oz. I recently was able to acquire an 8 oz. bag of Bob’s Red Mill Guar Gum for about 5.00 at a local family run health food store. I’m not sure what it might cost elsewhere – but it could be less in other places too.

Thanks for what you do!
Ashley Morelli

]]> By: Caryn Talty http://healthy-family.org/caryn/253/our-top-5-favorite-gluten-and-corn-free-baking-mixes#comment-1291 Caryn Talty Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:00:30 +0000 http://healthy-family.org/caryn/253#comment-1291 Mary, xanthan gum is typically grown on corn but not always. There is disagreement about whether or not sensitivities to xanthan gum are due to corn allergy or because of an additional sensitivity to xanthan gum itself. It can be grown on cabbage too. Xanthan is imported a lot and not necessarily domestic. It can come from China or India, for example. It is the end product of a bacterium that is fed the corn or cabbage so that it can fester and grow itself. So a person sensitive to xanthan may not necessarily be sensitive because of the corn. If a corn allergic person can eat beef that is fed corn, or eggs that are fed corn, drink milk from a corn fed cow, etc....then the sensitivity might be a separate additional one that they are dealing with. In our case we never noticed problems with xanthan gum-- and we did with ingredients like citric acid. But, if you have problems then you do not want to risk buying it and finding out afterward that it doesn't agree with you. We came to rely on guar gum instead when baking and to be honest, I like it better. It acts like xanthan gum without the corn cross-contamination issue or possible secondary sensitivity issues with a bacterial agent. Guar gum is a middle eastern plant and it creates a much thicker product than the same amount you would use for corn starch, so a little bit goes a long way. You can get it at health food stores and online. It is not very easy to find but it is out there and it makes a good substitute for xanthan gum. Hope this helps. I know the frustration you are feeling. As far as products go, if you use it and don't have a reaction with a corn-free version like Namaste, then the problem could very well be cross-contamination in your case. Most products with xanthan gum will not specify whether it is corn derived or not. It's like roulette. This is why we initially stuck with guar gum and just skipped the xanthan. We did do Namaste. Eventually we reintroduced xanthan and my son was fine with it. But everyone is different. Mary,
xanthan gum is typically grown on corn but not always. There is disagreement about whether or not sensitivities to xanthan gum are due to corn allergy or because of an additional sensitivity to xanthan gum itself. It can be grown on cabbage too. Xanthan is imported a lot and not necessarily domestic. It can come from China or India, for example. It is the end product of a bacterium that is fed the corn or cabbage so that it can fester and grow itself. So a person sensitive to xanthan may not necessarily be sensitive because of the corn. If a corn allergic person can eat beef that is fed corn, or eggs that are fed corn, drink milk from a corn fed cow, etc….then the sensitivity might be a separate additional one that they are dealing with. In our case we never noticed problems with xanthan gum– and we did with ingredients like citric acid. But, if you have problems then you do not want to risk buying it and finding out afterward that it doesn’t agree with you. We came to rely on guar gum instead when baking and to be honest, I like it better. It acts like xanthan gum without the corn cross-contamination issue or possible secondary sensitivity issues with a bacterial agent. Guar gum is a middle eastern plant and it creates a much thicker product than the same amount you would use for corn starch, so a little bit goes a long way. You can get it at health food stores and online. It is not very easy to find but it is out there and it makes a good substitute for xanthan gum. Hope this helps. I know the frustration you are feeling. As far as products go, if you use it and don’t have a reaction with a corn-free version like Namaste, then the problem could very well be cross-contamination in your case. Most products with xanthan gum will not specify whether it is corn derived or not. It’s like roulette. This is why we initially stuck with guar gum and just skipped the xanthan. We did do Namaste. Eventually we reintroduced xanthan and my son was fine with it. But everyone is different.

]]> By: Mary http://healthy-family.org/caryn/253/our-top-5-favorite-gluten-and-corn-free-baking-mixes#comment-1289 Mary Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:21:56 +0000 http://healthy-family.org/caryn/253#comment-1289 Can you buy corn-free xanthan gum anywhere? I called Namaste but they only use corn-free xanthan in their mixes; they do not sell it. Can you buy corn-free xanthan gum anywhere? I called Namaste but they only use corn-free xanthan in their mixes; they do not sell it.

]]> By: Denine http://healthy-family.org/caryn/253/our-top-5-favorite-gluten-and-corn-free-baking-mixes#comment-1080 Denine Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:15:25 +0000 http://healthy-family.org/caryn/253#comment-1080 I notice you list Anna's bread mix under "...corn-free baking mixes". The following link might be of interest (<a href="http://www.tfrecipes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4011" rel="nofollow">tfrecipes.com</a>). The company apparently uses xanthan gum made from corn, which (as in my case) can cause corn-like reactions. Just an FYI for due dilligence and to make sure people are aware of the x-gum. :-) I notice you list Anna’s bread mix under “…corn-free baking mixes”. The following link might be of interest (tfrecipes.com). The company apparently uses xanthan gum made from corn, which (as in my case) can cause corn-like reactions. Just an FYI for due dilligence and to make sure people are aware of the x-gum. :-)

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