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Side Effects of Cellulose Gum

Cellulose gum is a substance commonly found in many household products, from certain foods to hair gels and laxatives. Cellulose gum is a key ingredient that helps maintain certain characteristics such as stabilizing a dough product, providing thickness to a gel or helping to keep two liquids mixed together. Most importantly, cellulose gum has been shown to be safe in all of its applications.

  1. Function

    • Cellulose gum is a popular substance due to its ability to help thicken, stabilize and emulsify a product. Cellulose gum is farmed from trees and cotton and is therefore readily renewable, abundant and cheap. In "Twinkie, Deconstructed," author Steve Ettlinger notes that cellulose gum will absorb 15 to 20 times its starting weight when combined with water. It's also able to help stabilize products such as dough and cake, improving overall shelf life. Furthermore, cellulose gum is great in mixing two substances together that may not mix well together by themselves; this is particularly crucial in beverages and gels.

    Side Effects

    • Cellulose gum does not have any known side effects. According to Zooscape.com, the human body is not able to break down cellulose gum and, therefore, it passes through the digestive system providing no nutritional value. In this case, it also passes through the digestive system providing no negative side effects to the body.

    Safety

    • Because cellulose gum passes through the human's digestive system intact and provides no negative side effects, it can be considered completely safe. One of the testaments to the safety aspect of cellulose gum is its increasingly popular use as an ingredient in foods and beverages. It is able to provide necessary characteristics to many foods and beverages without harming the body.

    Food Uses

    • Cellulose gum is used in a variety of industries and applications. According to Danisco.com, cellulose gum is used mostly in the food and beverage industry in applications such as frozen dough, juices, concentrated beverages, dressings, soups, ice cream, processed cheeses, fruit preparation and emulsified meat products.

    Non-Food Uses

    • According to "Staying Healthy With Nutrition" by Elson M. Haas, cellulose gum and it's derivatives like methyl cellulose are used in other industries not related to food and beverages. Cellulose gum is used in cosmetic products such as hair gel, shaving cream, shampoos and beauty masks, and in some medicines such as laxatives and antacids.

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