Guar gum fiber and diarrhea from maltitol and lactitol
What it found
In 34 healthy young women, adding partially hydrolyzed guar gum to maltitol or lactitol reduced the short-term diarrhea those sweeteners caused.
The tests were done in people.
What they found
Studies in people
Diarrhea from maltitol
Maltitol caused diarrhea in 29 of 34 women, or 85.3%, at amounts up to 45 g.
Diarrhea from lactitol
Lactitol caused diarrhea in all of the women tested.
Guar gum with maltitol
Adding 5 g of partially hydrolyzed guar gum improved maltitol diarrhea in 10 of 28 women.
Guar gum with lactitol
Adding 5 g of partially hydrolyzed guar gum improved lactitol diarrhea in seven of 19 women.
Higher dose of guar gum
Adding 10 g of partially hydrolyzed guar gum strongly suppressed maltitol diarrhea, with a cumulative suppression ratio of 82.1% (23 of 28).
What the authors conclude
“The transitory diarrhea caused by the ingestion of maltitol or lactitol was clearly suppressed by the addition of PHGG.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that the short-term diarrhea caused by maltitol or lactitol was clearly suppressed by adding partially hydrolyzed guar gum.
- They say their results strongly suggest that diarrhea from eating enough of a non-digestible sugar substitute can be suppressed by adding dietary fiber.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see whether partially hydrolyzed guar gum could reduce the short-term diarrhea caused by eating enough maltitol or lactitol.
They first found the smallest amount of maltitol or lactitol that gave each of 34 healthy women diarrhea, starting at 10 g and going up by 5 g steps to 45 g. Then each woman took that amount mixed with 5 g of partially hydrolyzed guar gum, and the authors recorded whether diarrhea still happened.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This was a small study in 34 young women, so the results may not apply to men, older people or children.
- The women were tested in a lab setting, not in everyday life, so real-world eating habits may give different results.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Siebold University of Nagasaki, Japan
The paper
- Title
- Suppressive effect of partially hydrolyzed guar gum on transitory diarrhea induced by ingestion of maltitol and lactitol in healthy humans
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Nakamura S, Hongo R, Moji K, Oku T (2007). Suppressive effect of partially hydrolyzed guar gum on transitory diarrhea induced by ingestion of maltitol and lactitol in healthy humans. European journal of clinical nutrition. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602623PubMed 17251924DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error