11 replies to this topic

[Tiss]

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I got a new bottle of Benefiber a couple of weeks ago from Sam's Warehouse. Benefiber has been my favorite fiber since I started trying different ones years ago. It seemed like I was feeling different though with this new bottle--I had been using the new bottle about 2 weeks. My bowels were sluggish and I had lots of gas. My husband looked at the bottle and said "hmm, there is a new ingredient in this Benefiber". Well, there is one ingredient--some kind of wheat but NO GUAR GUM. I guess Novartis removed it however the bottle looks exactly the same. There are small letters at the bottom that say "new ingredient".Talk about misleading! So, I switched to Sam's brand which has the exact same ingredients as the old Benefiber and is about an 8th of the cost.

[nogo]

What is guar gum? Is it helpful? Anytime I use fiber items, I get horrible gas and/or bloating. nogo

[annilady]

wow, i just read my benefiber and the same thing...wheat dextrin. that may explain why i have been constipated for a week.

[Tiss]

Dana, I had not seen that post. Wish I would have! do you have a Sam's (big warehouse type market) or something like that? Their brand is the exact stuff as the old benefiber and a fraction of the cost. I wonder why Novartis would take out the guar gum?

[bluenoggie]

I know this is talking about diet pills but it may explain why the guar gum was taken out of your Benefiber. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00386.html

[Kathleen M.]

Guar gum as far as I know is a natural fiber.It has been approved for use in food, but it's use in supplements may not be legal, and it sounds like for diet aids they did say they couldn't do it anymore.That may make people marketing it for other reasons decide to change the ingredients just to avoid problems in the future.Something can be approved for one use, but not be legal for others. Like you can sell Stevia as a dietary supplement but you can't put it in food.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guar says where it is from.K.

[Tiss]

Anyone know of a bulk fiber that is still using guar gum? I think my Optifiber from Sam's is stopping using guar gum too Thanks, Tiss

[Dana_S]

Hey Tiss, this is what I plan on buying when my beenfiber runs out:http://www.iherb.com/store/ProductDetails....s&pid=NOW-05040It comes from NOW foods and I use other of their supplements for myself and my pets. Very reliable, cheap and iHerb doees pretty fast shipping. You may have to buy it on-line from now on...Unless you can find it as a cooking ingredient locally. It's not going to be taken off the market for that use.Dana

[Kathleen M.]

I'm not sure. Sometimes companies go into just in case mode and pull something even when they don't have to. I think we should keep an eye on it. It may just be one company not wanting to worry about if anything would happen.K.

[Tiss]

Wow, that is interesting! I thought that guar gum was just a natural fiber. I've never noticed any loss of appetite or anything like that with it. Of course I take it for regularity. I wonder if Kathleen might address this??

[Tiss]

Bummer! I wonder if this means that all guar gum, even if it is not used for weight loss, is going to be banned?

[Dana_S]

I posted about this a little while ago. I left a message for my gastro about this also but he never returned my call (getting a new doctor soon, hopefully). It's good to know that someone has experienced a difference with these ingredients. It'll save me the trouble of trying the new ingredient (wheat dextrin) and just buying another brand that uses guar gum. Thanks!Dana