If there’s any plant-based nutrition supplement which you should definitely try, it’s probably acacia gum or gum Arabic. But first, why gum Arabic? Mostly because it’s well packed with high soluble fiber content which are really great for diet, another reason is why not? nowadays acacia gumis widely available in various forms there’s no reason to miss them.

However, the first question would be, what is acacia gum anyway? Well, it is basically powder which are derived from acacia gum (dried and hardened tree sap), hence the name. Acacia gum or Gum Arabic is naturally produced by acacia tree which is native to Africa region. Unbeknownst to some, acacia gum apparently belongs to indigestible polysaccharide group which is basically hard-packed fiber from legume plants.

However, researches have been done to discover how it is actually edible and how great the benefits we can derive from it.We think it’s incredibly important to understand what high fiber can do to our bodies, especially to fully realize and make great uses of its potential benefits. Therefore, in the following paragraphs we will discuss the health benefits of acacia gum from various uses.

1. Good Source of Fiber

Acacia gumhas so much fiber it’s not even funny. No wonder then, that it is commonly consumed as fiber supplement and even as relief from constipation. It is suggested that most people don’t consume enough fiber required by their bodies daily. Fortunately, by consuming gum arabic, you can get your daily amount of fiber even from small amount of its powder.

In a tablespoon serving of acacia gum powder there’s approximately 6 grams of dietary fiber. That amount makes us for about 21 to 29 percent of recommended daily allowance (RDA) of adult women and about 16 to 20 percent of RDA for adult men. Of course acacia gum comes in many forms if you favor capsules more than powder, so, less is definitely more when it comes to this fiber supplement. Indeed, here are the health benefits of acacia gum:

2. Eliminating Excess Body Fats

Many researches on weight loss mostly focused on diets, exercises and metabolism. Not many of them found the correlation between consumption of fiber and reduced body fat percentages. This is important because fat loss is somewhat different from weight loss. Fat loss, which is indicated by lower body mass index (BMI), is generally viewed as a factor which contribute in overall body health and fitness. While weight loss only focused on total body weight, rarely is it related to “true” body health.

3. Promotes Women Health 

There are a handful of studies which discussed the effect of acacia gum on body fat percentages in healthy women. It is found that consumption of 30 grams of acacia gum everyday for six weeks can result in lower body mass index count, which in turn promoting weight loss. The end result is quite amazing, with over 2% of body fat reduced by the end of the study. Therefore, the study concluded that consuming acacia gum can help treat obesity.

4. Makes a Great Prebiotic Supplement

In our health-conscious society, it’s almost impossible to miss a conversation or two about diet. One of the most consumed diet-related food is yogurt. The promises of healthy digestion and optimized nutrition absorption are just too hard to miss. Probiotics along with the food bacteria, the main actors which makes it all possible, apparently needs the appropriate platform for them to thrive, which is called prebiotics.

Prebiotics can be basically described as the food for good bacteria which makes your yogurt even better. Acacia gum being made of mostly fiber is also categorized as a prebiotic. There’s even a study published in British Journal of Nutrition which suggested that supplementation of acacia gum increased good bacterial strains, mostly Bifidobacteria and Lactobaccili bacteria which are well known probiotics commonly found in children’s milk and dairy products.

5. Soothes Irritable Stomach

The thing with fiber is that sometimes they can be unfriendly to the stomach, being indigestible and all. There are even cases of bloating and production of excess gas in the stomach caused by the presence of fiber. That is because for their food, those good bacteria work by fermenting the fiber which we consume, resulting in gas as the byproduct. The excess gas can cause discomfort and even stomachache.

Luckily, acacia gum is a little bit different despite also being made of fiber. The acacia fiber contained in acacia gum ferments more slowly compared to other types of fiber. There are studies which suggested that bacteria in the intestines ferment acacia fiber in the distal or the last part of the colon, therefore minimizing and even eliminating the production of excess gas in the stomach.

6. Strengthens the Gut Barrier

More good news for those on diet and those who are concerned about their digestive health. Most of us probably have known that fiber and probiotics work together miraculously by supporting our digestive system and getting rid of bad bacteria. The fact is, the gut barrier also plays important part in filtering out the harmful substances and allowing necessary nutrients to pass through. A weak gut barrier can lead to severe problems such as poisoning and auto-immune related diseases.

7. Contains Good Bacteria 

Acacia gum can do wonder to your gut barrier by reinforcing the protective functions in it. As we learned from the previous paragraphs, acacia gum works great as prebiotics which supports the growth of good bacteria. Some of those good bacteria produce beneficial short-chain fatty acids which nourishes the intestinal cells which make up the overall gut barrier. The nourished intestinal cells consequently become tougher and are able to form tighter junctions and thus makes the gut barrier stronger and less leaky.

8. Relieves Inflammations

Acacia gum is known to be sticky in nature, being a sap of a tree and all. Who would ever thought then, that the sticky properties are actually useful to relieve irritation and inflammations in certain part of our bodies. In its origin, acacia gum has been used as a traditional medicine to cure sore throat and stomach discomfort. Perhaps there’s actually a reason that people in certain tribes would use certain plants as material for their medical purposes.

9. Helps Boosting Wound Recovery

The curative benefits of acacia gum didn’t stop at inflammations. There is one study finding that a species of acacia which is known as Acacia caesia has proven to be able to boost the healing of wounded rats. As a bonus, there is also another study with tests on animals which suggested that acacia may also help in healing ulcers.

10. Helps Maintaining Oral Health

People of old, especially in the Arab world have been using certain woods to clean their teeth. It’s of no surprise that acacia gum also has the same benefits. Turns out, acacia gum in its powdered form can be used as herbal toothpaste material. The great thing is, the toothpaste made of acacia gum is said to be rather soft, not too abrasive to the teeth compared to most commercially produced toothpastes. There’s even a study from 1999 showing that acacia gumcleaned and cleared over two-thirds of tooth plaque, which prove that natural solutions are almost always better than the chemical and synthetic ones.

11. Cures Sore Throats

The anti-inflammation properties in acacia gumcan help relieving the throat from many discomfort. That can be done by maintaining the viscosity in the throat, in turn preventing throat dryness which can lead to sore throat and some even more severe conditions like swelling and bacteria infections.

12. Protects from Excessive Blood Loss

From the previous paragraph, it is explained that acacia gum can be used as traditional medicine to treat wounds. Apparently, acacia gum has these properties which allow it to slow down and stop bleeding. Therefore, for some cases which bleeding occurs excessively, acacia gum can become one of the solutions when alternatives are needed.

That’s all the benefits of consuming acacia gum for our bodies. Apparently, there’s so much more than meets the eye when it comes to this high fiber supplement. Not only does it deliver greatly as weight loss and dietary health supplement, but it also packs some serious recuperative powers commonly found in medical herbs. Not surprisingly then, when we learn that acacia gum has been used by natives as traditional cures for many diseases.

More Benefits of Acacia Gum

Indeed, here are more health benefits of acacia gum or Arabic gum:

1. Relieves pain
2. Cures irritation
3. Heals wound
4. Promotes weight loss
5. Cures sore throats
6. Treats cough

While it is true that acacia gum is practically indigestible, you shouldn’t flinch and dismiss it altogether from your health supplement choices. Plant-based fiber are generally easy on the digestion and leaving very little to no side effects. The same goes for gum arabic, which is generally safe for anyone to consume. However, it is still necessary to consult your doctor in case of allergic and other bodily reactions, such as reactions to dust and powder-based substances.

Finally, we hope you can learn many things from this wonderful plant product and its health benefits of acacia gum. Upon reading this article, we hope you will keep an open mind about any possibilities and also stay aware from any misinformation. Keep learning more and stay healthy.