Ostrowski found that xanthan gum is actually a food for a new bacterial species. From looking at population data, it seems that the gum has driven the colonisation of this bacteria into billions of people. It’s completely absent from populations who don’t eat it – whom Ostrowski could only find in remote groups of hunter-gatherers. Moreover, if you have this bacterial species, then you may also have another novel species that eats the breakdown products made by the first one. The effects of these bacteria are not understood, but it’s clear that xanthan gum creates a food chain in the human gut
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