Guar Gum

Are there any interactions with medications?

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Ethinyl estradiol
Interaction Rating: Moderate Be cautious with this combination.
Talk with your health provider.

Ethinyl estradiol is a form of estrogen that's in some estrogen products and birth control pills. Guar gum can decrease how much ethinyl estradiol the body absorbs. Taking guar gum along with estrogen-containing medicines might decrease the effectiveness of estrogen.

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Medications for diabetes (Antidiabetes drugs)
Interaction Rating: Moderate Be cautious with this combination.
Talk with your health provider.

Guar gum might decrease blood sugar. Diabetes medications are also used to lower blood sugar. Taking guar gum along with diabetes medications might cause your blood sugar to go too low. Monitor your blood sugar closely. The dose of your diabetes medication might need to be changed.

Some medications used for diabetes include glimepiride (Amaryl), glyburide (DiaBeta, Glynase PresTab, Micronase), insulin, pioglitazone (Actos), rosiglitazone (Avandia), chlorpropamide (Diabinese), glipizide (Glucotrol), tolbutamide (Orinase), and others.

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Metformin (Glucophage)
Interaction Rating: Moderate Be cautious with this combination.
Talk with your health provider.

Guar gum can decrease how much metformin the body absorbs. Taking guar gum along with metformin can decrease the effectiveness of metformin.

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Penicillin (Penicillin VK, Pen VK, Veetids)
Interaction Rating: Moderate Be cautious with this combination.
Talk with your health provider.

Guar gum can decrease how much penicillin the body absorbs. Taking guar gum along with penicillin can decrease the ability of penicillin to fight infection.

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Digoxin (Lanoxin)
Interaction Rating: Minor Be cautious with this combination.
Talk with your health provider.

Some people worry that guar gum can decrease how much digoxin the body absorbs. But it is unlikely that guar gum will significantly affect digoxin absorption.

Dosing considerations for Guar Gum.

The following doses have been studied in scientific research:

BY MOUTH:

• For constipation: 12 grams per day. Start with a small dose of 4 grams per day and increase the dose slowly over time to limit unwanted gastrointestinal (GI) side effects.
• For diabetes: 15 grams per day.
• For high cholesterol: 15 grams per day of guar gum plus pectin in combination with 5 grams insoluble fiber.
• For irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): 5 grams of partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG). PHGG is guar gum that has been chemically treated to make it dissolve in liquids and keep it from being broken down by acid or heat.