What You Want to Know About the Maltodextrin in Knorr Rice Mate Rice Conditioner

I made a product review of Knorr Rice Mate Rice Conditioner, and a reader (who is also a friend of mine who just wants to make life a little bit challenging for me. LOL!) commented that in their family they avoid products with preservatives. So I listed the ingredients of Rice Mate and told myself that I will look into these ingredients that I am not familiar of in future posts. 

So today we will look at one of the ingredients of Knorr Rice Mate Rice Conditioner which is Maltodextrin.

What is Maltodextrin? 


Maltodextrin is an oligosaccharide that is used as a food additive. It is produced from starch by partial hydrolysis and is usually found as a whitehygroscopic spray-dried powder. Maltodextrin is easily digestible, being absorbed as rapidly as glucose, and might be either moderately sweet or almost flavorless. It is commonly used for the production of sodas and candy. It can also be found as an ingredient in a variety of other processed foods. (Wikepedia)

What is a food additive?
Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance. Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling (withvinegar), salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as in some wines. With the advent of processed foods in the second half of the 20th century, many more additives have been introduced, of both natural and artificial origin. (Wikepedia)

Is Maltodextrin a natural or articial food additive?
Wikipedia said, "Maltodextrin can be enzymatically derived from any starch. In the US, this starch is usually corn; in Europe, it is commonly wheat. While wheat-derived maltodextrin may cause concern for individuals suffering from gluten intolerance, maltodextrin is such a highly processed ingredient that the majority of the protein is removed, rendering it effectively gluten-free. If wheat is used to make maltodextrin, it will appear on the label. Even so, the maltodextrin itself will be gluten-free."

Looking further to this food additive, I searched on its possible side effects and found the following.
a. There are no clear studies or tests proving there is a detrimental side-effect to maltodextrin. However, accounts online have been reported which is related to carbohydrate intolerance or acquired-lactose intolerance.
b. For over-use of maltodextrin (I guess this is if you use it as an artificial sweetener) there has been reports of bloating, flatulence, indigestion, constipation and diarrhea.

Are there any other uses of maltodextrin?
1. As mentioned earlier, you can find maltodextrin in artificial sweeteners.
2. Additives in dessert products and condiments
3. Ingredient in body building supplements

Potential benefits of maltodextrin
1. It is easily digested by the body.
2. It helps in faster absorption of carbohydrates.
3. It is used as sweetener.

Hope this information about maltodextrin was helpful to you. If you feel like sharing your experience about Knorr Rice Mate Rice Conditioner, feel free to comment below.

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Source: Wikipedia, Google and Yahoo
P.S. I quoted Wikipedia as is to avoid any misinterpretation of the definitions. However, please note that these descriptions are not my own and that all rights are reserved to Wikipedia.