Carrageenan, is an emulsifier, stabilizer & thickener used to suspend & gel ingredients & keep them from separating. It is extracted from red seaweed using alkali solvents. It’s used in drinks, food, cosmetics, pesticides, medications, cleaning products, hair products & toothpastes. The non-food grade carrageenan is the main ingredient in plane de-icer. The main food based use is as a substitute for fat, when combined with milk proteins it improves the texture & increased solubility. Because it can be used as a fat substitute, it is widely used in soy milks, milk drinks, processed cheeses, non-dairy puddings, whipped creams, coffee creamers, yogurts, cottage cheese, ice cream, processed low-fat meats, prepared pie-fillings & frosting mixes.
Research has shown the when used in food, carrageenan coats the stomach like sticky honey, which in turn cause digestive problems & has been a suspected link to inflammatory bowel syndrome, colorectal malignancy, intestinal ulcers & growths.
Prior to 2004, carrageenan was used in infant formulas, but during the 26th session in Boon, Germany in November of 2004, the joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives decided, that “based on the information available, it is inadvisable to use carrageenan or processed eucheuma seaweed in infant formulas.” This is evidence from studies performed on rats, guinea pigs & monkeys that indicate that degraded carrageenan may cause ulcerations in the gastro-intestinal tract and gastro-intestinal cancers.
I think that if the World Health Organization (WHO) has an issue with carrageenan, then it seems to be a good idea to try & avoid it whenever possible. With that in mind, let’s take a look as some products that contain carrageenan & some alternative products to try instead.
Let’s start with the largest selling soy milk in America- SILK® (all flavors) contains carrageenan. Instead, try 8th Continent® or VitaSoy® if you want a refrigerated soy milk, or Soy Dream®, Eden Soy® or Rice Dream® for a self-stable soy milk.
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| http://www.8thcontinent.com/ |
All regular flavors of Coffee Mate® liquid creamer contain carrageenan, but their new Bliss Naturals® do not. So switch to these instead.
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| http://www.coffeemate.com/ |
Most yogurts on the grocery self contain carrageenan, read the labels before you buy, but Chobani® & Fage® are both good alternatives.
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| http://www.chobani.com/ |
Ice Cream- a lot of different brands & flavors contain carrageenan, but Breyers® All Natural is a tasty treat that has no carrageenan.
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| http://www.breyers.com/ |
As always, it’s best to read the ingredients before you buy. Just make note, that if you want to steer clear of carrageenan, then always read the ingredients in soy milks, rice milks, coconut milks, almond milks, milk drinks (Nesquik® & Hershey’s® Real Chocolate- not real), processed cheeses, ice creams, processed meats, yogurts, cottage cheeses & almost anything that is milk or dairy like.
Ultimately, the decision is yours. Until the next post….