The Ugly Truth About Carrageenan & What You Can Do About It

Don’t believe the hype!
Just because the processed additive in your ice cream sundae or hemp milk is derived
from an innocent-sounding seaweed, doesn’t mean that it is healthy or harmless.
Carrageenan is a common food additive has been used as a thickener and emulsifier to improve
the texture of a wide variety of processed foods.
In short, it helps products feel smooth, rich and creamy–a texture that we all know and love!
It is extracted from Chondrus crispus, a red seaweed, which is popularly known as Irish moss, but
carrageenan itself has no known nutritional value.
And it’s been added to many of you and your family’s common daily food products.
I am personally concerned because I drank nondairy milk products containing this questionable
ingredient, for years.
Unbeknownst to many of us, this harmful additive is lurking in loads of your favorites including:
*Dairy products – i.e. chocolate milk, whipping cream, ice cream, cottage cheese, yogurt
and nonfat sour cream

*Frozen dinners
*Dairy alternatives – i.e. hemp milk, soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk

*Prepared poultry
*Cold cuts
*Nutritional drinks
*Infant formula!!

Reasons for Concern

Decades of disturbing findings from scientific studies has led many enlightened health professionals
to warn against the inclusion of this questionable additive in our diets and our food supply.
Harmful side effects of carrageenan consumption (reported from animal studies) have included:
*Gastrointestinal inflammation
*Irritable bowel symdrome
*Colitis
*Colon tumors
*Higher rates of colon cancer

In view of these findings, The Cornucopia Institute recommended that those suffering from
gastrointestinal symptoms such as IBS, spastic colon, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic
diarrhea, etc. eliminate carrageenan from their diet for a while to find out if this
suspicious additive was causing the symptoms.
Inflammation should not be taken lightly.
Apparently, carrageenan’s particular chemical structure triggers an immune response
in the body, which leads to inflammation–well known to be a precursor to more serious
disease.
According to The Cornucopia Institute:

“For decades, companies have spread misinformation—

often, outright lies—about carrageenan’s safety.

Carrageenan can even be found in many foods,

even foods labeled “natural” and “organic.”

 

Rates of digestive diseases are rising—ranging from

widespread digestive discomfort (“belly bloat,”

“spastic colon,” Irritable Bowel Syndrome) to

serious and sometimes life-threatening diseases

such as ulcerative colitis and colon cancer.”

Separating Fact from Fiction

An informed consumer is an empowered consumer so they have also released a new report,
“Carrageenan: How a “Natural” Food Additive Is Making Us Sick”, which compiles the findings
of scientific studies documenting  potentially harmful heatlth problems which can arise from consuming
the inflammatory additive.

Two disturbing quotes from this report sum up medical concerns:

“Carrageenan exposure clearly

causes inflammation; the amount

of carrageenan in food products is

sufficient to cause inflammation;

and degraded carrageenan and

food-grade carrageenan are

both harmful.”
—Dr. Joanne Tobacman, MD, Associate
Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of
Illinois at Chicago

“[Dr. Tobacman] explained that all

forms of carrageenan are capable

of causing inflammation.

This is bad news.

We know that chronic inflammation is a

root cause of many serious diseases

including heart disease, Alzheimer’s

and Parkinson’s diseases, and cancer.

All told, I recommend avoiding regular

consumption of foods

containing carrageenan.”

— Dr. Andrew Weil

 Take Action to Protect Yourself & Your Family

1. Avoid Buying Foods with Carrageenan

What’s more, you are not safe from this harmful additive even if you buy only organic food!
Since carrageenan is found in so many commonly used organic foods, Corncucopia has also
developed a simple,“Shopping Guide to Avoiding Organic Foods with Carrageenan”,
which is available on their website, to help us find carrageenan-free alternatives for many
popular organic products.

2. Sign the Petition & Support Cornucopia

In view of all the evidence, The Cornucopia Institute has taken aggressive actions to raise consumer
awareness and to encourage consumers like us to urge the FDA to remove carrageenan from the
U.S. food supply.

“On March 15, 2013, The Cornucopia Institute sent a letter

to Dr. Margaret Hamburg, FDA Commissioner,

requesting that the agency reconsider their June 2012

decision to deny the citizen petition by Dr. Joanne Tobacman,

which requested the removal of carrageenan from the

FDA’s list of approved food additives.”

You can help!

Sign the FDA petition to remove carrageenan from the food supply.

Visit The Cornucopia Institute’s web site to learn more about their efforts and other
ways to support this effort.

3. Eliminate Carreegnan & Share Your Results

Eating a carrageenan-free diet has relieved uncomfortable symptoms for many, so if you suffer
from gastrointestinal symptoms, eliminating carrageenan from your diet is clearly worth a try.
If you have eliminated carrageenan from your diet and found relief from gastrointestinal symptoms
symptoms, let The Cornucopia Institute  know your results by filling out a questionnaire
developed in collaboration with medical researchers.
Your input will help scientists better understand the severity and degree of carrageenan-related
gastrointestinal disease in the general population.

4. Eat Fresh Instead of Processed

You can avoid eating carreegnan by buying fresh, unprocessed, organic foods and making your own
healthy alternatives to additive-filled processed food products.
For example, when I learned that my favorite, unsweetened hemp milk contained carrageenan
I learned how to make my own hemp milk.

You can easily make your own nut and seed milks, non-dairy ice cream, cheeses, baby food,
nutritional drinks, and more in your own kitchen using fresh ingredients, a food processor
and a high speed blender.

 5. Spread the Word

Sharing is caring.
We have a responsiblity to protect ourselves and our loved ones so spread the word about the
harmful side effects of carreegnan consumption and ways to avoid eating foods with this additive.
Encourage friends and family to read the report, use the shopping guide, sign the petition,
read labels carefully when shopping and prepare your own fresh, organic food as much as
possible.
What do you think about carreegnan and what are you doing to avoid it?
 
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