In my post, Replacing Dairy Milk, a few of you commented that you avoid several brands of non-dairy milk because they contain an ingredient called carrageenan. This was the first time I had heard anything about this ingredient, or at least the first time I took any notice. I assumed that it was a safe ingredient, especially because it is found in some organic products. But as we know, just because something is allowed in our food does not mean it’s necessarily good for us. It’s frustrating as a consumer to believe we are buying quality ingredients only to find out they could be harmful to our health.
Anyway, I knew I had to look into this further. And I don’t like what I’m reading. In fact, I’m pretty ticked off.
At first blush, carrageenan sounds seemingly harmless – it’s derived from red seaweed and is used as a thickener, stabilizer, and/or emulsifier in many dairy (sour cream, yogurt, ice cream, etc), dairy alternatives (non-dairy milk, non-dairy cheese, etc), and deli meat products. As it turns out, research links carrageenan to gastrointestinal inflammation, lesions, and even colon cancer in animals. Individuals with Inflammatory Bowel Disease or other gastrointestinal disorders are cautioned to avoid this ingredient as it can make symptoms – and inflammation – even worse. As someone who has suffered from IBS for many years, I was shocked to find this information out. This was the first I had heard of it.
For a review of the research on carrageenan see this PDF document by Cornucopia.org. Please look into this ingredient and make your own informed opinion.
For a long and detailed list of carrageenan in many dairy and non-dairy food products (and safe products as well), please see this Cornucopia shopping guide – it’s extremely helpful. You might be surprised at many of the brands that contain this ingredient. I know I sure was.
I realize there is no conclusive evidence with regard to human consumption of this ingredient, but I’m not willing to take that risk when there are other options, especially because I have suffered from IBS on and off for half my life. I will no longer support President’s Choice Organic Almond Milk or Blue Diamond’s Almond Breeze – two of several brands that contain carrageenan. Instead, I’m going to purchase Whole Foods 365 organic almond milk which is one of the carrageenan-free brands or I will make my own milk at home (more on this in my next post). I’m anxious to see if I notice a difference.
For the complete list of carrageenan-free products, be sure to check out the shopping guide linked above.
As I mentioned in my intro post, we have a lot to learn from each other and this is a perfect example. I’m thankful for all of you sharing your experiences and knowledge in the comments. I’m learning too. I hope that by writing about this today, more awareness is brought to this ingredient. With other thickeners/emulsifiers readily available (such as organic guar gum and organic locust bean gum) there is no excuse for food businesses to continue to put carrageenan into our food at the potential risk of our health.
I was already planning a post on homemade milk, but now it seems even more timely and appropriate. Easy, homemade milk coming on up. I think you’ll really like the ingredients list in this one.
Have you heard anything about carrageenan before? Do you avoid it on labels or will you in the future?
Thanks for posting this as a follow-up to yesterday’s post! Blue Diamond Almond was favorite until I couldn’t have carrageenan anymore. I have to eat a low-iodine diet for my thyroid which is hard as a mostly-vegan to get enough protein without soy.
I tried the rice milk in my coffee today – fail! I might just have to learn to drink it black or have tea instead.
I can’t do nut – and especially rice – milk in coffee. It’s too watery and gets gritty. Honestly, when I ditched conventional milk I learned to love coffee black! If you really do want something in it, though, I’d recommend a coconut creamer.
This is so interesting! Thank you so much for sharing this info with us as I had no idea. It’s too bad that so many of our dairy (and non-dairy!) products include this ingredient. I will definitely be on the lookout now!
I was just reading something else about carrageenan lately, can’t remember where. I’m so disappointed to learn that Almond Breeze, my go-to brand, uses it. I’ll buy Whole Foods 365 Organic from now on! Thanks for posting the shopping guide so we can make informed decisions!
Wow, I have Good Karma Unsweetened Flax Milk, Earth Balance Soy Nog, and Califia Farms ‘Pure’ Vanilla Almond Milk in my fridge, all three have carrageenan!!! :-O
What a coincidence! I was just discovering the bad news about carrageenan a couple days ago. I got tipped off by one of the comments re Artisan Vegan Cheese. My husband and I were horrified because we’d been feeding our vegan toddler about 16oz of almond and coconut milk everyday! We were doing just soy milk (Eden foods–best brand) but I didn’t want her to eat too much soy so I switched up the milks. Anyway, it takes more time and effort, but I’ll be making her homemade almond milk from now on. Thanks for the post!
Carrageenan is nasty stuff. I learned about it when I used to work in restaurant wholesale food sales. Think of it as super starchy glue. It is used in 99% of lunch,meat. Basically they grind up all the meat, use the carrageenan to hold everything together in a nice shape and then bake it. Went mostly vegan after hearing about it 5 years ago. It amazes me how restaurants don’t even question that this stuff is in the food just to make it look more appetizing or let them use inferior quality products
Thank you for such an informational post! I had never heard of carrageenan, either. I’ve never suffered from IBS or digestive issues, so I struggle with whether or not to avoid it completely.
As a new vegan, I find it overwhelming at times to make the right decisions. Not only do I need to figure out if the food or an ingredient in the food is derived from an animal (sourcing sugar?! I read the other day that a lot of figs have dead wasp larva in them?!) and now, THIS.
BUT, I thank you so much for the information you so eloquently outlined above. Knowledge is power, and now I can make an informed decision.
I look forward to your homemade nut milk posts! Might I request some sort of nut or coconut creamer recipe? I have yet to find a good creamer alternative. Regular almond or soy milk is just too thin. I’d love a thick, creamy homemade version.
Thank you again!!!
You are amazing! I love when you let us know about important topics and admit that there are things that you didn’t/don’t know – it’s so refreshing compared to some other bloggers :) I’m glad to see that my Almond milk is fine, but I used to drink 8th continent soymilk and I’ll be sure to avoid it from now on.
Again – thank you!
I CANNOT wait to see how to make Almond Milk myself.. I am so thrilled you will post the how-to! Gosh I am in love with your blog! :)
Wow. I had no idea this even existed! I will be taking a more in depth look at this list to make sure and stay away from these products. My digestive system can be pretty touchy and I have a high risk of having IBS after getting my gallbladder removed a few months ago. I scanned the list quickly to make sure the Almond Milk I use is safe-it is! Phew. Thanks for posting about this. I look forward to hearing more information and learning from everyone else!
Well, looks like I’ll go back to making my own! It’s so easy & I get the almond flour from it. Will be easier too as I remember seeing I can make nut milks in my juicer….
THANK YOU FOR THIS POST!
I was slightly sad to see your post on switching to vegan milks, purely based on the fact that the majority available DO contain carageenan and other iffy ingredients. I totally agree that making your own homemade almond milk is the best choice if you are going to drink almond milk!
After reading It Starts With Food and going paleo I have stopped purchasing almond milk and now only add a little canned, full fat coconut milk to my coffee in the morning! Otherwise I drink water, tea, and occasionally kombucha for the digestive enzymes!
Thanks again Angela!
This ingredient surfaced in the in the mainstream in 1991 in McDonald’s McLean burger. Low sales resulted in the burger being taken off the menu. I don’t recall if gastro-distress was a contributing factor…but I bet it was. Thanks for calling our attention to its many uses Angela!
In 2004 I had the Elisa Act allergy test done where they tested my blood against 400 different food items, Carrageenan being one of them. Quite a few foods came up that were quite random: corn, red grapes, sucanat, sea bass and a number of others. However, my strongest reaction was to Carrageenan. At the time, amazingly almost 10 years ago, I was drinking soy chais from Starbucks every day and would always have a flare up (in the form of a rash and slight abdominal pain) but figured it was the soy. Once I discovered the allergies and I took Carrageenan out of my diet, I couldn’t believe how much better I felt. I had been eating it in many “health” foods as well. Fast forward to 2013 and I now am a Certified Nutrition Consultant because discovering those allergies made me realize the hidden truth to seemingly healthy ingredients in our foods and not only did I want to educate myself but help others as well. Glad you found out the truth! :-)
I had no idea. Thank you.
Angela,
My boyfriend and I recently switched from Almond Breeze and other sources of Carrageenan to using our own home made milk. It’s a simple and yummy shift. I just have to say I love your website, the recipes, and the fact that you take the time to share information like this. Your website has helped me become a better cook and make the switch to Whole food / vegan easy.
Many Thanks,
Megan
This is an interesting read. I struggle, sometimes, with becoming too obsessive about the “purity” of my diet because I don’t think that’s healthy either – but something like this is an easy switch to make and I’d rather support a company doing its’ due diligence. Thank you for sharing what you learned!
I feel like such a jerk because I never comment usually, but posts like this make me feel so frustrated. I know it’s not your fault, you just want your readers to be informed, but I feel like between all the healthy eating/living blogs I read, there’s absolutely nothing I can put in my body that won’t kill me. Brown rice, stevia, sunscreen…
I guess it’s good to stay away from things that can potentially cause tummy troubles if that’s something you have a problem with, but considering I take birth control pills, nasal spray for my allergies and work in an office without windows, I don’t think my almond milk is doing a whole lot of damage in comparison.
Just one more thing to worry about I guess.
I hear you. It’s frustrating and a challenge not to become completely obsessive, but what irritates me even more is what some of these companies get away with. They’re clearly not looking out for your best interest, so you’ve got to do what you can for yourself. You can’t be “perfect” all the time, but you can at least be educated.
I make my own almond milk for the kids with my vitamix. It is SUPER easy. My all time favorite nut milk for me is cashew milk in my coffee. It is so creamy Plus you don’t have to strain cashew milk! :) Good luck, and thank you for all you do!
Truly disappointing and disheartening. Especially when a lot of the good versions of these products are not readily available where I am. Thanks for posting about this and thanks to your readers for bringing it to our attention!