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?
A friend had tipped me off on the dangers of carageenan a few months ago. Since then I’ve been making a very simple almond milk with my Vitamix. It costs 70 cents for 32 oz. Can’t wait to see your recipe for milk!
Michelle, where do you buy your almonds? I find them so expensive!
I buy a 3lb bag at Costco for about $12.75. I only use 1/2 cup almonds in the milk and it makes about 48 ounces of milk. Between the almond milk and making Angela’s awesome Kitchen Sink Nut Butter, the almonds never go to waste!
I incorrectly put 32 ounces in my initial post. But 1/2 cup almonds actually makes a little more than 48 ounces for me.
Thanks!
Not to add yet another “watch out” item to the list, but be aware that all US almonds are pasteurized, and non-organic can be treated with propylene oxide. They do not have to disclose the pasteurization method. I buy true raw european almonds in bulk online. It’s more expensive than Costco for sure (about $11/lb), but at least you know what you’re getting. :)
Thanks for the info Melissa. I’m learning something new everyday. Can you tell where you buy them online?
Sure, I buy them from Living Nutz (livingnutz.com). They have the cheapest I’ve found so far!
I am so happy you posted on carrageenan. I like you had just found out about it. I noticed it in a whole chicken I was going to buy and was unsure of what it was and why it would be in a full chicken. I looked it up and was unsure if it was safe or unsafe at first. Then found it in a few other items I got and yesterday when I went to the store and was getting my Blue Diamond almond milk and couldn’t believe my eyes! Such a disappointment to find that out. I am so glad you posted this! And will be using the shopping guide now!! Thanks so much.
I’m so glad to read this. Carrangeenan confuses me (and I can’t spell it!). I was never a milk drinker, but several months ago I got an ice cream machine and I started using Almond Milk, cocoa and honey to make a relatively healthy frozen treat. But I soon realized the Almond Milk was giving me terrible stomach cramps. When I googled it, I came across the carrrangeenan connection. I switched to coconut dream which did not give me stomach cramps, but then I realized it also had carrangeenan. So either it has less, or it was the almonds giving me the stomach ache, not the carrangeenan. I plan to make my own almond milk so I can figure it out. I was so happy to see this post!
I love that you did this post!! I just did a review of non-dairy yogurts where I mentioned carrageenan as a reason I would NOT be repurchasing the So Delicious brand because of it’s use of carrageenan. Spreading the word about this is extremely helpful to educating the public. I’m sure you’ve encouraged many more people to read labels now :) Good job!
I suffer from chronic gastritis and IBS, when I learned of carrageenan and its inflammation potential, I stopped consuming anything with carrageenan as an ingredient. My guts have felt much better as a result. Just because an ingredient is from nature doesn’t mean the laboratory and chemical manipulation of it won’t cause problems in humans. From my experience, the avoidance of most chemical additives is best, no matter their origin.
Making homemade almond milk (or cashew milk, or a mix of both) is so ridiculously simple that I stopped buying nut milk LONG ago. I make my own about twice a week (takes about 3 min).
It’s raw, it’s simple, organic, and fresh. Love it.
I heard about carrageenan about six months ago. It was in the coconut milk I was drinking. I stopped drinking it and switched to 365 Almondmilk because it is pretty much the only non dairy milk I can find locally that does have carrageenan. It was hard to stop drinking coconut but I noticed a huge decrease in my “gas” issues once I stopped.
I have done some research about this in the past. This is actually one of the reasons why I support Silk Pure Almond over Almond Breeze. (I apologize for not mentioning that fact when I commented yesterday!) Silk uses locust bean gum as it’s thickening agent, which I feel better, but not amazing, about. I am not blessed enough to have a Whole Foods in my area [I need to move… :)]. I am excited about the idea of making my own almond milk at home, but I don’t know how easy it will be to do it every single week (we go through a lot of almond milk around here…) In an ideal world, we would be able to go to the grocery store without having to worry about ingredients like carrageenan or be bombarded with health claims and garbage!
Yesterday, I was reading through some of the comments on your “Replacing Diary Milk” post and was shocked to read about carrageenan. I thought I need to research that ingredient. Thank you so much for providing links and feedback. I drink Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk and honestly did not even consider GMO or carrageenan on my almond milk. I always attempt to buy Non-GMO products but for some reason I got into a ritual with my almond milk and didn’t stop to think about it. Thank you so much for bringing this information to the table to wake me up on items I buy while in zombie mode! :)
You aren’t the only one, I too was very lax with ingredients – as long as I didnt see animal products and especially if it was organic, I assumed it was fine. I will be looking into ingredients much more in the future. This is yet another reminder for me to rely on foods in their natural state whenever possible.
Thanks for the FYI. I’ve been drinking almond mild for a few months now to rid myself of the caseine in milk. I had colon cancer, I’m a year out, and I’m really angry about this! Will look forward to your recipe for homemade almond milk. Love your site and visit it often. You really need to be on the cooking channel, they really need a vegan program!
Mary, I just heard last week the cooking channel has a new vegan show now! Unfortunately I dont think we get TCC in our house, but that is super exciting news regardless.
I drink Unsweetened Almond Breeze like water :( I guess it’s time to try making homemade dairy-free milk. Can you add tips on how to make the process more affordable, or compare the costs with purchasing other dairy-free milk beverages? Thanks, Angela!
I have never really heard of this before. I’m shocked that it’s even put in juices. I will be more aware of all of the “little things” that I am feeding my children from now on. Thank you Angela.
Hi, Angela,
Thanks for your wonderful site. I too am a vegan with IBS, and I was disturbed to read in your post that there’s a connection between carageenan and IBS. When I clicked on the site you linked (http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401181/Is-Carrageenan-Safe.html) to review the research, though, I noticed an important difference: Dr. Weil makes a connection between carageenan and Irritable Bowel DISEASE (IBD) not Irritable Bowel SYNDROME (IBS). IBD is the umbrella name for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis; IBS is a collection of gastrointestinal symptoms without evidence of disease. IBD can be life-threatening and is far more serious than IBS, which tends to be uncomfortable but not dangerous. I’ll experiment to see whether removing carageenan from my diet helps my IBS, but it’s important to recognize that that’s not what Dr. Weil’s page suggests.
Thanks again for all your good work,
Jess
Hi Jess, it appears I confused the other research summaries I was reading with his article. Thanks for pointing that out, I’ll clarify this in my post. Also to clarify further, Dr. Weil recommends “avoiding regular consumption of foods containing carrageenan” which he says is “especially important advice for persons with inflammatory bowel disease.” So he’s not just making this recommendation for those with IBD. Goodluck, I hope you find relief.
I just bought a half gallon of Blue Diamond Almond milk too.
Thanks for sharing the info!
Thank you!! I buy Almond Breeze, but will be switching. No point setting myself up for something like IBS.
First of all happy new year to you Angela :-)
Thank you for this information.
I found out about carrageenan when my daughter was tested for food intolerances at the Naturopath over 2 years ago. It has always showed “red”, although I do use the PC almond milk and carrageenan or not, it has never made any difference to her.
I would love to avoid it (the same way I would love to avoid the awful palm oil we found everywhere), but being non dairy in this house (not by choice), it is very complicated to find products that don’t have this or that… You avoid one, you find the other etc..
To be honest, I am way more concerned about the palm oil than about the carrageenan.
I love the PC almond milk, and I know you did to (because we talked about it), so if you find something easy to get and which tastes as nice, please let us know…
Isa
Hi Isabelle, Please see the shopping guide I linked to in my post. It lists all the brands that have it and that do not. You will see there are quite a few on the safe list. Goodluck and Happy new Year to you as well!
Thanks Angela, I was just looking at it and writing the names down.
Back on the whole “search/find/try/approve the milk” galore then…
Hopefully, we can find one we like and is easy to get..
I hope so too! Goodluck
I had recently found out about the dangers of carrageenan as well and stop purchasing anything with it in the ingredients. It wasn’t hard since most of our food is already made from scratch. I also did some research into how our bodies use palm oil and don’t like what I am reading there as well so that was the next thing to go. Thank you for trying to inform us all on potentially harmful ingredients in our food.
I’d heard whisperings about this a few weeks ago but being new to veganism I decided to ignore it until I was more comfortable with what choices I was making. I’ve checked my Almond milk and my Oat and they both don’t contain it (Ecomil and Oatly if you’re in the UK!).
I had a raw chocolate mousse as a treat (it was fearfully expensive and tiny) a few weeks ago with Irish Moss in but it wasn’t the processed kind and gave me no problems. I think I’ll have to do a bit more research, but at the moment it doesn’t seem like it will be much of a problem for me to avoid eating it.
THANK YOU for bringing this to my attention. I had heard of it before, but I didn’t pay that much attention to it. I was diagnosed with IBS when I was in the third grade, and I’ve struggled with gastro issues my whole life. Blue Diamond is a brand I purchase frequently, so I’m grateful you brought this to light. Eden Soy was my favorite, until my closest whole foods decided to stop carrying it, which breaks my heart. Anyway, thanks, Angela!
I, too, was excited about making some artisanal vegan cheese and it calls for carrageenan powder. I discovered the research about it when I was trying to find a source to buy some. I ended up making the recipe and leaving it out.
The process of trying to determine which research to believe on a food product makes my head spin. Sponsored research is paid for and published by the food manufacturer. Needless to say, negative findings are frequently buried, while those touting health claims are attached to advertising campaigns.
When research appears to be contradictory, like you, I opt to avoid “products” and make my own at home, ensuring a reliable foods source.
You may be interested in Marion Nestle’s (no relation to the chocolate) work. I frequently visit her blog FoodPolitics.com to try and get the real scoop on our food system. (Unfortunately, I don’t see anything about carrageenan there but it’s still a good resource for health foodies).