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?
Got a great way to deal with food problems…. Don’t eat!!
if you eat everything in moderation then your life would be balanced. but if you eat to much of one food group your life is out of balance
just read an article about new vegan marshmallows made in Ottawa, was excited until I ready the gelatin replacement was carrageenan! Considering many people avoid it I was surprised to see he would use it. Here’s the article on vegnews:
http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=5898&catId=8
This is all very interesting considering that I am sitting here, feeling yucky, after eating ice cream that contains this carrageenan. Had 2 scoops of Chapman’s Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert. Before I finished my serving, the inside of my mouth felt all sizzly. Then my tongue got swollen enough to fill my mouth. For me, this is a typical reaction to sea food. It is after midnight, and I have an upset stomach, swollen tongue, and mucous building up in my throat. I can swallow and breath well enough to know I will be fine in due time. Drinking a cola beverage cuts through the mucous. I do wear a medical alert bracelet for sea food, but this is my first suspected reaction to exposure from an “additive”. I have checked the label on the ice cream carton to see if there were ingredients that I did not recognize. When I googled carrageenan, I discovered this site.
A special thank you to Angela for sharing this information. I will be reading all dairy labels in the future, as well as asking my pharmasist, point-blank about additives in my meds.
I am an ice cream addict and I am sad to say that ice cream without carageenan is very hard to find!!! If you look for the “all natural” labels (I think Turkey Hill has a “natural” line”), the ones that only have a few ingredients, then you will be ok.
Very good article. I just wanted to add that I have recently linked this ingredient to my chronic diarrhea. Since removing this from my diet, I feel 100% better!!!!! This was my ONLY dietary change I made, so I know it was carrageenan making me sick.
I accidentally consumed a yogurt with carrageenan, an “organic” yogurt from Trader Joes no less, and the next day I paid the price! I was very upset that first of all, I slipped in my label checking (but it can be hard when shopping with kids in tow) and that second of all, TJs uses such terrible additives in the first place!
Hello everyone, the new problem with Whole Foods 365 brand almond milk is that they re-formulated it. They reduced the amount of calcium from either 30-45% to only 10%. All the other commercial almond milks I’ve seen are either 30% (the equivalent as milk) or 45%. I am very sad 365 almond milk is no longer at the nutritional level I need for healthy bones. Which is why I drink it.
neither my husband or I can eat butter anymore without horrible indigestion. It isn’t the fat causing the problem as we can eat butter without carrageenan. I haven’t been able to find a reason for them putting it in there as nothing is smoother than natural butter so it sure doesn’t need it for that reason. When I email diaries they don’t answer me
So who at the Dairy council is related to the owner of this blog?
I really appreciate the information. Unfortunately, I’m only learning about this ingredient now. Our four year old son had been drinking blue diamond almond milk for over two years :(. I also see that’s its in his organic Stoneyfield tube yogurts as well. I literally feel sick to my stomach about it. I just do not understand the senselessness of what we are exposed to in the foods we eat. I thought I was careful with our food choices, but it seems you just can’t be careful enough these days.
Carrageenan mixed with water is the medium I use to float acrylic paints for marbling. Opus carries it.
A couple of years ago I began having seemingly random HORRIBLE stomach “attacks.” Started with stomach gurgling, bloating, then severe cramping, diarrhea, sweat literally pouring off me, etc. I also experienced a general increase in stool mucus. I researched, saw the doctor, but since it didn’t happen ALL the time, I really found nothing conclusive. Until the day about a year ago that all I had to eat was some banana pudding dessert made by a friend. I had a terrible attack just an hour or so later. I called her to find out what exact ingredients were in the pudding…. non-dairy whipped topping, sweetened condensed milk, instant pudding…. and which exact brands she had used. When I checked those labels, carrageenan jumped out at me. A quick Google search told me all I needed to know. Since then, I have avoided carrageenan, especially on an empty stomach (which seems to be a million times worse) and have had only 1 attack (and even it did not fit the pattern of my typical attack, so I’m not sure it was the same), and the mucus has dissipated. Now, when my stomach starts to gurgle, I can identify another food that has carrageenan. It is obviously a sensitivity that can come on suddenly, and I personally think it may be something that is exacerbated by some other factors, as my sister suffered from it for awhile, too. But hers went away with no change in diet before I figured out what it was. I wonder how many people are suffering, going on meds, having surgery, etc. when there is this relatively simple explanation.
I should add that I do consume dairy and stumbled upon this blog while doing some research. Carageenan has been used for decades! Only recently does it seem to have really begun to cause more problems. I wonder if the increase in IBS and Chrons is related to what seems to be either a change in carrageenan or our sensitivity to it. Like I said, I think there must be other factors that increase our sensitivity to it at times – possibly emotional as both my sister and I were experiencing a lot of stress at the times our sensitivities were at their worst. I personally see no real difference in carrageenan as an additive than using cinnamon, oregano, or any other natural derivative. I do think there needs to be public awareness of the possibility of sensitivity to carageenan, just as there has been increased awareness of sensitivities/allergies to peanuts and dairy. But that’s just my non-expert opinion.
I have just called So Delicious and informed them that my family will no longer be purchasing the three + cartons of Vanilla Coconut milk that we have been consuming for the past several years – which makes me sick to think I’ve been feeding me and the children this ingredient!! I’ve had stomach issues develop over the past 7 years and that’s the time I made the change to “healthier” non-dairy milk alternatives!
Boycotting is the only way to get the stuff out – the blogger mom did it with GMO’s and Cheerios!!
Thanks for posting this! I drink sodelicious coconut milk because it is organic and non gmo. It had the least amount of ingredients which I look for in the products I buy. It does have carrageenan but the company has just recently changed the recipe due to customer complaints! Link to the article is below…
http://sodeliciousdairyfree.com/blog/just-what-is-carrageenan/
People needs to know that carrageenan is approved widely all over the world. It is classified as safe for consumption by United States of Food and Drug Administration. Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee (JECFA) has even recommended a group of allowable daily intake (ADI). Quoting on the research link you posted above;
‘Moreover, research shows that food grade carrageenan can be broken down to degraded carrageenan in the gastrointestinal tract.’
But really, where is the research that this article pointed out? I can’t even think why these ‘scientist’ would even say such things..
‘Scientific evidence shows that the consumption of food grade carrageenan may lead
to harmful effects on human health, including inflammation, lesions, and cancer in
the colon.’
Again, where is this ‘Scientific evidence’?.. And the word may.. So basically they are not sure themselves.
There are many people trying to discourage the use of carrageenan without any scientific basis, probably to their own gain as carrageenan has become more and more popular these days.
Basically, if you want to avoid carrageenan, be my guest. But you have to avoid sausages, hams, and even the ready to cook lamb I buy at the supermarket has carrageenan in it!
I’m neutral. Here’s an article on the research process, references as well as why the WHO has approved it
followyourheart.com/is-carrageenan-safe
In 2013, WhiteWave Foods separated from Dean Foods, and became an independent, publicly traded company. Silk is no longer owned by Dean.
ITS NOT ALWAYS LISTED ON THE LABEL!
You should note also that carageenan is not always listed on the label. I became aware of my own intolerance to carageenan this year by comparing reactions to 2 different almond milks. The only difference in the ingredients was carageenan. I am gluten and lactose intolerant so have been reading labels for years but never connected this one. After I became aware of my reaction to carageenan I had the occasion to drink LACTAID milk again. I noticed that I was having a very similar reaction to the almond milk brand that contained the carageenan. Although it wasn’t listed on the LACTAID label, I went on their website and it is listed there as an ingredient!
Another surprise to me was that it is an ingredient in Ranitidine (Zantac) a drug that I tried taking for my acid reflux but am intolerant to. Again, its not listed on the label but it is listed on the website.
FYI – The reactions that I have to carageenan is a puffiness in my mouth and a tingling on my face and lips as well as some abdominal pain. Who knows what its doing in my colon!
For 10+ years I have struggled with what I thought was IBS or colitis, or celiacs disease, or dairy-intolerace but this past year, I finally figured out what was causing my IBS-like symptoms… carrageenan. I don’t care if it’s considered “safe”, I steer clear of it. Since removing carrageenan from my diet I have not had issues with my gut. If by accident, I do ingest something with carrageenan in it – I know within 24 hours because the bloating, gut-wrenching pain comes back (I then check the label of what I had eaten and sure enough, carrageenan is always an ingredient. I then chide myself for not reading the label first). I truly think many people are affected the same way I am but do not know that carrageenan is the cause (like I didn’t know for a decade). Is this ingredient really necessary?
I now make my own almond and coconut milk, and to be honest it tastes way better than store brands :)
so happy to see you post about Carrageenan, thank you for sharing this information with your readers.
I am starting to learn a bit more about it recently so thank you for posting this. I have been slowly reducing my dairy intake so have started buying Blue Diamond almond milk as it seemed like the popular choice (Costco sells it). After reading the label today, we will no longer be buying it!! Thank you for the info!
So I just learned I’m lactose intolerant and have been at whole foods daily with my hidden ingredient list. I was there for 3 hrs yesterday looking at labels.. I’m sure it will get easier.
. I used liquid coffeemate for years because I preferred the taste to cream or milk. Now, it is classified as lactose free, non dairy, but states it has a milk derivative. I am appalled at what the FDA allows for additives in our foods and how sneaky the food industry is about hiding what they add. I’m trying califia farms almond coffee creamer, but now see it contains carageenan. I think that might be an issue for digestive problems. Any thoughts or suggestions?