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?
That’s shocking news! I love Almond Breeze, it’s a shame they contain carrageenan. I wonder why? What’s the point of adding this ingredient? I notice Alpro Milk is nowhere on the list, so I will have to look into that myself. Thanks for this tip.
The Whole Foods 365 unsweetened vanilla almond milk has always been my first choice non-dairy milk and it is safe!
Thanks for sharing. Let me start by saying that I love you blog, and it shows that you put a lot of stime into your research. Unfortunately I have to disagree with the following statement:
“there is no excuse for food businesses to continue to put carrageenan into our food at the potential risk of our health”
From what I gather, carrageenan is a completely natural compound found in seaweed, as natural as gluten. I agree that people with sensitivities may be wise to avoid this, as they avoid gluten. Moreover an entire continent eats seaweed on a semi-regular basis so the food companies aren’t really doing anything wrong by using it as an emulsifier in milk desitned for adults.
You’ve listed some products available without this compound, it’s up to the consumer to decide if it’s safe for them to eat or not.
After doing my research I am personally not threatened by this compound, and I don’t feel like food companies are risking my health by using it.
FYI- the Cornucopia list forgot to include Natur-a soy milk as not containing carageenan – it’s whatI switched to after reading Jillian Michaels’ book over the summer and learning about carageenan. It’s in SO MUCH STUFF! And I am so conflicted about it all because I am from PEI…which is the NUMBER ONE supplier in Canada of Irish Moss…where carageenan is extracted from!
Hey Shannon, are you a supplier? I wanted to bottle my own recipe of Irish Moss drink.
The 365 brand of Almond milk is on sale right now at Whole Foods….3 for $5. I stocked up yesterday!
Just wanted to say thanks for bring this up. Put in the the “I had no idea” camp.
Definitely something to research further for myself.
Cheers
Thank you SO much for posting this information. This IS concerning. I think you have just convinced me to start making my own Almond milk.
This has been a frustration of mine – ‘non-dairy’ products are often less healthy than their dairy alternative! I make my own almond milk but have recently bought some as it is tough to keep up with the demand with daily smoothies and my son going vegan as well. thanks for this post
Wow.thanks ANG. Very helpful!!
Thanks for sharing, I’m sticking with my Silk Almond milk!
Hi Angela,
Just wanted to share an inquiry I had made to “Natura”, the company that makes the organic soy milk that I buy in bulk at Costco ($8.99 for 6 cartons is such a good deal!) I emailed them after reading your article to find out if there was carrageenan in their products…here’s the answer they gave me…
“Thanks for your interest in our products. All of the ingredients that are included in our products are written on the package. Rice and Soy Beverages do not contain any carrageenan. Our Almonds Beverages do have some carrageenan. The carrageenan that we are using is food grade. It’s been used for some years now. It’s like any other thickener… you might be intolerant to it, just like you might me intolerant to peanuts or milk. We chose the carrageenan because it’s the best thickener for an Almond Beverage. Yes there are others options…. but they do not offer the same quality of product. I hope this answers your question. Please do not hesitate to contact us again for any question or comment.”
A good honest answer, and I’m happy that this brand (found here: http://www.nutrisoya.com/boissonSoya.php) doesn’t have the carrageenan in their soy products! :)
-Amy
someone above said they are following michael pollan’s advice? PHBLLLTT!!!
He touts the humane slaughter of animals. He seems to think that because one man, some joe shmoe who was in the movie food inc, who callously sits there slitting chickens’ throats with birds chirruping in the background, and who doesn’t have a battery farm that somehow this will be sustainable for the whole 7.5 billion of us. whatever…..
eating carageenan in your non animal products will NOT kill you. and you definitely will NOT be killing others by eating products with it….
enough me me me me me… when will everyone think about the hundreds of millions of other creatures killed per day???? it’s great to talk about food ideas that are not cruel, but please care about more than yourselves. thank you.
P.S. thanks so much for figuring out an oatmilk recipe. that was always one of my favorites when i first gave up dairy years ago. :)
The studies cited are all compelling, and important–thought I’d also say that it’s hard to gauge from them what sort of dosage is necessary for an inflammatory response. In the animal studies, it’s likely that dosage was enormous (I have only reviewed one of the studies on PubMed, and in that case dosage was really high). I’m also curious about whether Irish moss, as opposed to processed carrageenan, has an inflammatory effect on the same scale. In any case, the most significant study on there for us is the one in the Lancet, which makes a good case, but I’d love to see more human trials.
For those who do want to purchase almond milk, the Silk Pure Almond line uses sunflower lecithin, which has no known side effects like this!
what were your findings regarding straight up Irish Moss vs processed carrageenan?
I learned about the side effects of carrageenan several years ago when I was having digestive problems. I no longer purchase products (and very rarely consume anything) that contain carrageenan. I don’t know if it specifically affects me, but I’d rather steer clear of known digestive irritants and possible carcinogens. Always learning something new, right?!
I too have been asked a lot about it and I do believe the evidence is startling in how carageenan- derived from red moss- can advance or bring on inflammation. This has caused a lot more confusion for people looking at non-dairy milks, as well as ice creams and a lot of raw desserts. We can’t mistake the red moss carageenan extract with the whole food that is Irish Moss. Two very different things!
Thank you for this post. Like you, I have tummy problems and any advice on things I can do to prevent them is appreciated. I had never heard of this ingredient, but will definitely be watching out for it now!
I was never really concerned with E-numbers and the like because, firstly, I thought they must be healthy enough for you if they were classified as such, and because I also didn’t want to turn into a health-freak. Well, that last thing is sort of already happening, so when I was paying for my chia seeds at the till of a eco supermarket, I also bought a little booklet in which every E-number is enlisted. Again, I don’t want to become this person who can’t buy food at a ‘normal’ supermarket anymore (I don’t live in a big city, so it’s a struggle as it is), but I guess it’s good to at least have it with me when I go shopping for groceries. Anyway, this is what it said about E407 , a.k.a. carrageenan (I was wondering why so few foods and drinks didn’t have this thing you were all talking about! apparently, it’s often listed as E407 here…), roughly translated from Dutch:
– It could cause allergies (my my, I’m on tablets everyday for my allergies, interesting…)
– It could weaken our immune system
– It could, if we take large quantities, make sure that our bodies don’t absorb the essential stuff that we actually need.
In England, they don’t add it to infant milk. It is listed orange in the book, and not red, but the author (Corinne Gouget) did add that it might as well be categorized under red, since you really need to watch out with this stuff. Also that it is absolutely unnecessary to add it to anything…
What I am worrying about besides all the E-numbers that I apparently have to be careful with, is that I’m somehow feeling that I’m becoming less critical about all this. The panic takes over, so to say, and keeps me from delving into the subject to find out more. My partner notices this too, and since I’m a very critical thinker when it comes to other discussions, this worries me a little (and him!). Maybe it’s a side-effect of becoming food-conscious ;)
we drink the whole foods 365 almond milk. i may give my 14 month old daughter coconut milk but i have yet to find a carton kind without carrag. so i may give her canned, but then most of the cans have BPA in them. (native forest, i think is the brand that does not). and for luncheon meat, i found that the “hormel natural choice” meat doesn’t have it in it. sad that applegate does :(
I want to share with you that Dr, Ohirras probiotics also contain carrageen. Great article. Thanks