Maybe this will convince you to not ingest it anymore

Quoted Text

2. Carrageenan is classified as an algal polysaccharide produced from seaweed. It’s safety for human
consumption was questioned after it was discovered that it could injure the intestines of laboratory rats
in 1982. Animal studies have shown that sulfated polysaccharides, such as carrageenan, increase
hydrogen sulfide production. Hydrogen sulfide production inhibits the metabolism of butyric acid and
other short chain fatty acids, which in turn starve colonocytes, and induce lesions similar to ulcerative
colitis. Avoiding sulfate consumption from preservatives such as sulfites and sulfur dioxide may be
beneficial for IBD patients.

Carrageenan is ubiquitous in our food supply, and can be found in all sorts of alternative milk products
such as soy milk, rice milk, grain milks, rice dream, soy dream, and tofu products, veggie burgers,
cereals, baked goods, tooth pastes, supplements, and soups. The worst offender is the herb Irish moss
because it is pure carrageenan.

I've read that carrageenan is used to de-ice the wings of aircraft. My ice cream loving friend took a class on same and was told the carrageenan was used to prevent ice crystals from forming.
Perhaps most evil is it's presence in infant formula.

Always love the chance to dis this c**p!

They put that in infant formula?     How dare they!!!!!!

Andrea, can you give us the source of the quoted information?  I would like to look into this further.  I did a quick search just now and can find only good things about carageenan.  I avoid it carageenan, myself, but would like to do further research.  Thanks a bunch!  

Most times I do a scholar search for research info I will try and look at my history and see if  I can locate it.
found it.. scroll down on the page and you will see it. Loads of references on the bottom of the page too.
http://www.fratellonemedical.com/upload/pdf/ibd.pdf

That is really scary!

It's in practically EVERYTHING. How in the world do you eat a balanced diet--on a tiny budget no less--and stay away from this stuff? Kroger has a natural foods section, but most of it is horrendously expensive. And there's still carrageenan in some of it.

What foods are you eating?

It is important to eat food that is not processed. In the end it will always be cheaper to eat food that is not processed. Look at the unit prices of the food you buy that is the real price.

It has always given my son diarrhea.  I react more to xanthan gum and guar gum, but we all try to avoid carageenan.

I don't think it's in rice dream anymore, but it's in pretty much every fortified soymilk that exists.  It's cheapest and safest to make your own, but there are some brands that are just soybeans and water.  You don't need to buy a soymilk maker to make it, just a blender and something to filter it through.  I don't have a recipe for soymilk, but I'm sure somebody does (my son is way too picky and didn't like it when I made it in the soymilk maker...turns out almond milk is better for him as a teacher so I try to sneak that into things where he won't notice.)

Well, let's see, dairy products have it (Type As are not supposed to eat a lot of dairy, but it's practically a staple in my diet). Cow's milk, alternative milks, cottage cheese, I think ricotta cheese has it too, and yogurt, sour cream, kefir, ice cream...

I haven't checked my pantry or freezer yet, but I'll bet dollars to donuts there's carrageenan in 90% of the stuff in there.

Quoted from newtypeA

It's in practically EVERYTHING. How in the world do you eat a balanced diet--on a tiny budget no less--and stay away from this stuff? Kroger has a natural foods section, but most of it is horrendously expensive. And there's still carrageenan in some of it.

I don't buy a whole lot of pre-packaged "natural foods."

I buy fresh meat, eggs, fish, poultry, nuts, produce, grains (quinoa and rice), spices, tea leaves/bags, etc. For the kids I also buy milk, cheese, and yogurt. As an A, you can eat a lot of beans for protein (dried beans are CHEAP!!! and have no additives whatsoever.)

The only things I buy from the "natural foods section" of the store is quinoa and some specialty flours (white rice, brown rice, and spelt) and brown rice pasta. I'm not buying ready-made soups, sauces, TV dinners, etc. Plain rice and spices cost less than "rice mixes".

Carageen is in a lot of the "milk alternatives" (rice milk, soy milk, almond milk, etc) but I don't use those. I make my own almond milk from almond butter and water when I need "milk" for a recipe.

Quoted from newtypeA

It's in practically EVERYTHING. How in the world do you eat a balanced diet--on a tiny budget no less--and stay away from this stuff? Kroger has a natural foods section, but most of it is horrendously expensive. And there's still carrageenan in some of it.

I hear ya sista. or is it.brotha? I just got my son to drink blue diamond almond milk instead of soy milk and it has carageenan in it. This was a feat in itself because he's been drinking Eden soy most of his life because he was allergic to cow's milk since a baby... and the Eden soy had carageenan also..so now he's having the lesser of the two evils.  He's an O. He's also 17 and knows everything..he pretty much refuses to follow the O diet, but I'm trying to slowly change his diet so that he notices he feels better..  I (and my Chi Gong Master) always say ..."There's good, better and best"  Don't get upset if you can't follow things exactly...we should strive to do the best we can at that time and just try to work up to doing better.  

I used to complain in the beginning to Dr. D that I was having a really hard time trying to give up all the avoids..He said don't worry so much about giving up avoids but to get as much beneficial foods in my body as I can...That really took the stress off and I was able to slowly give them up one at a time.  Some people can go cold turkey, some people have to wean themselves slowly..I think it has a lot to do with age.  Younger people are more able to go cold turkey..older people have been eating that way for a long time..and their body is used to compromising from the abuse..almost freaks when there's nothing there to abuse it anymore, and we start getting anxiety, depression and angry. The body is an interesting little house for our souls isn't it?

I'm a "sista", Mayflowers.  

Yeah, it is tough trying to dodge all the avoids. Can't have tomatoes, can't have potatoes, can't have milk, can't have ice cream, can't have regular bread, can't have peppers (no more stuffed peppers for me??? ), can't have oranges or orange juice,......

I like the idea of adding more of the beneficial stuff to the diet instead of focusing on avoids too much. That said, I'm still avoiding milk for now because my ear canals start acting up (even if it's ice cream).

Citric acid is ubiquitous also in Italy in packaged or canned food, but carragenaan is just in alternative milks and may be some baby formulas, but not on dairy, if not dairy pudding or icecream, but I avoid 99 % icecream.
They could have sneaked it in bottled sauces and mayo, but I do not buy, or I read the label before if I like to buy the item.
As an A secretor I do not react a lot to citric acid, but I avoid carragenan for my celiac gut healing.
Maria Giovanna

Quoted from Andrea AWsec

Most times I do a scholar search for research info I will try and look at my history and see if  I can locate it.
found it.. scroll down on the page and you will see it. Loads of references on the bottom of the page too.
http://www.fratellonemedical.com/upload/pdf/ibd.pdf

Thanks, Andrea.  I read the whole thing.  I printed it out for my daughter to use as reference as she has diverticulitis and this information should be of help.  Also, of course, I have encouraged her to follow the BTD.  

I recall reading in the carrageenan reports that stood out for me, the small but important detail which seemed to make all the difference and then actually became moot was something about the chains being "long  or short" the long being O.K . and the short being "bad" but the catch is that in the gut the long gets broken down into the short and ends up being bad after all.
iemnli

I buy very few packaged foods, but one day I bought Applegate Farms sliced Turkey breast
(http://www.applegatefarms.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?id=1710)which was in a vacuum pack and hanging near the deli.  I got it home and ate some and knew it had something in it.  You guessed it - carageenan!

http://www.edenfoods.com/articles/view.php?articles_id=82

FYI...

Does the GTD take into account the difference between food grade carrageenan and degraded (low molecular weight) carrageenan  as described in the article, or does Dr. D considered them the same for GTD purposes?

Interesting article...thanks for posting it.

considered same

Quoted from Andrea AWsec

Maybe this will convince you to not ingest it anymore

Irish moss is used in beer making. Interesting.

Quoted from Andrea AWsec

Maybe this will convince you to not ingest it anymore

I don't eat anything with the word 'Irish' in it..

Quoted from Tea Rose

I buy very few packaged foods, but one day I bought Applegate Farms sliced Turkey breast
(http://www.applegatefarms.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?id=1710)which was in a vacuum pack and hanging near the deli.  I got it home and ate some and knew it had something in it.  You guessed it - carageenan!

We used to buy this because at some point it didn't have carageenan in it.  Then I started to see it appear, lastly in the Smoked Turkey variety.  AFAIK, the roast beef still doesn't have it.

Doing some researching & catch up reading & came across this thread... On reading the link, it says that it is used "in the making of rennet-free gelatin (carrageen), preferred by vegetarians, since true gelatin is an animal product."

Just had a horrible thought, I wonder if the vegetarian capsules that vitamin &  supplement companies use, are made from this??!!