Non-Dairy Milk Additive Could Make You Sick
by Beth Buczynski, July 16, 2012
Do you choose soy milk, almond milk, kefir, or low-fat dairy because you think it’s better for your family? A recent report found that even these “healthy” products could be contaminated with a substance that is classified by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer as a “possible human carcinogen.”
Do you choose soy milk, almond milk, kefir, or low-fat dairy because you think it’s better for your family? A recent report found that even these “healthy” products could be contaminated with a substance that is classified by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer as a “possible human carcinogen.”
The Cornucopia Institute, an organic watchdog group, recently
published a report that shows a wide variety of organic brands of both
low-fat dairy and non-dairy products contain carrageenan, a seaweed
derivative used as a stabilizer and thickener in foods. Carrageenan
keeps ingredients in beverages and creams from settling, so they can be
consumed without shaking and have a pleasant creamy texture in the
mouth.
Unfortunately, research funded by the National Institutes of Health
raises serious concerns about harmful effects of carrageenan as an
inflammatory agent on the human gastrointestinal tract. Even though
carrageenan has been used by the food industry for nearly 50 years, it
“so reliably causes inflammation that scientists actually use it to
induce inflammation in biological experiments.”
In a recent statement to the National Organic Standards Board, Dr. Joanne Tobacman explained
that carrageenan itself and its breakdown product both create dangerous
inflammation, a condition that serves as the backbone of more than 100
human diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid
arthritis, and arteriosclerosis. Inflammation also fuels other
life-threatening diseases, including cancer.
In some cases, individuals suffering from chronic gastrointestinal
symptoms have reported that their symptoms disappeared when they cut
carrageenan out of their diets.
Although Cornucopia researchers are quick to acknolwedge that organic
brands are still far more healthy than conventional alternatives, they
stress that industry influence can often mean unsafe ingredients like carrageenan are allowed to slip through the regulatory cracks.
To avoid dairy and non-dairy foods that contain carrageenan, browse this handy shopping guide.
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