theos
The Living Force
Hi forumites,
I recently passed the forty day mark of the Detoxify or Die Diet and have been using almond milk (Almond Breeze manufactured by Blue Diamond) in my smoothies daily. I also recently made a list of "hidden" MSG food additives as mentioned by Dr. Russell Blaylock and carrageenan was named as an additive that may contain MSG. Today I decided to reread the ingredients on my carton of almond milk and lo and behold, carrageenan was listed.
Here's what Dr. Blaylock says about carrageenan (Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life; pg. 196):
A web search turned up the following information:
A bit on degraded and undegraded carrageenan from: http://www.edenfoods.com/articles/view.php?articles_id=82
Now how's this for thickness?..... I haven't noticed any GI distress or migraines but just as I'm writing this now I've made the connection in my mind that I actually have developed a...tumor(?) on my back which I first noticed a couple of weeks ago. (Was it there before I started drinking the almond milk? Who knows?) From what I've researched it seems to be a lipoma, a benign fatty deposit. Wishful thinking, anyone? As I detest going to the MD, I haven't had it checked out yet. I guess maybe I should especially now that I've run across this information.
Needless to say, no more almond milk. Every brand at my local health food store contains it. Read, read, read your ingredients lists and KNOW what the ingredients are.
Anything more to add?
Cha
I recently passed the forty day mark of the Detoxify or Die Diet and have been using almond milk (Almond Breeze manufactured by Blue Diamond) in my smoothies daily. I also recently made a list of "hidden" MSG food additives as mentioned by Dr. Russell Blaylock and carrageenan was named as an additive that may contain MSG. Today I decided to reread the ingredients on my carton of almond milk and lo and behold, carrageenan was listed.
Here's what Dr. Blaylock says about carrageenan (Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life; pg. 196):
Carrageenan is a rather new additive. It is a complex polysaccharide extract made from seaweed, and is used as a binding agent. Experimentally, carrageenan is used as an agent to induce intense inflammation in experimental animals. A recent study found that when carrageenan was injected in animals along with a cancer-causing chemical, tumors appeared more rapidly and in significantly higher numbers than in control animals injected with carcinogen alone. The same was seen when human breast cancers were implanted in animals along with carrageenan: the combination made the tumores grow faster and spread more widely than in control animals. As a result, carrageenan is classified as a tumor promotor.
A web search turned up the following information:
Review of Harmful Gastrointestinal Effects of Carrageenan in Animal Experiments
Joanne K. Tobacman
College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
Abstract
In this article I review the association between exposure to carrageenan and the occurrence of colonic ulcerations and gastrointestinal neoplasms in animal models. Although the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 1982 identified sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity of degraded carrageenan in animals to regard it as posing a carcinogenic risk to humans, carrageenan is still used widely as a thickener, stabilizer, and texturizer in a variety of processed foods prevalent in the Western diet. I reviewed experimental data pertaining to carrageenan's effects with particular attention to the occurrence of ulcerations and neoplasms in association with exposure to carrageenan. In addition, I reviewed from established sources mechanisms for production of degraded carrageenan from undegraded or native carrageenan and data with regard to carrageenan intake. Review of these data demonstrated that exposure to undegraded as well as to degraded carrageenan was associated with the occurrence of intestinal ulcerations and neoplasms. This association may be attributed to contamination of undegraded carrageenan by components of low molecular weight, spontaneous metabolism of undegraded carrageenan by acid hydrolysis under conditions of normal digestion, or the interactions with intestinal bacteria. Although in 1972, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considered restricting dietary carrageenan to an average molecular weight > 100,000, this resolution did not prevail, and no subsequent regulation has restricted use. Because of the acknowledged carcinogenic properties of degraded carrageenan in animal models and the cancer-promoting effects of undegraded carrageenan in experimental models, the widespread use of carrageenan in the Western diet should be reconsidered. Key words: carcinogenesis, carrageenan, carrageenase, diet, furcelleran (furcellaran) , hydrolysis, inflammatory bowel disease, nutrition, poligeenan, promoter, sulfated polysaccharide. Environ Health Perspect 109:983-994 (2001) . [Online 24 September 2001]
A bit on degraded and undegraded carrageenan from: http://www.edenfoods.com/articles/view.php?articles_id=82
Gras = generally recognized as safe.There are two types of carrageenan, undegraded (food-grade) and degraded (hydrolyzed with acid). Undegraded carrageenan has been used on a huge scale in food production worldwide since the 1930s, and its safety has been assured by the FDA Gras status
Now how's this for thickness?..... I haven't noticed any GI distress or migraines but just as I'm writing this now I've made the connection in my mind that I actually have developed a...tumor(?) on my back which I first noticed a couple of weeks ago. (Was it there before I started drinking the almond milk? Who knows?) From what I've researched it seems to be a lipoma, a benign fatty deposit. Wishful thinking, anyone? As I detest going to the MD, I haven't had it checked out yet. I guess maybe I should especially now that I've run across this information.
Needless to say, no more almond milk. Every brand at my local health food store contains it. Read, read, read your ingredients lists and KNOW what the ingredients are.
Anything more to add?
Cha