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Carrageenan in Soy / Almond milk bad for you???
Started
by Lori D.
on February 13, 2010
I was reading Dr. Andrew Weil's site and he said you should avoid soy/almond milk that uses carrageenan as a thickening agent. It has been shown to be harmful to the stomach and intestines, and some forms can cause cancer. Anyone know anything about this, and also which brands don't use it? All the ones in my fridge have it.
Here's the link to the page:
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA44833
I actually haven't found an almond milk (which I prefer) that doesn't contain carrageenan--I'm also avoiding it since learning how bad it is & coming across studies/reports confirming this--I thought Almond Dream had it, though Rice & Soy Dream do not. Your best option is to make your own. 1C Almonds: 3 C Water Also, EdenSoy's organic unsweetened soy milk does not have it, but their soy/rice mix does. http://www.notmilk.com/carageenan.html Some useful info; he also lists a couple shelf brands near the end of the article that do not use carrageenan. Oh, check labels on everything. I've noticed carrrageenan is used in quite a few "healthy" food options. Guess it just goes to show, we really should stick to whole foods as much as possible & eliminate even minimally processed foods.
Allie -- thanks for the post and the recipe!
Almond Dream is my favorite. No Carrageenan or soy (i'm allergic). Tastes great and.....ONLY 30 cals per cup!!!
Does it get any better than that?
Peace,
Cassi
Thanks Cassi -- I look for that one! I love almond milk in my cereal and tea! It's so frustrating when you switch from one unhealthy item (like milk) to something you think is better, only to find out that there may be ingredients that may be dangerous.
Hello -
I switched to almond milk several months ago, and have only used Earth's Own Almond Fresh - the list of ingredients are online http://www.almond-fresh.com/products.html. This product does not contain carrageenan.
Thanks for the head's up, though! It's always good to double check ingredients.
Trader Joe's has a soy milk with no carrageenan. It is Trader Joe's Organic Unsweetened Soy Milk. It lists only water and soybeans for the ingredients.
I can't thank you enough for posting this! I switched totally from organic milk for me & my sons to Almond Breeze. It's only been probably 4 weeks of using it, but myself & my youngest son have been having tummy troubles (don't know if it's from that). I'm thankful I found out now. Now I found Silk has a new almond milk out & it doesnt have the horrible carrageenan ingredient in it. I wish there were a way to get the word out to everyone; I'm sure many are like me, having had no idea.
The. (new) Silk Almond Milk does not have it. I was reading ingredients (online) in the Schwann's Six Cheese Tortellini (under the "Live Smart" healthy section, & carrageenan is listed. I'm glad I now know to watch out for this ingredient. Thanks again for posting !
I started buying all Pacific brand 'milks' and broths as they were noted as not using GMOs. I checked some of the lables and the Pacific Almond and Oat milk both have carrageenan. The Hemp milk does not.
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