Carrageenan Explained: What It Is, and When and Why to Avoid Eating It

Sometimes it feels like everything we eat is so complicated. It can be really hard to say with 100% confidence that the salad dressing you love is really “clean” of fillers and junk, or the ice cream from the corner store isn’t using some food coloring that could cause an allergic reaction. You can make yourself crazy looking up the seemingly millions of food additives that are GRAS, which is an acronym for “generally regarded as safe.” Sometimes, it might seem simpler to not look at the ingredient list at all and save yourself from the potential horror. But it’s a good idea to stay informed! Educating yourself removes the stress of the unknown and gives you the opportunity to make decisions you feel good about. Today we spotlight carrageenan, a controversial food additive. How is Carrageenan Used? Carrageenan is commonly found in dairy products, where it acts as an emulsifier to keep things from separating. For example, it keeps your yogurt from getting that layer of water on the top, or your milk from getting a layer of cream floating on the surface. We’re often grossed out by foods that separate, but if the labels on our beverages simply told us to shake ’em before we consume ’em, carrageenan would be out of a job! It’s also used in a number of other foods, including everything from deli meats (where it acts as a binder) to vegan and low-fat foods (where its thickening properties come into play). You’ll also find carrageenan in non-food products, including toothpaste. Where Does Carrageenan Come From? Carrageenan is made from algae, which can be cultivated or wild. Specifically, it’s most commonly derived from varieties of red seaweed, including Irish moss, as well as elkhorn sea moss. It gets harvested from the ocean, cleaned, extracted, filtered, concentrated, mixed with chemicals, pressed, dried, milled, blended and refined. Whew! It’s not exactly nutrient-dense seaweed after all of that. Not at all. What Are the Risks of Consuming Carrageenan? There’s strong evidence linking carrageenan to cancer, GI tract damage, diabetes and inflammation. We’re not talking just a little gas or bloating—evidence suggests the additive is a factor in serious health problems. But while solid studies on animals point to this substance’s toxicity, the implications for human health have not kicked the food industry into action. I tell my clients to steer clear of carrageenan. How to Find Carrageenan-Free Foods The Cornucopia Institute has made it really easy to find carrageenan-free organic foods with a list of common brands to look for (and a few to avoid). Highlights include: Organic Valley’s buttermilk, chocolate milk, cream, eggnog, kefir, and cottage cheese Safeway’s O-brand versions of yogurt, cream, and almond-, soy- and coconut-milk beverages Whole Foods’ 365-brand versions of cottage cheese, coffee creamer, and both almond- and soy-milk beverages Trader Joe’s own brands of yogurt, sour cream, ice cream, and rice-, almond-, coconut- and soy-milk beverages — but not their cottage cheese You can find dozens more brands rated for carrageenan inclusion here. Look for These Substitutes Instead Given that carrageenan is often used to thicken foods, there are certainly other ingredients that manufacturers can use instead. One is xanthan gum, which is derived from fermented sugar and is perfectly safe for most people. Other options are guar gum or gellan gum, both commonly found in nut milks, and both thought to be safer than carrageenan. (Image: Shutterstock)

Is Food Coloring Toxic?

Q: Is food coloring toxic? A: While I have total appreciation for the artistic talent that goes into some of the beautiful sweets on bakery shelves, the nutritionist in me cringes at the thought of mixing acrylic paints into butter cream to get those wild colors. Ok, I know that isn’t exactly how it’s done, but still. There are plenty of natural food coloring options on the market, but those aren’t the ones we’re talking about here. A rule of thumb to follow: Nothing in nature comes in electric purple, so you probably shouldn’t put anything that bright between your lips. {Tweet this} But let’s dive deeper. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for testing the safety of food coloring, just like they’re responsible for overseeing all food additives, stabilizers and preservatives. We use food coloring to make our foods seem more appealing (Coke isn’t really dark brown) and attractive (people prefer Goldfish to sport that signature golden hue). It also protects our food from damage due to light, temperature, storage and moisture. Since we do a lot of eating with our eyes, appearance matters. We are biologically programmed to prefer the perfectly red apple that is stereotypically beautiful to the off colored apple. In nature, red means ripe, full of energy and sweet. Pale or mottled apples may be less ripe and delish. Food manufacturers are hip to this jive, which is why they splash a little yellow food coloring into our cheese and a drop of brown food coloring into our bread. While sometimes there is the side effect of extending the shelf life of the cheese or loaf, you don’t need color in your food. Should we worry? I try not to overthink it. All food dyes need to go through FDA testing and then they get the Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) status to hit the shelves. If a food dye is proven to be damaging, it is removed from the industry, so Red #4, for example will not show up in your eats anymore. You don’t need to memorize the whole list of banned food colorings since the government has taken care of (some of) that for you. But, hold up. You still need to pay attention to some of the controversial food colors out there on the market. The FDA has given GRAS status to 9 food colors (and many other ingredients) currently on our shelves, that may not be safe. They are linked to things such as hyperactivity, kidney damage, cancers and tumors in animal studies. Here they are: Blue 1 Blue 2 Citrus red 2 (these are used on the peels only of oranges/citrus) Green 3 Orange B (in the stages of being banned since 1978!) Red 3 (already banned from cosmetics, lakes and drugs) Red 40 Yellow 5 Yellow 6 We are a long way from taking a page out of the UK’s book and banning questionable artificial food colors, but there are alternatives for you. Look for vegetable based food coloring when you are making your own treats and scan ingredient lists to see how your food is being colored. Feel empowered when annatto, turmeric and beets are on the list, instead of caramel coloring. In a perfect world, I’d tell you to bake your own dye-free, beautiful ingredient laden sweets all the time. But as a plan B, selecting something at the patisserie that looks dye-free is close enough. This eating with your eyes knowledge is powerful stuff, right?! I’m sure the white snowflake sugar cookie will taste just as delish as the one decorated as a red candy cane. Especially if you close your eyes.

Stevia in Your Diet: Yay or Nay?

Do the green leaf and the word “natural” on the box of Stevia at the supermarket make you wonder if it should be on your shelf? Is it any better of a sugar substitute than aspartame or sucralose? Are you picking up a pack of gum, a bottle of tea or a container of soy sauce and wondering, “What’s the deal with stevia in the ingredient list?” If so, you’re not alone. Stevia is deemed GRAS (generally regarded as safe). It’s in the company of things like annatto, carrageenan and chlorine in our food supply. In other words, GRAS doesn’t necessarily mean much. Uber-reputable sources are giving it the nod. But, as someone skeptical of any kind of sweetener, I look at it very closely. Let’s break this down a bit. What is Stevia? Stevia is a natural sweetener and sugar substitute extracted from the leaves of a shrub called Stevia rebaudiana. Chemically speaking, the sweet components of the stevia leaf are called steviol glycosides, and the stevia leaf contains more than 40 of these glycosides. Stevia-based sweeteners you buy at the store (of which there are many) can contain one or several steviol glycosides. Depending on which ones are used, and what the stevia is mixed with (erythritol, inulin, maltodextrin, xylitol and monk fruit, to name a few), these sweeteners can be anywhere from 25 to 400 times sweeter than sugar! Despite this, stevia has zero calories and zero glycemic index. I know what you’re thinking: “Yippee! sweet deliciousness with no calories!” I hear you. We do know, however, that your taste buds taste the sweetness and even when no calories are linked to the bite in your mouth, hormones may still be stimulated. Your mouth tastes the sweetness in sweeteners and assumes that calories are supposed to follow. You’re supposed to get those calories in your belly and digestive hormones are then supposed to kick into place. When no calories come, your body sends signals to your brain, saying, “What’s the deal?!” It makes sense to me that there would be some confusion with what your brain thinks is going on and what actually happens in your stomach. This is where my relationship with stevia used to end. Keep reading. Pros and Cons of Stevia The Nutrition Action Healthletter, put out by CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) is a resource I often check out. They take the most important nutrition issues of the day and attack them from scientific, political and environmental angles to get to a succinct bottom line. They reviewed artificial sweeteners and reminded me that in the ‘90s, the FDA rejected stevia because of the “potential impact on blood sugar, sperm count, kidney function and cardiovascular systems.” But they did give it a safe rating. Why? Even though a couple studies (using extremely high doses) have linked stevia to changes in DNA, studies didn’t show an increased risk of cancer, fertility problems or offspring with disabilities. On the flip side, studies have shown that one of the sweet compounds in stevia may lower blood pressure. (Note: Large doses were used during these studies.) Other studies have linked stevia to a reduction in blood sugar and potential glycemic control in people with diabetes, while still other studies have shown stevia’s possible anti-inflammatory benefits. So, in other words, there are probably many worse things in our pantries than stevia. Bottom Line on Stevia Refined sugar has absolutely no nutritional value and may cause inflammation, cancer, diabetes and obesity. Yet, it is not realistic for most people to take sweets completely out of their diet. If you are someone who can control and maintain a very small amount of refined sugar in your diet, you may be fine with keeping it in. For others, stevia is an alternative. The takeaway is that you shouldn’t add it in because, “Oh, hey, it’s healthy.” Rather, it may work for your lifestyle as a better alternative to refined sugar and other artificial sweeteners because of its zero calories and zero glycemic index. In either case, you don’t want to be pouring packets into your mouth. Of course, the best way to consume stevia is by growing it and harvesting it from your garden (yeah, people are doing this), or you can order the leaves online. More Reading Exactly How Much Sugar Can I Eat in a Day? (Image: Shutterstock)