Author: Melita Horvat |
Carrageenan (E407) - cause of inflammations in the organism? |
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Additives are substances added to food and their role is to preserve or improve certain characteristics of food.
In recent years they have become an indispensable part of the food industry so that it is almost impossible to avoid consuming them.
They are applied in all phases of technological preparation of food - from initial treatment and processing until the final processes of packing and storing.
They are used for dyeing, preserving, enhancing taste, sweetening, thickening, gelling, preventing oxidation, emulsifying, speeding up or cheapening the production process etc.
Some of them are safe and completely harmless for human health.
Many of them are harmful and linked to numerous health risks. One of the additives that have recently come into focus is carrageenan.
Origin and composition of carrageenan
Carrageenan is a polysacharide obtained from red seaweeds, notably from the Chondrus Crispus species also known as Irish moss.
Structurally it is similar to jelly. Thanks to its gelling properties it has been used for centuries as a thickener and emulsifier.
The first traces of its use were found 400 years ago in China. In the modern food industry its active use started in the thirties of the past century as a thickener and emulsifier.
Through extraction from seaweed three varieties of carrageenan are obtained: Kappa, Lota i Lambda.
They have different structures and each has a specific gel-forming ability.
Kappa has the strongest structure and its application gives strong, solid gels.
Lota's structure is somewhat weaker, which results in softer gels.
Lambda has no gelling abilities and is mostly used for thickening dairy products.
Role in food industry
As a stabilizer, thickening and emulsifier carrageenan can be found in a large number of foods.
It is present in most food products - in meat products, sauces, toppings, soups, ready-made desserts (cakes, puddings, chocolates, jelly products), jams, beer and mustard.
It is also found in soy milk, cream, yogurt, cheese, margarine, mayonnaise, ice creams, etc.
Apart from the food industry, it is used in the cosmetic industry (hydrating agents, gels, shampoos, etc.).
Dangers hidden in carrageenan
As we indicated, this additive is obtained from red seaweed, which are not just edible, but actually very healthy.
This is the reason many people ask: how come carrageenan is not medically acceptable?
Modern food industry uses a refined, isolated carrageenan which has turned out to be extremely harmful.
Although there are still opposing views regarding this additive seeing that some people don't consider it risky, some studies have shown the opposite.
Since negative side effects of its consumption have been confirmed, there has been an ever-increasing concern among internationally renowned health researchers.
The main cause of their concern is its wide application in the food industry and the fact it's present in a high number of food products.
After many years of dealing with this subject and 18 published studies on the harmfulness of carrageenan, Joanne K. Tobacman, associate professor of clinical medicine at the Illinois School of Medicine u Chicagu, has confirmed the link between carrageenan and numerous health problems:
"The research has shown that exposure to.
carrageenan causes inflammation.
By consuming processed food containing this additive we take it in quantities sufficient to cause inflammation in our organism.
A chronic inflammation finally leads to many illnesses, including heart disease, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis and cancer."
Harmful for the digestive system
As proof for this statement, prof. Tobacman has presented the fact that carrageenan has been used in the pharmaceutical industry to cause inflammation in tissues.
It served as an activator of inflammation to test anti-inflammatory properties of certain drugs.
According to her claims, carrageenan has a particularly destructive effect on the digestive system.
There are suspicions it can be responsible for diabetes, ulcerative colitis and even digestive system cancer, notably colon cancer.
Based on these findings Joanne K. Tobacman and many other scientists have put pressure on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and requested a ban on using carrageenan in the food industry.
However, the FDA has rejected all the appeals and petitions claiming there are no solid evidence about its harmfulness and refusing to ban its use in food industry.
Read the declaration
Despite warnings of experts during recent years, this additive is still being used in processing of foods we eat daily.
Of particular concern is its presence in children's food.
If you are among those who choose only organic products have in mind that some of them contain carrageenan although many other additives are banned.
What you can do to protect yourself and your family is to read the declaration on the packaging in detail.
The simplest solution is avoiding buying and consuming the products containing this additive.
The sources used in this article include:
[url=http://www.drweil.com]http://www.drweil.com[/url]
[url=http://www.wellnessmama.com]http://www.wellnessmama.com[/url]
[url=http://www.wchriskresser.com]http://www.wchriskresser.com[/url]
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