In case you’ve ever wondered how many ingredients are in your cup of Starbucks, you may be shocked to find that some drinks have over 15 unnecessary ingredients. Do you ever pay attention to the ingredients in your food? There is one particular food additive that is finding its way into many things that we eat – and it could be dangerous to our health.
One of these dangerous additives is Carrageenan.
Carrageenan is extracted from red edible seaweeds and is added as a thickener and to keep ingredients from separating as an emulsifier. Even though it’s often marketed as a “natural” ingredient; the research suggests otherwise. The problem? Carrageenan is so inflammatory that researchers usually use it to to study the molecular signals involved in cancer and anti-inflammatory drugs. In fact, over 3,800 studies show carrageenan causes inflammation.
The concern over food-grade carrageenan isn’t new. Beginning in the 1960s, scientists began linking it to gastrointestinal problems in lab animals, including ulcerative colitis, intestinal lesions, and colon cancer. In studies of animals, carrageenan was found to cause cancers and ulcers in animals. More studies showed that it can also contribute to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and breast cancer. It might also be linked to diabetes and insulin resistance.
In April 2016, the Cornucopia Institute published summary research demonstrating that even food-grade carrageenan had the carcinogenic contaminant low-molecular weight poligeenan.
Carrageenan may also contain MSG (mono sodium glutamate) a chemical compound that can cause blood pressure, joint pain, diarrhea, blurred vision, irregular heartbeat, depression, anxiety, migraines and more.
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Hopefully, next time we will think if we really want a cup of coffee with Starbuck’s milk choices.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5410598/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1242073/
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