The first step to any healthy, real eating plan is to take a good look at what you have in your pantry, read the ingreadient labels, try to pronounce ALL of the ingredients, shake your head in frustration and then realize you have a problem! Now, I won't say that I went to my pantry and started throwing things out. What I did do, was do a general review of what I had, figure out ways to get it used up and agree with myself to not buy anything UN-real again!
The second step to eating real was to go shopping! I did some internet research, found a few recipes and made a grocery list to be proud of. I went to the store, certain that I would not only find everything I needed to eat real but also, that I would have fun in the process. What waited for me instead was frustration... Labels I had only skimmed in the past to find calories, fat or sugar content, now needed to be scrutinized to the very end. And, what I realized was that, while I thought I knew a lot about what I was eating, I really had a lot to learn when it came to the "ingredients" that appear in America's commercially available food.
With that, I will try to research a different food additive/preservative/strange ingredient with every blog post. I learn best when I write things down, so, without further preface, my first ingredient to research will be "Carageenan".
Carageenan
Wikipedia defines carageenan as a "a family of linear sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from red seaweeds. They are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening and stabilizing properties. " Ok, great! I'm not entirely sure what a polysaccharide is but when I read "extracted from red seaweeds" I think to myself that it must be natural, right? So, I keep reading. In the second paragraph on Wikipedia, the first bit of bad news comes out. Apparently, scientists have raised concerns over the use of carageenan in our food supply. Why? Well, it seems that, based on studies of laboratory animals (a blog post for another day...), it's been found that carageenan can cause gastrointestinal inflammation. Wait, what? Would "they" really put something in our food that causes gastrointesntinal inflammation?
So, I decided that I should branch out from Wikipedia. While I think Wikipedia is awesome, I wanted to see what WebMD had to say about our new friend Carageenan. WebMD classifies carageenan as a "Vitamin or Supplement". Apparently, people use carageenan for medicinal purposes...anything from cough to constipation although WebMD does note that more evidence is needed to validate these medicinal claims. They do mention that the amounts used in food are deemed safe for most people.
Hmm. No mention of the gastrointestinal issues brought up by Wikipedia. So, I went back to my internet search to see what else I could find. The Food Network popped up with their two cents about carageenan. I guess if anyone should know food, it's the Food Network! So, I clicked in and learned that they, as part of their Label Decoder blog say that the Center for Science in the Public Interest consider carageenan as "safe in small amounts". However, they also go on to say that "Your best bet is to be mindful of the ingredient—and choose alternate products without it when possible."
So, I've looked at three different resources and they all seem to say that, while carageenan may come from something that occurs naturally in our environment, it may not be the best thing to put in our bodies. And, while it may be "safe" in small amounts, it sure has done some damage to some defenseless lab animals! I think it is safe to say from my quick internet look at carageenan, that I won't be bringing home any foods containing carageenan. I think it might be best to leave it in the ocean where it belongs!!
Resources used:
1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrageenan
2.http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-710-CARRAGEENAN.aspx?activeIngredientId=710&activeIngredientName=CARRAGEENAN
3.http://blog.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/2012/03/13/label-decoder-carrageenan/
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