[nutritionfacts.org]

"Should Carrageenan Be Avoided?

Six hundred years ago, people living along the coast of Carragheen County Ireland started using a red algae, which came to be known as Irish moss, to make a jellied dessert. This moss is now the source of carrageenan, a fat substitute (perhaps most famously used in the failed McLean Deluxe) and a food additive used as a thickener in dairy and nondairy products.

In 2008 I raised a concern about carrageenan. We had known for decades that it had harmful effects on laboratory animals, but in 2008 the first study on human cells to “suggest that carrageenan exposure may have a role in development of human intestinal pathology” was conducted. This was all five years ago, though. What’s the update? (See Is Carrageenan Safe?)

After the activation of inflammatory pathways was demonstrated in actual human colon tissue samples, Europe pulled it from infant formula, concerned that infants might be getting too much at such a vulnerable age. The latest suggests carrageenan consumption could possibly lead to a leaky gut by disrupting the integrity of the tight junctions that form around the cells lining our intestine—the barrier between our bloodstream and the outside world. This was just an in vitro study, though, done in a Petri dish. We still don’t know what effects, if any, occur in whole human beings. Some researchers advise consumers to select food products without carrageenan, accusing the FDA of “ignoring [its] harmful potential.”

Personally, after having reviewed the available evidence, I continue to view carrageenan the way I view acrylamide, another potential, but unproven hazard. Acrylamide is a chemical formed by cooking carbohydrates at high temperatures. So should we avoid eating such foods, like the EPA suggests? Well, “Food safety concerns must also be considered [in the context of dietary] consequences.” Where’s it found the most? Foods that are already unhealthy.

So sure, we can use our concern about the probable carcinogen,acrylamide as yet another reason to avoid potato chips and French fries, but until we know more I wouldn’t cut out healthful foods like whole grain bread. (For more on Acrylamide, see my video Acrylamide in French Fries).

Similarly, I’d use potential concerns about carrageenan as additional motivation to avoid unhealthy foods like cream cheese, but I wouldn’t cut out healthful foods until we know more. I would, however, suggest that those with inflammatory bowel syndrome or other gastrointestinal problems try cutting out carrageenan at least temporarily to see if symptoms improve.

Titanium dioxide is another additive used in nondairy substitutes. See Titanium Dioxide & Inflammatory Bowel Disease for the latest on its safety."

Are you saying that Irish Moss is risky and the same as carrageenan? I came across this video that explains the differences somewhat...

[www.youtube.com]

Thats not what the article says. It is extracted from seaweeds like Irish moss.

See more here:

[en.wikipedia.org]

"Cancer and gastrointestinal effects:

There have been several peer-reviewed animal studies suggesting tumor promotion or initiation by carrageenan.[23][24][25][26] In an industry-funded study, Cohen & Ito discuss methodological problems with four such studies, along with several evaluations of genotoxic activity, and conclude that there is no credible evidence that carrageenan contributes to tumor promotion or colon cancer.[27] In contrast, Tobacman's review of 45 publicly funded studies concludes that "the potential role of carrageenan in the development of gastrointestinal malignancy and inflammatory bowel disease requires careful reconsideration of the advisability of its continued use as a food additive."[3] As of 2011, Kanneganti et al. note that "the role of both CGN [carrageenan] and dCGN [degraded carrageenan] as carcinogens still remains controversial".[28]

Studies conducted with isolated cells and human intestinal epithelial cells in tissue culture as models for in vivo conditions have suggested carrageenan may trigger a number of responses in the body that lead to inflammation of the intestines or, bind to and activate several membrane receptor signaling pathways.[29][30]

Carrageenan is commonly used to induce inflammatory responses in mice. Notably, the air pouch inflammation model is based on administration of 1% carrageenan into sub-cutaneous air pouches in mice and strong inflammatory reactions are observed as early as 4 hours post administration. This in vivo inflammation model has been widely used to study the effect of anti-inflammatory compounds.[31]

Carrageenan's function as a food additive relates to its large molecular weight (200,000 - 800,000 Da) and tight binding to food protein, but also influences carrageenan's fate as it passes through the GI tract. Oral feeding studies with laboratory animals indicate dietary carrageenan is excreted quantitatively [32][33] and is not accumulated in body organs such as the liver or colon;[34] studies disagree with respect to whether it triggers gastrointestinal tract inflammation or contributes to tumor promotion.[3][35] Long-term oral feeding studies found no adverse effects on male or female infant baboons reared from birth to 112 days of age on infant formula containing carrageenan at 5-times the concentration typically present in human infant formula as their only diet,[36] but did observe histopathologic changes in rhesus monkey colon after drinking solution containing 1% undegraded carrageenan.[37] Similarly, while no adverse effects were observed for multi-generations of rats fed up to 5% dietary carrageenan,[38][39] or on hamsters and rats fed for a lifetime diets containing up to 5% carrageenan,[40][41] administration of carrageenan to rodents in drinking water has resulted in some observations of GI-tract effects.[42][43][44] Tight binding of carrageenan to ingested food proteins is considered less available than in drinking water for interaction with the absorptive cells of the GI tract, although some studies have linked food-grade carrageenan to gastrointestinal disease in laboratory animals, including ulcerative colitis-like disease, intestinal lesions, and ulcerations.[45][46][47][48][49]

Carrageenan is inert to hydrolysis by intestinal enzymes in both humans and monogastric animals.[50][51] Many older studies and a few recent studies have been based on the use of "degraded carrageenan," a fraction of low-molecular weight segments of the carrageenan molecular backbone called "poligeenan." To resolve this within the scientific community, the U.S. Adopted Names Council assigned the name "poligeenan" to the fragments with molecular weight of 10,000 to 20,000 Da.[52][53] Approximately 8% of the fragments of food-grade carrageenan are of molecular mass less than 50,000 Da, in excess of the recommended minimum of 5% set by the European Scientific Committee on Food to ensure that the presence of poligeenan is kept to a minimum.[4] The proportion of this 8% that consists of poligeenan is unknown.
Regulatory status

In the U.S., carrageenan is allowed under FDA regulations[54] as a direct food additive and is considered safe[55] when used in the amount necessary as an emulsifier, stabilizer, or thickener in foods, except those standardized foods that do not provide for such use. FDA also reviewed carrageenan safety for infant formula.[56] The National Organic Program (NOP) added carrageenan to the National List;[57] reviewed and reauthorized in 2008[58] as "critical to organic production and handling operations".[59] The European Food Safety Authority concluded "there is no evidence of any adverse effects in humans from exposure to food-grade carrageenan, or that exposure to degraded carrageenan from use of food-grade carrageenan is occurring",[60] however, the Joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives states that "based on the information available, it is inadvisable to use carrageenan or processed eucheuma seaweed in infant formulas".[61]
Effects of radiation

Environmental advocate Dr. Helen Caldicott has drawn attention to the effect of radiation effects from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster on ocean life, arguing that seaweeds come from the Pacific Ocean must be looked at carefully.[62] Concerns include the potential presence of carcinogenic radionuclides and the degradation of carrageenan by radiation; radiation degrades carrageenan,[63] and degraded carrageenan has been more closely associated with adverse health outcomes than undegraded carrageenan in animal studies.[3] No studies have yet been conducted to determine whether radiation-exposed Pacific seaweeds pose a danger to human health."

It is extracted using a petrochemical, generally speaking why would a health conscious person use this type of highly processed food stuff?

don't worry

about it if u eat whole foods