Fruit Should Come From Nature Not From A Chemical Lab...Carrageenan's Connection to Cancer

A couple weeks ago, Jeff and I made our weekly visit to Costco.  Not only is it a very interesting place, but they give out FREE samples too!  Too bad I refuse to eat most of them.  But I make sure I have my fun.

That week, a nice man was handing out FREE “Fruit By the Foot”, Strawberry flavored, from none other than Betty Crocker, manufactured by the General, General Mills.  People were lining up like Sheep to get their “fruit”….including Jeff.  I do not know how “Betty” can get away with calling it “Fruit” when it looked like 12 inches of a plastic looking substance which reminded me of fly-paper, except it was pink in color and people were unquestioningly gobbling it down like it was manna. 

I sauntered over to the table and picked up the colorful box it came in and read the ingredients.  It was advertised as real fruit, good source of Vitamin C and naturally flavored. I started reading the ingredients:  pears from concentrate.  Concentrate is NOT fruit, it is sugar syrup that has been heated to the point where all the nutrients have been boiled out, plus, chemicals and artificial flavorings have to be added to make it palatable.  You know, taste good.

Then I found listed sugar, maltodextrin, corn syrup and partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil.  All Genetically Modified ingredients that can hardly be associated with “Fruit”.   The box said fortified with Vitamin C.  Vitamin C was listed but in the form of Ascorbic Acid, which is an artificial form of vitamin C that does not come from food but is manufactured in a laboratory. 

The rest of the genetically Modified ingredients in “Fruit by the Foot” are Citric Acid, Acetylated Monoglyceride, Sodium Citrate, Malic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Locust Bean Gum, Potassium Citrate, Natural Flavors and Color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1)  Now I ask you…does this sound like fruit to you?

But the one ingredient listed that was so concerning it made Jeff promptly get out of line was carrageenan.  Carrageenan comes from Red Seaweed and is found in many foods and beverages and especially dairy products such as milk, cottage cheese and milk substitutes.  It is even found in infant formula, deli meats and cheeses.  If you are a beer drinker, chances are you are drinking carrageenan.  It is found in many organic products so what is the problem, you might ask?  The problem is carrageenan produces irritation and inflammation to the digestive tract.  This triggers an immune response similar to salmonella.  This immune response causes inflammation which can lead to ulcers and bleeding in the intestines.  But what is more important, this inflammation is being connected to gastrointestinal cancer in lab rats, along with ulcerative colitis, intestinal lesions, colon cancer and other diseases like diabetes.  It is also proven that inflammation is the root cause of heart disease, alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease as well.

The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and the National Research Council of the United States both have determined that carrageenan is a carcinogen – a substance that causes cancer.  And the FDA allows it in your food and drink.  Why?

Carrageenan has no nutritional value, so why is it used?  Well, first of all, it is cheap.  But logistically it is used in liquid and beverage products to keep ingredients from separating.  It is also added in foods like yogurt, chocolate, soymilk, and even ice cream to give the foods a thicker consistency and to make low-fat versions taste fuller. 

Researchers have been linking carrageenan to gastro intestinal disease since the 1960’s.  If carrageenan is so dangerous why is it still being used?  I don’t know.  Why don’t you ask the FDA?  The Cornacopia Institute has recently launched a Nation wide petition urging the FDA to ban it from our food supply.  While organic foods ban the use of GMOs, chemical pesticides, and toxic synthetic additives, the program does allow carrageenan. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Standards Board isn't set to vote on removing it from organics for four more years. 

But you do not have to wait for government agencies to act in your best interest.  YOU have the power.  Please become informed. The law requires the listing of carrageenan in food, so please read your labels and avoid all food and beverages that contain carrageenan.  So many informed consumers from coast to coast are refusing to by products containing carrageenan so much so that food manufacturers are falling all over themselves to remove it from their products.  Companies like Stonyfield Farm, So Delicious, Eden Foods, and Oregon Ice Cream.  Not because they care about you.  But because they are feeling the hit in their “bottom line”.  If they cared, they would not use it in the first place.  As for “Fruit by the Foot”?.....Shame on you Betty!  People want to Live Healthy Chemical Free…………….

The Cornicopia Institute is trying to get the EPA to remove Carrageenan from our food supply.  Please read the information they provide here of the dangers of Carrageenan.
http://www.cornucopia.org/carrageenan-2013