Carrageenan

The Moose's 1st birthday is next week. I'm making his cake this weekend and am using a recipe that uses almond milk. I bought this almond-coconut blend. It's pretty yummy! I almost just used his raw goat's milk for the recipe. I went to the dairy section of my health food store several times, picked up the almond milk, and put it back down. But decided last minute to go for it.

Why was I hesitating? Because of the carrageenan in the milk. All of the brands had it. (**A reader told me Silk brand doesn't have it!! So check that out. The store that I was at didn't have Silk.) There was no escaping it. This ingredient is one reason why homemade nut milks have become so popular (you've seen the pins on pinterest. Find me here on pinterest!)

So what is carrageenan? It is a red seaweed extract. So it does come from a natural source. But it is highly processed. And like many processed things, it comes out of the process looking very different. The molecular structure looks a lot like plastic. It is used in food as a thickener and an anti-crystallization agent.

It's a pretty controversial ingredient. It is used in a lot of "all natural" products. Including my almond milk I just bought. Advocates of it say that since it comes from a natural source (seaweed), it's gotta be fine.

Lots of studies in lab rats link carrageenan to:

• Inflammation
• Colon cancer
• Bowel disease
• Lots of side effect related to the gastrointestinal tract

In Europe, it is banned in infant formula.

You will find carrageenan in lots and lots and lots of food and toiletries. I avoid it as much as possible. If I decide to use nut milks on a regular basis (meaning buying more than one container a year), I will start making my own. Which is something I'm considering trying because it sounds awesome! I'm not sure why I let it slide this time, but I did & I bet my cake will be delicious!