Carrageenan

[Guest guest]

Carrageenan nasty stuff. This can be found in our half and half and cream. Not

legal on SCDiet because it is a polysaccharide and not a simple sugar... Be

careful guys.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrageenan<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrageena\

n>

This link says: " Carrageenans or carrageenins

(pronounced<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet>

[?kær?'gi?n?ns]) are a family of linear sulphated

polysaccharides<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysaccharide> extracted from red

seaweeds<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaweed>. "

" There is evidence from studies performed on

rats<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat>, guinea

pigs<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_pig> and

monkeys<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey> which indicates that degraded

carrageenan (poligeenan) may cause ulcerations in the gastro-intestinal tract

and gastro-intestinal<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastro-intestinal_tract>

cancer<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_%28medicine%29>.[7]<http://en.wikiped\

ia.org/wiki/Carrageenan#_note-6> Poligeenan is produced from carrageenan

subjected to high temperatures<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature> and

acidity<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid>. The average carrageenan molecule

weighs over 100,000 Da<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalton_%28unit%29> while

poligeenans have a molecular

weight<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_weight> of less than 50,000

Da<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalton_%28unit%29>. A scientific

committee<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee> working on behalf of the

European Commission<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission> has

recommended that the amount of degraded carrageenan be limited to a maximum of

5% (which is the limit of detection) of total carrageenan mass. Upon testing

samples of foods containing high molecular weight carrageens, researchers found

no poligeenan.[8]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrageenan#_note-7> "

" A recent publication indicates that carrageenan induces inflammation in human

intestinal epithelial cells in tissue culture through a Bcl10-mediated pathway

that leads to activation of NFkappaB and IL-8. Carrageenan may be immunogenic

due to its unusual alpha-1,3-galactosidic link that is part of its disaccharide

unit structure. Consumption of carrageenan may have a role in intestinal

inflammation and possibly inflammatory bowel disease, since Bcl10 resembles

NOD2, mutations of which are associated with genetic proclivity to Crohn's

Disease. "

Antoinette and family of Five Silly Yaks (SCD 2/06)