This natural ingredient in diary products can cause digestive problems

---

Carrageenan has been used by the food industry for nearly 50 years and, during that time, has been extensively studied. Although researchers have reliably proven that dietary doses of carrageenan can lead to harmful inflammation, the additive is still approved for use in foods. Carrageenan so reliably causes inflammation that scientists actually use it to induce inflammation in biological experiments, explains Joanne Tobacman, MD, a physician-scientist at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, who has been studying the effects of carrageenan in human cells and lab animals for nearly 20 years.

In a recent statement to the National Organic Standards Board, Dr. Tobacman explained that carrageenan itself and its breakdown product both create dangerous inflammation, a condition that serves as the backbone of more than 100 human diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and arteriosclerosis. Inflammation also fuels other life-threatening diseases, including cancer.

In addition, Kastel says, harvesting the seaweed for carrageenan has been shown to damage coral reefs.

While some organic products do contain carrageenan, organic standards prohibit the use of harmful ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup, petroleum-based fake food dyes, and artificial flavors, along with other harmful ingredients that have been linked to heart damage, ADHD, and other health problems. Still, if you'd like to avoid carrageenan in organic foods, simply read the label or choose from some of these carrageenan-free organic picks below.

Organic Foods Free of Carrageenan:

Chocolate Milk
• Castle Rock Organic Farms
• Crystal Ball Farms
• Strafford Organic Creamery
• Trickling Springs Creamery

Cottage Cheese
• Nancy's
• Organic Valley

Cream
• Organic Valley
• Butterworks Farm
• Strauss Family Creamery

Ice Cream
• Stonyfield
• Green & Black's Organic
• Julie's
• Alden's

Yogurt
• Seven Stars
• Stonyfield (all brands except caramel Oikos and Squeezers)
• Horizon (all except Tuberz)
• Wallaby

Soymilk
• Eden Soy
• Westsoy