Carrageenan thoughts, and alternatives....

Hello all,

I have been told by my doctor/naturopath to avoid sugar as much as possible (along with all gluten, dairy, processed foods, etc) - I've been doing this for the most part and it is definitely helping me. My symptoms (cramps, D, mucus, etc) are much less now, and some days I actually have no symptoms at all.

That being said, I have been reading recently about carrageenan causing UC issues for some, but cannot find any almond milk locally that does not have it. I was also told drinking soy is not great for men, and am not sure if the soybeans bother me or not. My issue is - I love gluten free cereal in the morning, but the rice milk I am currently drinking has 14 grams of sugar per cup, which seems like a lot.

Am I better with the 0g sugar in almond milk with carrageenan, or the rice milk with 14 grams but no carrageenan?? Any other suggestions??

Thanks so much and have a great weekend

Wow, that's a rock and a hard place question. Can I choose "C", neither?

Push comes to shove I'd go with sugar before carageenan but would eliminate both.
Both are "out" for me but since becoming so much better on SCD I'm now able to use cow's milk products. 3 months ago I was lactose-intolerant like you.

I've found that sugar, even honey is not good for me. Not because of bad UC symptoms, just aches of inflammation in gut and joints.

Good luck.

Carrageenan definitely causes problems for me. Have you tried lactose-free milk? I can tolerate moderate amounts of sugar so I can treat myself to chocolate once in a while, but anything with high fructose corn syrup such as soda and most candy gives me the beginnings of a flare. I can eat bread but foods high in trans fat like pastry and french fries are a no-no.

Scratch what I said about Almond Dream, tonight I just found out they changed their recipe and now they put carrageenan in it along with some other stuff!

I think that might (?) be because of the sugar content, preservatives etc in the store bought almond milks. They are tasty though. Home made is pretty good too.