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Carageenan / Bromine triggers

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Posted 11/8/2019 10:07 PM (GMT 0)
Dairy, vegan and many other products contain carageenan. Sodas and other flavored drinks contain Bromine. How many of us have noticed these as triggers? I believe the body recognizes them as foreign and attacks but is unable to destroy them. At least for me personally this appears to be my trigger. Emotional stress slows digestion and these foreign additives build up in our body and the immune system attacks. The reason each attack is worse is because antibodies are formed against it each time. Bromine is already banned in over 100 other countries but not here in the USA. Carageenan has been recognized as causing inflammation and ulcers and has been brought to the attention of the FDA but they continue to approve it. Carageenan comes from a natural source but it is processed with alkali which makes it unrecognizable to the body.

Any thoughts on this?
Posted 11/9/2019 2:32 AM (GMT 0)
I have seen many threads about histamine being a problem but don't recall anything about bromine. But there are dozens of threads over the years complaining about carrageenan. It has been in my signature for years.

Below is a little research showing that carrageenan can actually induce IBD in animals, followed by a few samples of threads complaining about carrageenan.

Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine by Michael Murray and Joseph Pizzorno, page 593:
"Researchers investigating ulcerative colitis often use carrageenan (a compound extracted from red seaweeds) to experimentally induce the disease in animals. In the initial experiments reported by Marcus and Watt in 1969, one-percent and five-percent carrageenan solutions were provided as the exclusive source of oral fluids for guinea pigs. Over a period of several days, the animals lost weight, developed anemia, had bloody diarrhea, and developed ulcerative colitis. These results have since been confirmed by numerous investigators and in studies involving diverse animal species, including primates."


https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&m=3864420

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&m=3523591
Posted 11/10/2019 3:10 PM (GMT 0)
I haven't been triggered by either personally. When I was eating loads of junk food and soda daily, I had the best remission of my life.
Posted 11/10/2019 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
Carageenan a.k.a red algae is used to induce colitis in experimental mice and rats. It's toxic and I can't believe we still add it to food. It's a thickener found in a lot of dairy based products like ice cream. Guar gum and arabic gum are other ones that aren't that great for us either, but carageenan is the worst offender. I have to avoid it at all costs, even when I'm in remission. It gives me instant diarrhea. If I accidentally ingest it while I'm flaring, the cramping and bleeding ramp right up.
Posted 11/11/2019 2:46 AM (GMT 0)
I believe carageenan is what brought out my colitis the first time 8 years ago. I was eating a lot of whipped cream on things-probably every day
Posted 11/11/2019 12:45 PM (GMT 0)

Previous post said...
Below is a little research showing that carrageenan can actually induce IBD in animals

Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine by Michael Murray and Joseph Pizzorno, page 593:
"Researchers investigating ulcerative colitis often use carrageenan (a compound extracted from red seaweeds) to experimentally induce the disease in animals. In the initial experiments reported by Marcus and Watt in 1969, one-percent and five-percent carrageenan solutions were provided as the exclusive source of oral fluids for guinea pigs. Over a period of several days, the animals lost weight, developed anemia, had bloody diarrhea, and developed ulcerative colitis.

These results have since been confirmed by numerous investigators and in studies involving diverse animal species, including primates."

We should save and archive this post whenever someone arbitrarily says that food has nothing to do with Ulcerative Colitis.
Posted 11/11/2019 1:48 PM (GMT 0)
Important to note, that is colitis-like symptoms within mice. It is not UC, but similar. I do not think any of us are eating anywhere near the 1-5% of our diet in Carageenan/Bromine as is purposely given to the animals to induce those symptoms. Nor are we lab mice of a specific strain known to be effective with this application, and studied for many decades through this method.

I do not think it is a proof of food causing UC by any means. It's kinda grasping at straws without much proof.

If you're so inclined, certainly reduce food additives within your diet. It cannot harm you to not eat them.
Posted 11/11/2019 2:11 PM (GMT 0)
Not just inducing symptoms. I believe the researchers said ”and developed ulcerative colitis”.
Posted 11/11/2019 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
UC has not been "developed" in animals LOL.
Posted 11/11/2019 5:50 PM (GMT 0)
What is the difference? I agree with iPoop. I can eat carageenan and nothing happens. It sounds like some of us have completely opposite diseases if you can drink some soymilk and all of a sudden you're in a flare.
Posted 11/11/2019 6:21 PM (GMT 0)
>What is the difference?
The mice have an induced-colitis not an UC. And we all know colitis and UC are worlds apart.

If the initial studies and models of UC are based on another illness, an inaccurate model, then what might that say about later failure of drugs and treatments? It's an overly simplified model, with similar symptoms but different underlying mechanism and cause.
Posted 11/11/2019 6:32 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, that makes sense.
Posted 11/11/2019 7:57 PM (GMT 0)
Ditto ipoop.

I add that misconceptions are rampant >>> those misconceptions are embelished>>> those become regurgitated as truths. Hence it becomes word....NOT.

As an aside....a gallon of ice cream over several days gives me extreme pleasure.....never a flare.

q
Posted 11/11/2019 8:08 PM (GMT 0)
Not everyone who smokes gets cancer, and not everyone who eats carrageenan will get a U C flare. But there are enough of us who do.
Posted 11/11/2019 8:22 PM (GMT 0)
Smoking is PROVEN to cause cancer. Not a good comparison at all. If it really is causing people flares, all I have to say is I wish my flares had a discernible cause.
Posted 11/11/2019 8:38 PM (GMT 0)
Right. Smoking is PROVEN to cause cancer, and the study posted above PROVES that carrageenan can cause UC.

(The researchers specifically said ULCERATIVE COLITIS, not any other strain of colitis.)
Posted 11/11/2019 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
I took a look at the literature. I found this critical review of the one (very small) study I found about a no-carageenan diet for UC. You may find it interesting.

https://content.iospress.com/articles/nutrition-and-healthy-aging/nha180051
Posted 11/12/2019 6:53 AM (GMT 0)
(Encyclopaedia of natural medicine from 1969 ... good one lol)


That's quite thorough Sara!

Post Edited (ambling) : 11/11/2019 11:57:18 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/12/2019 12:00 PM (GMT 0)
I believe the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine was referring to initial experiments performed by Marcus and Watt in 1969 that was published in peer reviewed journals, and that "These results have since been confirmed by numerous investigators and in studies involving diverse animal species, including primates."
Posted 11/12/2019 12:55 PM (GMT 0)
Lol
Posted 11/12/2019 7:53 PM (GMT 0)

Sara14 said...
I haven't been triggered by either personally. When I was eating loads of junk food and soda daily, I had the best remission of my life.

Is this an oxymoron considering you have colitis now? The point is it builds up. Bromine builds up in the body and is corrosive to tissue. Also Carageenan can be organic however there are two ways to process it so it's possible you consume it with no problems one day and another day the product contains the processed form of it. The label is the same so there's no way for us to know.

Post Edited (HJQuinn) : 11/12/2019 1:15:09 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/12/2019 8:12 PM (GMT 0)

Sara14 said...
I took a look at the literature. I found this critical review of the one (very small) study I found about a no-carageenan diet for UC. You may find it interesting.

https://content.iospress.com/articles/nutrition-and-healthy-aging/nha180051

This review was financed by the seaweed industry. :oD

Although degraded carageenan may not be approved as a food additive it could still be in our food due to dishonest business practices because it's cheaper. All I know is if it was the organic form it wouldn't send me to the bathroom.
Posted 11/12/2019 8:33 PM (GMT 0)
There really is a lot of “chemophobia” going on....
Food additives may be undesirable, but not for any of the reasons being postulated here.

Bromine in food is not “corrosive”, nor do “antibodies form against it.”

Bromine gas is corrosive. Chlorine is corrosive. But that doesn't mean NaCl, table salt, is corrosive.
Chemistry is a complicated subject, and misinformation can lead to hysteria.

Avoid additives if you believe they bother you, but perhaps also avoid drawing poorly reasoned conclusions.
Posted 11/12/2019 8:53 PM (GMT 0)

ambling said...
There really is a lot of “chemophobia” going on....
Food additives may be undesirable, but not for any of the reasons being postulated here.

Bromine in food is not “corrosive”, nor do “antibodies form against it.”

Bromine gas is corrosive. Chlorine is corrosive. But that doesn't mean NaCl, table salt, is corrosive.
Chemistry is a complicated subject, and misinformation can lead to hysteria.

Avoid additives if you believe they bother you, but perhaps also avoid drawing poorly reasoned conclusions.


You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know chemicals aren't food.
https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20130129/brominated-vegetable-oil-qa#1
Posted 11/12/2019 9:00 PM (GMT 0)
Everything is made of chemicals HJQuinn. Food is chemicals.

Brominated vegetable oil is NOT bromine.

People have emotional responses things...

Hysterical remarks don't help people cope with serious illness.
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