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Carageenan / Bromine triggers

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Posted 11/12/2019 9:06 PM (GMT 0)
It's a tired argument as old as healingwell is.

Corner #1: There's some who are convinced that diet modification and alternatives are the true path to remission, all you have to do is be pure enough to what you eat and anyone can achieve this. That processed food and meds are evil.

Corner #2: There's those who listen to their gasteroenteroligist and take pharmaceuticals based on the established medication ladder.

Bell ding, and the fight begins! I tire of this silly back and forth between those two factions, heard that song countless times and nobody convinces the other that they're right.

Whatever works for you is fantastic, flares suck and nobody likes suffering. So, do what works for you. The preaching will not change any minds though *eye roll*.

Just watch it folks. We all love a good debate, but when it gets nasty, mean and turns to attacks then threads get locked.
Posted 11/12/2019 9:24 PM (GMT 0)
I don't know anyone who believes “that diet modification and alternatives are the true path to remission, all you have to do is be pure enough to what you eat and anyone can achieve this. That processed food and meds are evil.”

But I know some IBDers including myself, who believe in meds but we also believe that diet can lessen symptoms for some of us. Unfortunately I am allergic to meds but I do believe in them and recommend them to others, especially rectal meds.
Posted 11/13/2019 4:41 AM (GMT 0)

ambling said...
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.

I'm sorry I worded it incorrectly. I meant to say "man-made" chemicals. BVO is a chemical reaction that produces elements of Bromine in our food. I'm not trying to evoke an emotional response in people or have a debate, I was asking if anyone had noticed these as triggers. The idea is maybe it will help someone to identify a trigger and I am also personally trying to learn more. I've learned more from other people's experiences than anything and that's what this forum is for.
Posted 11/13/2019 10:07 AM (GMT 0)
That's fine HJ.

Yeah there's a lot of disgusting sounding chemical additives. And most of them seem to end up in highly processed foods. So it seems a good idea to avoid those where possible. (Unfortunately, a lot of inflamed gut people need to eat low fiber, low residue foods, at least for a while.)

BVO doesn't lead to brominism (excess bromine) unless you drink about 4 liters a day of something like BVO containing soft drink, for quite some time smile. And even then, brominism is not linked to UC. It has rather an interesting neurological effect though. It hyperpolarizes neurons, creating a sedative like effect. But it's extremely unlikely to trigger UC symptoms, even in large doses. Most companies are phasing it out thankfully.

Wish you good luck figuring out what works for you. Each person reacts so individually to this complex illness.
Posted 11/14/2019 2:16 AM (GMT 0)
That's what is so frustrating. They put additives in a lot of the things that I thought were supposed to be making me better like Ensure or Coconut Milk.

Another thought crossed my mind. I'm no biochemist but if Carageenan processed with acid creates poligeenan (degraded carageenan) which has been proven to be bad for us then what happens to carageenan when it hits our stomach acid?
Posted 11/14/2019 4:28 AM (GMT 0)
Some people do well with Ensure. It is very easily digested and gives quick nutrition to people who are struggling to eat. Others don't like it at all! When you are desperate to get calories, sometimes you take whatever you can tolerate. Otherwise you can eat whatever suits you.

There is much confusion about poligeenan.
PGN was often incorrectly called “degraded carrageenan” (d-CGN). But that is not at all correct.
PGN is not produced biologically. It is produced in the lab by subjecting CGN to very highly acidic conditions (ph around 1), and >80°C for several hours. These very harsh conditions do not exist in the stomach or intestinal tract of animals or humans.
So don't worry about PGN. There is no way it can be produced inside humans or animals.
(Yeah I'm a chemical engineer lol)
There is also a lot of confusion over CGN, but I won't go into that ;).
Posted 11/15/2019 6:19 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the clarification.

I'm familiar with the confusion between the terms. I think I mentioned it could be one reason businesses use degraded carageenan thinking that it's organic when it isn't etc. (or they know and don't care)

Regardless, I'm avoiding it altogether.
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