Regarding carrageenan

Marus

Hi !
What do you know about carrageenan ? How safe it is ? Is there a safe dose ? I start taking some algae Omega 3 supplements, and the softgel capsule contain 60 mg carrageenan. I take one at 48 hours. Should I worry ?

Someone who bought this product commented on the manufacturer's website, saying: "Carrageenan has been found to cause inflammation of the gut, altering microbiota, and was found to be a triggering factor of inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn Disease".
The manufacturer replyed: "Concerning the carrageen we use. It is a polysaccharide derived from seaweed (Irish moss.) It is used as a thickening agent for the softgel capsules. It is a versatile fiber used in a variety of foods and dietary supplements. We use a carrageen extract for our plant based capsule (not for the oil). Currently this is the only ingredient that makes it possible to produce a vegan soft gel capsule. The shell of the capsule contains about 60 milligrams of carrageenan. Without it the capsule would be too hard. If you prefer not to take carrageen, you can also cut our capsules open and mix the oil with your food."

Do you think it's a good idea to cut the capsule and take only the oil inside ?

Susan_RD_101

@Marus

A tricky one to answer... This additive is known to induce gastrointestinal inflammation in animal models, which doesn't necessarily mean that it will do the same in humans (as a comparison, remember that chocolate kills dogs but is safe for human consumption).

Research speculates that it could induce inflammation in the gut, if combined with other factors. (See this review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28507982). Ultimately, we need more rigorous studies before we draw a conclusion. If you're open to it, squeezing the oil out can be a good option.

Kind regards,

Harv

Take care with carrageenan... This stuff gave me difficulty breathing and migraine. It was probably WAY more though than your gelcap. Source was a non dairy creamer where they use carrageenan and other stabilizers to thicken. In Canada it’s in non organic cream & lots of less expensive ice cream. I heard carrageenan is highly processed. Not a professional, but this stuff messed up my life for many miserable months b4 I figured it out. Good luck :)

annc

I finally figured out that all the gums and thickeners were causing my IC (painful bladder) to flare. I use regular dairy instead of any of the alternative milk because of this. However, if I had one or two capsules a day it might be fine. I'd had to carefully try it out.

HiddenWitch

This stuff gave me difficulty breathing and migraine. It was probably WAY more though than your gelcap. Source was a non dairy creamer where they use carrageenan and other stabilizers to thicken. In Canada it’s in non organic cream & lots of less expensive ice cream.