If you’re dealing with digestive distress, these are some common gut irritants you should avoid:
– Alcohol
– Caffeine
– Sodas, diet sodas, pasteurized juice drinks, energy drinks
– “Sugar-free” products with polyols
– Gummy additives: guar, arabic, carageenan
Carageenan is usually found in nut milks you would get from the store so that’s why its important to really read ingredients of products, even if you’re shopping at a health food store. It acts like a thickening agent for the milks. Although carrageenan is an extract of Irish Moss, it has no health benefits. On the contrary, research studies link it to malignant tumors and stomach issues. It causes inflammation in the intestinal lining and impairs insulin action, which can lead to diabetes.
Avoid carrageenan by buying the Califia Farms brand almond milk or making your nut milks at home from scratch. Here is a recipe you can try today.
And, you don’t need caffeine either. Here are some healthier sources to give you the energy you are looking for:
- Juice Shots + Elixirs
For juices that pack an antioxidant punch, always add blue and red berries and green vegetables – and nothing beats the boost we get from natural ingredients like spirulina, echinacea, and wheatgrass.
- Water Works
Dehydration can actually cause brain cell loss. A good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in oz of water.
- Green Your Tea
Green tea slows the build-up of plaque in brains from amyloid deposits and also prevents strokes. Sipping good old classic green tea will always leave you feeling alert and energized.
SO Delicious states that some of their products contain carrageenan, a thickening agent that is extracted from seaweed. All of the carrageenan they use is undegraded or nondegraded which has been proven to not cause any adverse health effects. Would you say that this carrageenan additive is ok?
You promote drinking green tea but discourage caffeine. Green tea has caffeine in it.
Good point on the green tea but I would say it’s ok because it has less than a 1/4 of the caffeine in coffee. Another alternative is yerba mate, which has mateine so it has the energy inducing benefit without the crash of caffeine.
All carrageenan is an extract of the seaweed, Irish Moss. Both undegraded and degraded forms are harmful. Carrageenan is not digestible and permeates the intestinal lining leading to leaky gut issues. You can read more about the studies here http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401181/Is-Carrageenan-Safe.html.