I really wish I wasn’t writing this post right now. The information I am about to share with you will likely make you pretty angry and it should. Do you consume any of these brands in the picture below (Silk, Starbucks, So Delicious, Horizon, Zico, Blue Diamond, Pacific, Carnation and Tempt)? My guess is that you probably do.
A few days ago, the Cornucopia Institute released a Video by it’s co-founder and Senior Farm Analyst, Mark Kastel and a full PDF Report that shares some very startling practices between the USDA and the NOSA “National Organic Standards Board”- the agency that regulates organic food. This report explains the details behind several allegations of corporate corruption that has allowed several agribusinesses to use chemicals in organic products without sufficient regulatory oversight.
A Carcinogen Hiding In Organic Dairy & Dairy Substitutes
One of the findings has to do with a carcinogenic ingredient all these products have in common, a substance derived from red algae called carrageenan. Carrageenan can be found in most milk substitute products, infant formula, deli meats, cottage cheese and some flavored coconut waters regardless if the product is certified organic by the USDA. I know so many people who get soy lattes from Starbucks to avoid having to consume conventional milk products, so I thought it would be pertinent to include them here on the list below, since they and many other coffee shops use soy milk that contains carrageenan.
I’ve had my doubts about carrageenan for a long time – it started in 2011 when my cousin from Ohio sent me a Facebook message asking about whether or not it was ok to feed store bought almond milk that contained this additive to her toddler aged son. Since I didn’t have all the facts, I erred on the side of caution and suggested she make her own almond milk from scratch only.
Now, there are sound reasons and a plethora of studies that the Cornucopia Institute has summarized that has made all my hunches come true. Their report detailed out several specific studies that showed that food safe and approved “undegraded” carrageenan is containaminated with the non-approved degraded carrageenan. Furthermore, when you ingest the undegraded version, it actually starts to degrade in the gastrointestinal tract and in the liver and turn into a carcinogen, resulting in a serious inflammatory agent that also can cause intestinal abnormalities. Because of this reason and other studies conducted the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and the National Research Council of the United States both have determined that carrageenan is a carcinogen – a substance that causes cancer.
How In The World Can A Carcinogen Be Allowed Into Organic Food?
This is where the Cornucopia Institute does a extraordinary job showing you the timeline of events, lack of regulation, and down right shadiness that all led up to carrageenan’s approval. They show you the series of situations where companies that profit from these ingredients were some of the only reviewers involved in the decision. It’s easy to understand how this can happen, now that organic food companies are being bought by major conventional food companies left and right. Below is a chart taken from the Cornucopia website that shows the relationship big food now has on several smaller organic companies. Please note – This was taken in 2009 and is even worse now, for instance Kraft has since bought Cadbury and so on.
Every time I mention a particular ingredient and it’s harm, I come across opponents to my line of arguments, saying that I am being alarmist or using scare tactics. They love to point out that it’s “food grade” or is safe in “low doses.” Looking at the findings and report on carrageenan, you can see these arguments can be seriously flawed. It reminds me of the times where I discussed the ingredient proplyene glycol in Panera Bread’s salad dressings and TBHQ in Chick-fil-A’s sandwiches. Just like the NOSB has accomplished with the USDA, the FDA also has continuously approved countless chemicals to be added to our food in a low doses. Does anyone really know what the cumulative effect of these additives is over time? Our soil is already depleted of several vitamins and minerals and the nutrition content of our food is declining every single year. How can we afford to put these chemicals in our body? Should we let the FDA tell us what percentage is safe? Or should we use our common sense and decide as a collective group not to consume these additives and chemicals?
I don’t know about you but I feel personally duped by carrageenan. I assumed that once a product was certified organic like Pacific Almond Milk, that it was perfectly safe to drink. I’ve even recommended this product and some others that contained carrageenan here on this site. I’ve since cleaned up my ingredient lists on my recipes and made sure my pantry staples list does not contain any products with this additive in it. We are all learning here together and I hope you forgive me for ever assuming this substance was safe to consume, because it is clearly not.
What You Can Do Instead
Milk substitutes are wildly popular and something many people consume almost everyday, so it’s important that if you were relying on one of these products above to start making your own milk or find another substitute. It’s so easy to make your own.
Check out my books The Food Babe Way and Food Babe Kitchen for nut milk recipes and strategies you can use to break free from the toxins in your food! My recipe for cashew milk takes 1 min and super easy to make!
Even though Cornucopia estimates they are close to 300 chemical additives approved to be used in organics, there are still thousands approved for conventional products. The facts presented here should not discourage you to eat less organic food, but to encourage you to fight for its regulations and ultimate safeguard. I urge you to watch the Video by Mark Kastel and read the Full Cornucopia Report when you have time and to spread this information to as many people as possible – Please feel free to share this post on Facebook, Twitter and your own blogs.
In The Best of Health Always,
Food Babe
P.S. Check out Cornucopia’s new shopping guide to find out which products do and do not contain carrageenan (Tree of Life, 365 Brand Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s (cold section) are a few).
8/19/2014 Update: In response to this blog post and your activism, Whitewave committed to remove carrageenan in 2015, but has not been completed yet.
Hi….just wondering if you know anything about this??
http://vtdigger.org/2009/12/02/your-organic-food-made-in-china-part-1-why-you-should-give-a-hill-of-beans/
Is there a way to blow up the image map? I can’t read the detail :/
Full size AND updated to 2013: http://www.cornucopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/Updated-Organic2013.pdf
Thanks!
Just found this link that lists brands that have it and which don’t – not sure if it’s been posted before somewhere in the 200+ comments, but figured I’d share!
http://www.cornucopia.org/shopping-guide-to-avoiding-organic-foods-with-carrageenan/
Thanks for posting!
Aldi’s brand of almond milk ‘Friendly Farms’ does not contain carrageenan! I just checked and I’m really excited. It’s not organic though.
Whole Foods brand refrigerated almond milk doesn’t have carrageenan in it.
As of March 2014, Aldi’s brand “Friendly Farms” has carrageenan. Not so friendly anymore….
I just looked at the Friendly Farms Almond milk that we purchased and it does not have Carrageenan or any of it’s derivatives listed…is there another name that Carrageenan goes by?
To TJ. Hi TJ, I was just at my local Aldi’s and I rechecked both the unsweetened original 35 cal, and the all-natural original 60 cal Happy Farms almond milk. I compared an old carton I had and the more recent carton and it has changed. There is the additive carrageenan in the most recent carton. The product codes are 44921 and 40263. Please check before buying. They may not be in your area yet. 🙂
I have noticed something.. If a particular “healthy” “organic” brand is adopted into a mainstream food store then they 100% of the time fall into the list of companies who have Sold-Out. If they are not picky about who endorses them then they are not picky about the ingredients. You still need to be aware of brands soely found in health food stores but if you see them at Jewel, Target, Walmart etc etc then know you are probably eating a GMO toxic product.
Hi, I am having a really hard time finding heavy whipping cream without carrageenan in it. I went to “nicer” grocery stores and they had were items with carrageenan in it. I finally found just regular good old heavy whipping cream at Albertson, which I don’t particularly like to shop at. I am sure the trade off was heavy whipping cream laced with rBST. Doomed if you do, and doomed if you don’t.
Why do we need to use carrageenan in heavy whipping cream? What is wrong with just milk and cream?
Strauss brand has an organic whipping cream without it. That’s what I use in my coffee. They are in CA.
Thank you! I have to check and see if they are up in Seattle too. There is probably other local companies that I can look up and support.
FnA (sorry)! Carageenen in #BlueDiamonAlmond Breeze! Yet another product to delete from our list. Love your info. I thought I was enlightened, but you continue to open my eyes to so much more.
Full size Cornucopia chart updated to 2013: http://www.cornucopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/Updated-Organic2013.pdf
The link to show how to make the almond milk sends you to the perfect parfait recipe. Where can I find the link on how to make almond milk? Thanks!
Carrageenans or carrageenins (/ˌkærəˈɡiːnənz/ KARR-ə-GHEE-nənz) are a family of linear sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from red edible seaweeds. They are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. Their main application is in dairy and meat products, due to their strong binding to food proteins. There are three main varieties of carrageenan, which differ in their degree of sulfation. Kappa-carrageenan has one sulfate per disaccharide. Iota-carrageenan has two sulfates per disaccharide. Lambda carrageenan has three sulfates per disaccharide.
Gelatinous extracts of the Chondrus crispus (Irish Moss) seaweed have been used as food additives for hundreds of years.[1] Carrageenan is a vegetarian and vegan alternative to gelatin in some applications, although it cannot replace gelatin in confectionery like jelly babies.
Carrageenan has undergone many long-term dietary studies under defined regulatory conditions en route to its current global regulatory status. While some indicate that carrageenan safely passes through rat GI tracts without adverse effect when it is a dietary ingredient,[2] other animal dietary studies have observed colitis-like disease and tumor promotion.[3] In the late 2000s, some scientists raised concerns about whether the amount of “degraded carrageenan” (poligeenan) in food-grade carrageenan may lead to health problems, leading to a debate in the research literature.[4] It is yet to be determined whether such observations are pertinent to dietary safety considerations.
Europe prohibits the use of carrageenan in infant formula, organic or otherwise, for precautionary reasons,[5] but allows it otherwise. In the U.S., it’s allowed in organic foods, including juices, chocolate milk, and organic infant formula, as well as other types of foods.
I was wondering if it is easy (or even possible) to make your own coconut milk at home, in order to avoid the carageenan?
Also in three Applegate Organic Farms – Organic Natural Meats (Natural Honey & Maple Turkey Breast, Natural Herb Turkey Breast and Natural Chicken Pot Pie)
Please, please date future writings…I found no date but had to resort to comments to figure out what year the page contents were created. Thanks bunches–very helpful information you provide to us!
Can’t agree more with Helga – it is incredibly difficult to find how relevant the information/investigations are as nothing is date. I am so grateful to have found Food Babe; thank-you for all you do – you’re changing the health of generations and making big corporations take notice like never before!
Both your almond milk recipe and pantry basic links are no longer active – hoping you may have new links to help us out?
I 2nd that… was hoping to see the almond milk video but the link went to a porridge recipe. I’ve found the pistachio milk recipe but still interested in seeing the almond milk video as well as that recipe.
Thanks!
I consumed Silk (with Carageenan) when pregnant with my first child. Some months later I started having stomach issues, so much acid and I thought I had a hiatal hernia. I removed all “acid” foods from my diet but had a very healthy diet so it was a bit hard. Nothing improved, no doctor could tell the reason or resolve my problems. My husband then suggested I eliminated the Soy Milk which I was drinking like water (it was so delicous!). My problems dissapeared magically and then I read over the internet about the carageenan. It is in many products, many people substitutes milk with Soy, Rice or any other type of milk with carageenan (most of these substitutes have it). It is a pity, they use as a thickener agent but causes more issues than consuming regular milk. Thanks for this article, I did not know that in addition to cause digestive issues it is carcinogen!!
Thank you for all your information! It’s so amazing reading the list and seeing that some of these companies I’ve grown to trust use this in some of their products.. How can I feel at ease? If im looking at a list side by side like that and see Annie’s uses it in some stuff but not others, why should I continue to buy their products? Some of these felt like they were my only saving grace!
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What do you know about Titanium Dioxide?
It’s in my organic coconut creamer. 🙁
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THIS (CARAGEENAN) IS ALSO IN BEN AND JERRY’S ICE CREAMS.
My daughter sent this article to me and let me say I am completely bummed about this news. Thank you for getting the word out about this insidious ingredient that was originally presented as a “natural” ingredient~seaweed. I for one am voting with my dollars and not buying any products that contain Carrageenan.
After posting on the Facebook sites of companies that I have purchased from to respectfully let them know of my decision, I’ve received speedy and Positive responses from Pacific Foods as well as So Delicious.
Noe Response from Blue Diamond Almond Breeze.
Actually silk almond milk is non GMO, even though it’s not organic. It doesn’t have carragean though.
There’s obviously some big money to be made with the sale and distribution of Carrageenan to all of these dozens upon dozens of companies just as it is with the use of soy ingredients. It is in practically every brand of ice cream out the with the exception of a very few. I’m sure in small doses some ingredients can be just fine for most people but since when has a carcinogen ever been fine for digestion?
No wonder so many people have been and are suffering from all of these horrific bowel, digestion and bladder issues and they most likely have no idea or haven’t made the connection from their their problems stem from. Since Carrageenan is in so many different products, it can be difficult to avoid and therefore difficult to ingest in moderation unless caution/awareness is taken when shopping or eating out at a restaurant.
For myself, I have and still sometimes suffer in the worst possible way due to Carrageenan. I ended up on an extreme elimination diet for over a year now and any time I ever dare ingest anything that contains Carrageenan, I experience the worst digestion and bladder issues and Ieven lose sometimes as much as four days of sleep in a row due to the after effects. Back in my youth, I do not recall this much Carageenan in our foods. My case is extreme and I cannot afford to even brush my teeth with that ingredient because I just don’t want to take the risk.
After discovering that laboratories use red seaweed to produce an inflammatory reaction in lab rats, I cannot understand why there would be a need for this in our food. Here’s one article explaining for example: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1242073/ Also, you can just search Carraggeenan and Lab Rats, there’s plenty of information there to read.
Just in case, the alternative names for Carrageenan include the following:
Algas, Algue Rouge Marine, Carrageen, Carrageenin, Carragenano, Carragenina, Carragheenan, Carraghénane, Carraghénine, Chondrus crispus, Chondrus Extract, Euchema species, Extrait de Mousse d’Irlande, Galgarine, Gigartina chamissoi, Gigartina mamillosa, Gigartina skottsbergii, Irish Moss Algae, Irish Moss Extract, Mousse d’Irlande, Red Marine Algae.
I have the same problem finding foods without soy, it causes a skin reaction for me. I think the soy farms must be owned by the government, since it is used in so many things now. Why we need it is beyond me?
What about high fructose corn syrup it’s in everything
What about Gellan gum?
I’ve even noticed many companies putting high fructose syrup in honey which is so odd because honey is already so sweet as it is. I guess to make more profit, they halve the amount of honey and add the syrup to save themselves a buck while the people who ingest it without reading the label get the shaft. When I buy honey, I want real honey. If I wanted high fructose corn syrup which I don’t, well that’s not too hard to find, unfortunately.
Talking about Carrageenan, I have heard that Cottonii Seaweed (it’s called sea bird nest) is encouraged to consume widely in some parts of Asia as it is rich in enzyme nutrients, minerals, calcium, iron, multitude fibers and jelly form proteins. It is especially good for skin care, vegetarian diet and daily fiber diet intake. It was said that it’s the perfect health food for the children, pregnant women, menopausal woman, the elderly, vegetarian and all human-being. My mom encouraged me to consume it instead of taking collagen pills. However, I just found out that it is high in Carrageenan. Should I concern about continue consuming it? Thanks!
Thank you for all of the great info. you compile here!! I have a quick question though. I actually wrote and asked one of the organic local dairy’s here in Seattle (Smith Bros. Farms) to consider removing carrageenan from their chocolate milk yesterday. I also linked them to an article explaining the same info. on carrageenan you have placed here. This is their response to me from their FB account below. I was hoping for some more insight to speak to them again, in order to refute their ideas. Feedback would be great! Thanks again.
“Hi Tiffany, thank you for bringing this to our attention. Carrageenan is an approved additive that comes from seaweed that enables the cocoa to “mix” with the milk and not simply fall to the bottom. It is when it is moved into a processed state that it comes into question, but we use it in it’s natural state. Please let us know if you have any further questions!”
I don’t see where y0u indicate what Carrageenan is used for?
what?? I give up already.
As I was reading this I just kept hoping that my favorite almond milk, 365 Whole Foods would not contain Carrageenan. Beyond thrilled that it doesn’t!
I just checked ingredient lists on Silk vanilla soy milk, as well as 365 organic almond milk, and that carcinogen is not listed; however, it is listed on 365 organic soy milk. So, is it an ingredient if not listed? Furious about this knowing violation, as soy milk is all I’ve been giving my youngest!
Thank you for posting…we will switch from Pacific almond milk to 365!
Next thing yall paranoids are gonna eliminate is water!! Geez what is wrong with yall. Every product contains something unless you grow it or make it yourselves. Back in the eighties we didn’t hear of all this crap. And I’m apparently still healthier than most people on this post lol.
I agree and disagree with you. I agree that Food Babe and her followers have a tendency to be alarmist sheep. I agree that this may be one of those cases. But your support of that idea by claiming you ate all the junk of the 80’s and are still perfectly healthy, is extremely flawed. There is a very real problem in our food industry and it started in the 80’s. It brings me joy to know that you are so healthy. You apparently escaped unscathed. Many of us were not so lucky. I think it is a very good thing that people are becoming more aware of what they put in their bodies. Are some people going overboard with it? Maybe. But I would never tell anyone they are wrong to be skeptical in general of what the FDA tells us is safe.
I was so disturbed to see this carcinogen in the milk served to our kids at school each and every day. Please help change that. How can it be okay to serve that to our children #disturbing
Is there any scientific research on the excretion of this additive? Or, acute and chronic toxicity levels?
In addition, much like any vitamin or necessary nutrient, there is a dose limit. Water alone can poison you in large quantities as well as many fat soluble vitamins. Soy naturally contains significant levels of estrogen and scientific evidence links such levels to breast cancer among other types. So, soy milk technically isn’t a safe dairy substitute either. It seems we want to live in a bubble. We are blessed to be able to choose what we eat. In many countries, like Haiti, the people are forced to eat mid pies for lack of food. Like wit everything, there is a delicate balance.
Although I find many of Food Babe’s articles informative and enlightening, I do not agree with this one in the least. Carrageenan is a naturally derived product, not synthesized in a food chemistry lab. Moreover, it is only *possibly* carcinogenic, but “No component of this product present at levels greater than or equal to 0.1% is identified as a carcinogen or potential carcinogen by ACGIH.” (top of Sigma-Aldrich MSDS for carrageenan page 5—linked below). And before anyone comments about LD-50s or the fact that cancer was generated in studies using rats, keep in mind the dosages are far greater than what is in your food to intentionally generate results—-kind of like Mythbusters exaggerating the parameters to see what it takes to MAKE the myth work.
http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/MSDS/MSDS/DisplayMSDSPage.do?country=US&language=en&productNumber=C1867&brand=SIGMA&PageToGoToURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sigmaaldrich.com%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch%3Finterface%3DAll%26term%3DCarrageenan%26N%3D0%26mode%3Dmatch%2520partialmax%26focus%3Dproduct%26lang%3Den%26region%3DUS
As a point of comparison, ethanol is also a carcinogen……..let’s all have an alarmist reaction to start petitions geared towards having this carcinogenic additive from beer, wine, and spirits.
http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/MSDS/MSDS/DisplayMSDSPage.do?country=US&language=en&productNumber=493546&brand=SIAL&PageToGoToURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sigmaaldrich.com%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch%3Finterface%3DAll%26term%3Dethanol%26N%3D0%26focus%3Dproduct%26lang%3Den%26region%3DUS
I was so upset to learn that Rice Dream brand Rice Milk, that I served many years ago to my young children, contains carrageenan . I thought I was making such a healthy choice and am beside myself.
Darn, I also use Rice Milk! Somebody was LOL at you’ll for alarmist at all the additives and ‘back in the 80s we ate these things’, and I’m thinking these chemical additives weren’t in our foods back in the 80s. Whatever….Food Babe, just a little comment: Please use your grammar checker on your posts, to catch the misuse of ‘it’s’ vs ‘its’. Thanks!
Marsha, perhaps these people that were LOLing, should be less judgemental of what others do and feel concerned about?? Also, criticism of others grammatical errors is beyond prideful in my opinion, why? Because a sentence you used “somebody was LOL at you’ll for alarmist at all the additives” makes no sense, check the plank in your eye first??? And please don’t critique my use and lack of use if proper grammar as I don’t claim to be a scholar in this area!
Sorry Pam that I offended you. I’m not trying to be a pro (although you DO want me on your grammar, punctuation and spelling team), but Food Babe is by way of her publishing a blog that’s widely seen. So for that reason, I am suggesting a spell check etc., before posting. I wasn’t LOL at anybody, just replying with my opinion, which last time I checked I was allowed, to somebody else’s remarks. Don’t worry, I won’t be back. On another note, I’m happy that my Rice Dream organic rice milk doesn’t have that icky ingredient in it.
As a point of comparison, ethanol is also a carcinogen—-so, let’s all have an irrational response to this insidious carcinogenic additive by petitioning to have it removed from beer, wine, and spirits!
http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/MSDS/MSDS/DisplayMSDSPage.do?country=US&language=en&productNumber=493546&brand=SIAL&PageToGoToURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sigmaaldrich.com%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch%3Finterface%3DAll%26term%3Dethanol%26N%3D0%26focus%3Dproduct%26lang%3Den%26region%3DUS
Are cosmetic products made from Irish Moss (Chondrus crispus) from which carrageen is made considered carcinogenic as well?
On the new updated food list I did not see plain milk ie kroger simple truth organic 2%milk, listed as containing carageenan. I saw the chocolate version does but the almond did not. Do you have anymore information on that specific product?
I am an organic farmer and environmental science teacher. I do not personally have time to review the research this article is based on, but assumin g it’s correct, I will make a couple comments.
First, I’m not surprised that these kinds of additives are allowed, I was quite active in commenting to USDA, both individually and in concert with OEFFA, the organic farmers organization here in OH, when the regulations were being finalized. It was clear that USDA was going to allow a whole range of non-organic additives that would make processed organic foods possible. The rules wound up being written to allow this as long as the product met certain percentage limits for organic ingredient content.
That gets to my basic point, which is that as a rule, you should be leery of ANY processed food, whether it is certified or not. Regardless of the health claims, it is processed foods, as a class, that are responsible for almost all of the chronic health issues that are common today. Even organic products of this sort are an attempt, in many ways, to ‘legitimize’ the standard Western diet. I sell all of my products as whole, fresh food, it is the only way I feel sure that my customers are getting truly nutritious, safe food. If you haven’t already, you should definitely read Michael Pollan’s book “In Defense of Food”. It is probably the best discussion out there of why the processed foods of the standard Western diet, regardless of how they are made, are the single most significant factor responsible for our poor health.
Completely agree with Gardner’s post above. Staying away from less processed ingrediants is the key and making your own foods. Make your own almond milk. My family drinks raw milk since we have no dairy issues and I know the farmer I get my milk from. Eat more whole, real foods.
Haven’t bought any of those products for same reason. Crying shame– all of it. It’s in most, if not all, Greek yogurts, too. Can’t find a “clean” one! Thanks for great, never ending, important work!
My favorite toothpaste which I’d been using for years, Nature’s Gate Flouride-free,
Creme de Anise, also has carrageenan and many other toothpastes do, too, as I discovered looking for substitutes. One has to look at every single label these days. I did call the company to tell them I wouldn’t be buying this anymore.
From the So Delicious Website —
http://sodeliciousdairyfree.com/blog/just-what-is-carrageenan/
any thoughts?
FoodBabe….I am so confused that my head is spinning! Between organic food and non-GMO food, we now have to be careful that carrageenan is not in the ingredient list!!!! There is just so many tosses and turns a person doesn’t know what to eat. In frustration, I just throw up my hands and eat!!!!!
I spend so much time in a grocery store between many stores trying to get what is good for you. Everyone just laughs at me. Of course, we have to look to see where our budget is on top of everything.
The other day, I went to two stores, bought many things at both and, at the end of the day, spent over $300.00. I would like to say that was for the month but of course it is not. Our total food budget is $400.00
Let’s not forget what kinds of food are we eating: plant based, vegetarian, vegan, paleo, etc.? Is there an easier way to do this?
Thanks,
Donna
Donna,
Since my family has moved to purchasing real food not manufactured foods and convenience items. Our food budget is down to $400 – $450/month. We get mostly organic (always for the fruits & veggies that are most prone to having pesticide problems), non-GMO, bulk (but that isn’t always the least expensive alternative – I found lentils & dry beans are cheaper in packages than bulk in my area). Yes we go to several stores also (BJ’s Club, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, etc.).
It can be done, but you do have to change how you eat. No packaged ‘treats’. As my daughter said the other day, we eat some junk, but at least we made it from scratch and know what is in it. We are healthier and we are spending about 1/4-1/3 what we used to on food.
Best, Deborah
PS: These changes helped us. Maybe they can help you or someone else.
-1st – using and sticking to a list is very helpful when working to keep costs down. -2nd – Next helpful is purchasing in large quantities when on sale or at wholesale clubs so I am not purchasing a small amount of everything every week. You do have to figure out storage, but once you put a system in place you are good.
-3rd – most helpful thing was to find some other ways to make things go further… like getting 3 meals out of each whole chicken I purchase. (Might need to research some new recipes that your family will like – remember they are just guidelines you can substitute ingredients and innovate.)
I too get so frustrated that I throw my hands up and eat. Ive been on this healthy journey for over a year now, and I have to say this was some great advice!! Thanks for the support, and telling us how you personally stay on track. Much love
Ugh… I’m so with you. Everything is bad for us that I just give up! I can only do so much without driving myself and family nuts.
I freed my 1year old tempt milk because he has a dairy allergy. He needs the fat and protein of either help milk or soy milk. Nut and rice Mills don’t have enough for brain development between she 1 and 2. He definitely has diarrhea issues. ….I guess it is from this. But what can I use as an alternative?
If you look at the fat content on say almond milk and the fat content of 2% or 3% milk, it’s very very close. Only a few percentages off. After 2, unless you’re breastfeeding, babies don’t NEED milk anymore – but they do need the fat. Adding lots of good oils, fatty foods like avocado and a milk substitute are more than enough. And soy is terribly bad for you.
Tiffany what you said is very educated and helpful to those who wanna take your advice!! Thanka for spreading the word.. much love
Sara,
Tree of Life brand almond milk does NOT have carragenan – I have switched & found it actually tastes better than the other brands too.
Also Whole Foods brand does not contain Carragenan either
please google type A2 milk. The BCM levels in type A1 milk from american cows (predominantly – Holstein) are penetrating the gut barrier of your child which is more permeable as an adult. possible alternative is to give either fat free or Jersey cow milk.
Some shops/farms do sell type A1 milk as well.
I see your challenge. What I hear from friends is that RAW goat milk is a very easily tolerated by children with milk allergy. Considering that goat milk is the closest to human breast milk- and its rich fat contents is so important to healthy brain development – it is work a try. – Some friends have fed their children some goat yogurt etc as well. – Best of luck with experimenting !
I agree with goat milk as well. But, when I researched cows milk alternatives they said using goats milk is closest to ours except the fat content is doubled or something like that so to dilute it with water equal parts. So anyone thinking of putting their infant on goats milk vs formula please research the best route of giving to your infant or toddler.