NOTMILK - Warning: Soymilk Can be Hazardous to Your Health

[Guest guest]

We have been receiving numerous inquiries concerning

soy safety. Articles by Sally Fallon, Dr. Mercola,

and Soyonlineservice.com report problems with soy

consumption. Are these soy critics correct? Absolutely,

but it's not the soy that causes the problem. It's a

commonly used additve called carrageenan, the same

substance sprayed on airplanes when they idle on tarmacs

during winter ice storms. You just do not want this

same horrible gel in your stomach.

 

Some folks can eat just about anything, even Vaseline

petroleum jelly. Some people might have no problem

drinking a tall glass of commercially prepared soymilk,

containing sugar, chocolate powder and carrageenan,

a Vaseline-like food additive. The Vaseline-like emulsifier

often produces gastric distress, and soymilk drinkers

erroneously conclude that they are " allergic " to soy.

 

Warning: Read labels. Do not consume carrageenan.

 

Carrageenan is a commonly used food additive that is

extracted from red seaweed by using powerful alkali

solvents. These solvents would remove the tissues

and skin from your hands as readily as would any acid.

 

Carrageenan is a thickening agent. It's the vegetarian

equivalent of casein, the same protein that is isolated

from milk and used to thicken foods. Casein is also

used to produce paints, and is the glue used to hold

a label to a bottle of beer.

 

IS CARRAGEENAN REALLY NATURAL?

 

Carrageenan is about as wholesome as monosodium glutamate

(MSG), which is extracted from rice, and can also be

considered natural. Aspartame (NutraPoison) is also natural,

as it is extracted from decayed plant matter that has been

underground for millions of years (oil). So too are many

other substances such as carrageenan that can also be

classified by FDA and USDA as wholesome and natural

food additives. Natural does not mean safe.

 

Carrageenan coats the insides of one's stomach,

like gooey honey or massage oil. Digestive problems often

ensue. Quite often, soy eaters or soymilk drinkers react

negatively to carrageenen, and blame their discomforting

stomachaches, headaches, and congestion on the soy.

 

High weight molecular carrageenans are considered to be safe,

and were given GRAS status (safe for human consumption) by

the FDA. Low weight carrageenans are considered to be

dangerous. Even the manufacturer of SILK admits this.

 

In order to get more information about carrageenan from

a scientist, I spoke with one of America carrageenan

experts, Joanne Tobacman, M.D. Dr. Tobacman teaches

clinical internal medicine at the University of Iowa

College of Medicine. I explained to Dr. Tobacman that

I rejected animal studies (we discussed valid concerns

about animal research, and why they never produce

reliable results for humans). I requested evidence of

human trials that might show carrageenan to be a

danger for human consumption.

 

Dr. Tobacman shared studies with me that demonstrate that

digestive enzymes and bacterial action convert high weight

carrageenans to dangerous low molecular weight carrageenans

and poligeenans in the human gut. These carrageenans

have been linked to various human cancers and digestive

disorders. Again, I remind you that Tobacman's evidence

and conclusions are based upon human tissue samples,

not animal studies.

 

I will cite additional information from four studies:

 

1) Filament Disassembly and Loss of Mammary Myoepithelial

Cells after Exposure to Carrageenan, Joanne Tobacman,

Cancer Research, 57, 2823-2826, July 15, 1997

 

2) Carrageenan-Induced Inclusions in Mammary Mycoepithelial

Cells, Joanne Tobacman, MD, and Katherine Walters, BS,

Cancer Detection and Prevention, 25(6): 520-526 (2001)

 

3) Consumption of Carrageenan and Other Water-soluble

Polymers Used as Food Additives and Incidence of

Mammary Carcinoma, J. K. Tobacman, R. B. Wallace, M. B.

Zimmerman, Medical Hypothesis (2001), 56(5), 589-598

 

4) Structural Studies on Carrageenan Derived Oligisaccharides,

Guangli Yu, Huashi Guan, Alexandra Ioanviciu, Sulthan

Sikkander, Charuwan Thanawiroon, Joanne Tobacman, Toshihiko

Toida, Robert Linhardt, Carbohydrate Research, 337 (2002),

433-440

 

In her 1997 publication (1), Tobacman studied the effect

of carrageenan on the growth of cultured human mammary

epithelial cells over a two week period. She found that

extremely low doses of carrageenan disrupted the internal

cellular architecture of healthy breast tissue, leading

her to conclude:

 

" The widely used food additive, carrageenan has

marked effects on the growth and characteristics

of human mammary myoepithelial cells in tissue

cultures at concentrations much less than those

frequently used in food products to improve

solubility. "

 

Tobacman continued her work by exposing low concentrations

of carrageenan for short intervals to human breast tissue

(2), and observed pathological alterations in cellular

membranes and intracellular tissues. Tobacman wrote:

 

" These changes included prominence of membrane-

associated vesicles that coalesced to form unusual

petal-like arrays...and development of stacked

rigid-appearing inclusions in the lysosomes that

arose from the membranes of the petal-like arrays

and from smaller, dense spherical bodies that

formed clumps. "

 

In reporting a historical perspective, Tobacman

revealed that carrageenan has been found to

destroy other human cells in tissue cultures,

including epithelial intestinal cells and

prostate cells. She concludes:

 

" The association between exposure to low

concentrations of carrageenan in tissue

culture and destruction of mammary

myoepithelial cells may be relevant to

the occurrance of invasive mammary

malignancy in vivo and provides another

approach to investigation of mammary

carcinoma. "

 

Tobacman's third paper (3) explored the increased

incidence of mammary carcinoma to the increased

consumption of stabilizers and additives such as

guar gum, pectin, xanthan, and carrageenan. While

no relationship between the either above named

additives and cancer was observed, carrageenan

showed a strong positive.

 

Although high molecular weight carrageenans are

considered to be safe, Tobacman demonstrates that

low molecular weight carrageenans are carcinogenic.

She writes:

 

" Acid hydrolysis (digestion) leads to shortening

of the carrageenan polymer to the degraded form,

poligeenan. It is not unreasonable to speculate

that normal gastric acid...may act upon ingested

carrageenan and convert some of which is ingested

to the lower molecular weight poligeenan during

the actual process of digestion. Also, some

intestinal bacteria possess the enzyme

carrageenase that degrades carrageenan. "

 

Tobacman's 2002 publication (4) proves her earlier

hypothesis. She writes:

 

" Mild-acid hydrolytic depolymerization of

carrageenan affords poligeenan, a mixture of

lower molecular weight polysaccharides and

oligosaccharide products. "

 

Tobacman is currently preparing and characterizing

low molecular weight poligeenans (carcinogenic)

that have been extracted from human digestion

modalities. Her yet-to-be published data suggest

that carrageenans are dangerous for human consumption.

 

My advice: Read labels. If there is carrageenan

in a product, select an alternative.

 

REFRIGERATED SOYMILKS

 

The largest selling soymilk in America is SILK.

Do I pick on the industry leader? Darned right I

do. SILK sets the standard. You deserve to know the

truth. Just for the record, if and when SILK changes

their formula they will become my hero. In my

opinion, SILK tastes better than any of the

commercially available soymilks. Unfortunately,

consumers sacrifice good health for good taste.

That is not a fair trade, particularly for

our children.

 

Robert Cohen

http://www.notmilk.com

 

 

~Janice~

Courage doesn't always roar.

Sometimes courage is the

little voice at the end

of the day that says...

" I'll try again tomorrow " .

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Wow. that is a really interesting report, Janice.

Thanks for sharing it here.

I don't drink soy milk by the glassful as I was never

one to drink cow milk that way either, but I do use it

in recipes and in my coffee. I am going to have to

read the brand labels I buy and make sure I avoid that

additive.

 

~ PT ~

 

My feeling is that there is nothing in life but refraining

from hurting others, and comforting those who are sad.

~Olive Schreiner, author

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~~~~~~>

, " ~Janice~ "

<serenity1@m...>

wrote:

> Are these soy critics correct? Absolutely,

> but it's not the soy that causes the problem. It's a

> commonly used additve called carrageenan,

>

> Some folks can eat just about anything, even Vaseline

> petroleum jelly. Some people might have no problem

> drinking a tall glass of commercially prepared soymilk,

> containing sugar, chocolate powder and carrageenan,

> a Vaseline-like food additive. The Vaseline-like emulsifier

> often produces gastric distress, and soymilk drinkers

> erroneously conclude that they are " allergic " to soy.

>

> Warning: Read labels. Do not consume carrageenan.