https://presse.inserm.fr/en/la-consommation-de-certains-additifs-alimentaires-emulsifiants-serait-associee-a-un-risque-accru-de-cancers/68077/
French study (n=92,000 adults - avg follow-up of 7Y) found that certain food additive emulsifiers (E471 for men and E407, E407a for women) may increase the risk of cancer, up to 46% higher risk of prostate cancer
| Code | Name | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| E407 | Carrageenan (thickener) (stabiliser) (gelling agent) | emulsifier |
| E407a | Processed eucheuma seaweed (thickener) (stabiliser) (gelling agent) | emulsifier |
| E471 | Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (glyceryl monostearate, glyceryl distearate) | emulsifier |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_number#E400%E2%80%93E499
This is not the first time I've read of carrageenan being (potentially) harmful. The others are news to me.
E471 is typically found in fatty foodstuffs like margarine, E407 in ice cream, chocolate milk (full of sugar), custards/pies and puddings.
Wake me up when they can control for other variables.
Exactly, also, maybe those people who consume unhealthy foods with these emulsifiers don't live healthy lifestyles to begin with?
Yeah it's difficult to tell if it's just the shit they're eating or the specific chemicals inside it.
Again, the old adages to eat real foods, and only ingredients that your grandmother would have cooked with, ring true.
I'm reminded that back in the 1940s, an estimated 16% of adults carried trichinellosis. Grandma had worms, but she didn't eat natural products derived from seaweed!
My grandmother would not touch Indian or Chinese food. She would never buy or cook with hot peppers, that's for sure. And she lived to be an old age. So I think that's all you need to know to adopt a bland diet right now (before it is too late).
I jest, of course, but some people today do in all seriousness rally against pasteurization. Just because people used to do it one way back in the age of short lifespans doesn't mean you'll live longer doing the same today. As we learn more, it makes sense to update the way we live, but we need to follow the science. It shouldn't be based on quippy proverbs and unnecessary reverence for the old ways.
The point is that natural food ingredients > processed, mystery ingredients for health (as a general rule).
I didn't say it was a rule or commandment. The point is that natural food ingredients > processed, mystery ingredients for health (as a general rule, not always).
So, more red meat, lard, bacon fat, Jello salad with vegetables, cranberry sauce with orange rind and walnuts, and black coffee?
Don't forget the squirrel, and your comment was really light on the lard. Add lard 7 more times. Or was that just our hand me down handwritten cookbook?
Seaweed is looking super sus atm
Not seaweed in general, but "Processed eucheuma seaweed (thickener) (stabiliser) (gelling agent) emulsifier"
But yeah, probably want to cut down on red meat and jello. The rest of that salad sounds pretty good though.
Lime Jello, shredded carrots and cabbage, diced celery, and walnuts. Every holiday as a kid I was so stoked for Jello, but then ... Oh God, it was ruined. When it was served to me I tried sucking the Jello off the veggies and spit out the veggies strategically hiding them, but that celery flavor ruined everything.
Pretty much, perhaps with the exception of bacon fat. And I say this as someone who is mostly vegan. The point is that natural food ingredients > processed, mystery ingredients for health (as a general rule).
My grandmother ate raw ground beef and undiluted condensed Campbell's chicken noodle soup, unless it was a special occasion. She also chain smoked indoors and was never without a 7 and 7 in her hand. She lived to 97.
There are a lot of bodies that can't accept the natural option. The easiest one that comes to mind is milk. Diabetes is another condition that blows a hole in this way of thinking, unless you want an extreme low carb diet. No one wants that. So you look for alternatives.
I didn’t say it was a rule or commandment. The point is that natural food ingredients > processed, mystery ingredients for health (as a general rule, not always).
Also, an extreme low carb diet is not necessary to avoid diabetes, for most people.
Except that completely leaves me out. I'm not talking about commandments either. I'm talking about being born with diabetes. What may be good for most doesn't hold water for all. How do you think statements that essentially say eating natural is the only way to go make people who can't eat the natural thing feel? Good for most people, but I hate statements like this. Been hearing them my whole life. Must be nice.
I'm sorry to hear that. I recognize that any general statements meant for a "majority" audience can appear to be insensitive to those outside that "majority". That was not my intention and I regret that it appeared to be so.
Processed eucheuma seaweed (thickener) (stabiliser) (gelling agent) emulsifier
Note it doesn't just say seaweed in general, but "Processed eucheuma seaweed (thickener) (stabiliser) (gelling agent) emulsifier"
Processed with alkalai and possibly alcohols.
According to secondary source Wikipedia, "Gelatinous extracts of the Chondrus crispus seaweed have been used as food additives since approximately the fifteenth century." I'm sure they used different processes than modern industry, but just because a natural chemical is gelatinous doesn't make it bad.
Grandma made her carrageenan the old-fashioned way!
@themusicman @xapr Yup, that's mostly how we shop. I'm vegan and my wife is vegetarian, so fruits, veggies, legumes/nuts/seeds from the bulk section, dairy and tofu from the fridge sectioo. Some of the 'safe' inner-aisle foods are pasta (we get legume pasta), canned tomato (we get the ones without salt), artichoke hearts, and that's pretty much it (oh, I guess silken tofu is in an inner aisle as well).
It was never true and both were originally said by Michael Pollan, an incredibly privileged white man.
For the record, my maternal grandmother heavily utilized canned and processed foods in her cooking. Her mother did the same and all six of her sons died from heart disease in their forties, fifties, and sixties.
My paternal grandmother was similar to my maternal grandmother. Her mother was incredibly poor, so she relied heavily on processed meats and wheat products. All seventeen of her children developed type 2 diabetes, yes ALL of them, the complications of which killed my grandmother and at least three of her siblings. Remember that it was commonly taught that sugar gave you energy and was healthy for you! My nonna and bisnonna loved white bread and sugar in their sauce and it killed them.
It only rings true if you never question its wisdom.
Point taken, but the thing about adages is that they are generally truthful, simple guidelines, not 100% fail-proof rules. The point is that we should eat real, natural foods, not ultra-processed "products".
I'm sorry to hear of what happened to your family members though, that's truly regrettable! Sorry for your loss.
The Yuka phone app is pretty good at identifying toxic ingredients. Good for making a better if not perfect choice.