Carrageenan & Tobacman Again

[Guest guest]

Different story -- this one not from the rather disgusting and strident

www.notmilk.com, but notice it's citing the same single scientist,

Tobacman.

 

 

http://unisci.com/stories/20014/1009013.htm

 

 

 

Carrageenan May Cause Lesions In GI Tract, Or Cancer

Carrageenan is a water-soluble polymer, also known as a gum, that thickens

and improves the texture of foods such as pudding, ice cream, yogurt and

cottage cheese.

 

Derived from red seaweed, carrageenan also is used as a fat substitute in

processed meats and can be found in condensed milk and some soy milk

products.

 

Findings over the years in Europe and the United States suggest that

assumptions about the safety of carrageenan need to be reconsidered and

that carrageenan may need to be better regulated by the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA), said Joanne Tobacman, M.D., UI assistant professor

of clinical internal medicine.

 

" Evidence from animal models has demonstrated that degraded carrageenan

causes ulcerations and malignancies in the gastrointestinal tract, " said

Tobacman, who has conducted epidemiologic and laboratory research on

carrageenan.

 

She recently published an extensive review of 45 investigations on harmful

gastrointestinal effects of carrageenan in animal experiments. The article

was published in the October issue of Environmental Health Perspectives,

the journal of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences.

 

In 1972 the FDA determined there was sufficient evidence from animal

experiments to propose limiting the type of carrageenan that could be used

in food products. " Many authoritative sources thought that the proposal

actually became a regulation. However, it didn't, " Tobacman said.

 

In 1979 the FDA rescinded the proposal, yet at the same time they

indicated there would be a more comprehensive regulation in the future.

However, no restriction has since been proposed, so there is no

substantive regulation of carrageenan in food, Tobacman said.

 

" It's impossible to reconstruct the thinking that went on in the 1970s

about regulating carrageenan, " she said. " Apparently the FDA anticipated

establishing a more comprehensive regulation, but none has been

forthcoming. I find this discrepancy and the continued status of

carrageenan as GRAS (generally regarded as safe) very disturbing. "

 

In 1982, the International Agency for Research on Cancer found enough

evidence in animal models linking degraded carrageenan with

gastrointestinal cancers to state that it posed a carcinogenic risk to

humans. Other research groups also have listed it as a known carcinogen

based on animal studies.

 

Degraded carrageenan has a molecular weight of 30,000 or lower, whereas

undegraded carrageenan has a molecular weight of 100,000 or higher.

Tobacman explained that in addition to evidence that degraded carrageenan

causes intestinal ulcerations and cancers, undegraded carrageenan, which

has the higher molecular weight and is thought not to be directly absorbed

in the intestine, may also be associated with the promotion of malignancy

and inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract.

 

Tobacman explained that stomach acid and food preparation may lead to

degraded carrageenan by transforming the higher molecular weight form of

the gum into the lower molecular weight form. Bacterial action also may

transform higher weight carrageenan into its lower molecular weight form.

 

" A regulation like the one proposed by the FDA in 1972 might help

eliminate some of the low molecular weight components but probably in

itself would not be sufficient to prevent all exposure to degraded

carrageenan because the higher weight form can be transformed into lower

weight products, " Tobacman said.

 

Carrageenan use was patented in the 1930s and came into increasingly

widespread use in the United States during the second half of the 20th

century. It originally was used as a thickener in Irish pudding and was

incorporated into different types of processed foods as they became more

common in the Western diet. It also has been used in cosmetics, toothpaste

and room fresheners.

 

Tobacman said other gums with similar thickening properties can be used

instead of carrageenan. These gums include locust bean, guar and xanthan.

 

Reading the ingredients on a label can reveal whether carrageenan is part

of the food. However, since carrageenan can be a secondary ingredient, for

example, included in condensed milk, it may not always be listed by name.

 

" There seems to be enough evidence associating carrageenan with

significant gastrointestinal lesions, including malignancies, to avoid

ingesting it, " Tobacman said.

 

" There is a lot to think about but I think the first consideration is to

inform people about the risks that have been associated with carrageenan, "

she added. " There was evidence back in the 1970s that carrageenan has

harmful effects, and I think we've waited too long to act on that

information. "

 

Tobacman has studies underway to review the carcinogenic mechanisms

associated with carrageenan and to identify possible links to breast

cancer.

 

Librarians from the UI Hardin Library for the Health Sciences assisted

Tobacman with research for her recent article that was published in

Environmental Health Perspectives.

[Contact: Becky Soglin ]

 

09-Oct-2001

 

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