Carageenan - What is that "Safe" Ingredient in Our Food that is "from Seaweed?"

As we have and continue to significantly improve your gut inflammation, I am slowly beginning to turn every stone, every ingredient, what are all of these strangely-named items listed in the ingredients that we eat? I know they are "safe" from an allergen perspective, but what the hell are they, really? I will start with Carageenan, long name, but easily pronounceable.

Often an ingredient in non-dairy alternatives and deli meats and labeled with "made from seaweed" - but why and what is the purpose? After doing some digging, Carageenan does come from a very specific red seaweed and is added to give the taste of "fat", thicken and stabilize - I don't want to get into the depths of the science pool here, but it's unique chemical structure triggers an immune response when ingested, which in turn causes inflammation, bloating, cramping, IBS, colitis,

eczema, leaky gut and seriously the goes on and on, over 100 inflammatory diseases are linked to Carageenan. Over time, inflammation has a damaging effect, in it's most severe form, it rears it's ugly head as cancer.

After a little more digging, this "safe and natural" substance has been used for sometime to induce gut inflammation in lab animals in order to test anti-inflammatory meds. And now food manufactures are adding this to milks, creams, yogurts, soups, cheese, meat, sauces, etc. etc. I see you Whole Foods and you too Trader Joes, you two are some of the worst culprits of this utterly GROSS practice.

The good news is there are alternatives to these foods that include this immune triggerer. A quick scan of the ingredients (start backwards, you're more focused in the beginning of a reading a food label) is very telling. The bad news, this one can be hidden in "natural flavors."  So we will simply do our best and utilize a great food buying guide if we buy processed foods.

Pregnant? What Your OB is NOT Telling You

You're tired. You're hungry. You're nauseous. You're late.

You're pregnant! Congratulations! Babies are the world's greatest gift and they provide endless joy and challenges. What happens when those challenges are health related and could have been prevented or been less extensive?  Well, from experience, it sucks and you then work to restore the baby's health.

When pregnant with Jahan, I followed the advice of my OB, she was board certified and it was her fiduciary duty to guide me to optimal fetal health. She prescribed me prenatals that were rather pricey, $100 for a month supply, and didn't provide any other recommendations. I would visit her monthly until I was 36 weeks along and then I visited her weekly until my son was born.

There was no other guidance from my OB, so I opted to do my own research.  Some things I learned included:

• There is a vaginal advantage versus a c-section. A recent study from the Canadian Medical Association Journal discusses this further.
• There is a clear advantage in breastfeeding versus formula feeding. Here are 18 breastfeeding benefits and here is a more scientific article that credits breast milk with a lot of positives. The immune system boost to the baby when breastfeeding is undeniable.  A simple google search will yield endless articles, scientifically backed showing the benefits of breastfeeding.

So shoot for a vaginal delivery and breastfeed the baby - easy enough. 

Once Jahan arrived and started showing baby eczema, we learned a lot of other things that we could have done while pregnant to ensure the highest immune system possible. My OB never shared these tips. Perhaps she didn't know. Maybe a new protocol could be to see a pediatrician or immunologist at week 20 of pregnancy. There has got to be a way to ensure pregnant mothers receive all information that may impact their baby. Some things to consider while pregnant:

• Avoid antibiotics while pregnant and get Group B Strep tested closer to delivery instead of at 35-37 weeks
• While pregnant, supplement with prebiotics and probiotics
• Ensure you are getting adequate Vitamin D
• Limit sugar intake while pregnant
• If a c-section is required, inoculate the baby with mom's vaginal flora immediately following the c-section delivery 

When pregnant with my second child, Emrys, I applied all of the above and he has had no immune system issues. His microbiome is flourishing.  He has had none of the complications Jahan has had and we also expose him to germs and dirt!