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.

Super Foods - Part 1

As Hippocrates once said, "let food be thy medicine."  Despite Jahan's multiple food allergies, which will all be treated starting in the next 24-30 months using OIT, food is the best option for medicine. Food will address the most pertinent issues (excluding the allergies) currently plaguing his two year old body. Leaky gut, inflammation, the presence of pathogens, unacceptably low levels of of good bacteria and eczema can all begin to heal by eliminating the inflammatory foods, ingesting a diversity of fruits and vegetables and taking daily vitamins and supplements.

While none of us are doctors, my husband and I have consulted with multiple functional doctors, functional/holistic dietitians, allergists and dermatologists and we have compiled a list of some of the best foods to help obtain optimal gut health based on their recommendations and our personal results.

Getting your two year old to actually consciously eat these foods or any foods other than juice, pasta and milk is an entirely separate and equally challenging endeavor.  Consider yourselves extremely blessed if your toddler is eager to eat and try new and different foods.

Here is part 1 in the Super Foods Series

1. Jicama - If an apple and a potato had a baby, Jicama would be the result.  This starchy tuber is packed with vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin C. Vitamin C is great for boosting the immune system of which a whooping two-thirds is located in the gut.  Jicama contains a prebiotic called inulin. Probiotics seem to get all the love these days, but prebiotics are ultra important too because they are food for the good bacteria.  If you don't feed the probiotics, they go away. Prebiotics promote the growth of the good bacteria in the gut. Jicama is refreshing raw sliced in a salad, added to a smoothie or cooked like any style potato you may fancy.  
2. Sweet potato - This starchy tuber is the gift that keeps on giving. Sweet potatoes provide high amounts of sustained energy without causing the body to spike.  Sweet potatoes are a also a prebiotic, so the good bacteria feeds off of these. Sweet potatoes are delicious baked, steamed or fried. 
3. Turmeric - This spice is used daily in our house. Turmeric is very commonly used in Indian cuisine, but word is spreading about this 8th wonder of the world. Turmeric is known for it's anti-inflammatory properties and can be used to treat a wide variety of digestive inflammatory diseases including Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and indigestion.  Turmeric can be added to smoothies or sprinkled on potatoes.  We simply add to our toddler's milk at each serving and he gladly downs it. 
4. Salmon (wild caught) - All salmon are NOT created equal.  Farmed and wild salmon may look similar, but farmed salmon are loaded with antibiotics, which are extremely harmful to the gut flora's environment.  In addition to that, wild salmon has more protein and less fat per serving, less toxic compounds and lacks the artificial coloring that farmed salmon contains.  Oh and the taste, there is no comparison.                      
5. Plantain - A resistant starch. What does this mean?  Without getting too scientific, plantains resist being absorbed as sugar, instead, these starches travel to the small intestine where they are turned into a short-chain fatty acids, which provide energy to the cells in the colon.  Inflammation reduction also occurs.  Green plantains are delicious fried. This Puerto Rican version is similar to how I cook them at home. 

Stay tuned for more posts in the Super Foods Series. 

The Scratch that Itches and the Itch that Scratches

Jahan's eczema at seven months old

The correlation between eczema and food allergies although undeniable, is often not common knowledge to all.  Jahan's food allergy journey began shortly after birth with full body eczema covering his tiny body by five months old. Weeping, bleeding, itching, repeat. It's the scratch that itches and the itch that scratches.  We have had ups and downs, learning a lot along the way, but around the age of 14 months old, Jahan's baby skin was finally just that, soft and supple, like it's supposed to be.

This lasted for six short months and then a chest to knee flare began. Wet-wraps, diet revisions, elimination diets, creams and ultimately steroids. Ugh, that feels like the ultimate fail, having to resort to god awful steroids on my toddler's young and still thin skin.  All to end up back with an unwavering flare.  We opted to see our functional doctor, think east meets west, a holistic, natural MD.  The marriage of the two had produced some amazing results in the past, so I thought, lets get in to see Dr. Wong.

As we meet with Dr. Wong, Jahan is fearful, he must be thinking what will this doctor do to me. He has seen more doctors in his short two years of life than I have in my 32 years.

Right away Dr. Wong takes a look at the eczema and then scans Jahan's tongue and suggests eliminating cow diary. That's all milk, cheese, yogurt, mac n' cheese, string cheese, pirates booty, milk chocolate and the list goes on. We will switch to goat dairy, no problem since we live in an area where we have access to these foods and Amazon basically delivers same day now.  Dr. Wong also reminds us that Jahan's eczema is his body's way of showing the internal inflammation and suggests we complete a stool sample to see inside of his gut, where two-thirds of his immune system lives.  We agree.  Then Wong as Jahan calls him tells me that I have to prepare the samples at home, FedEx them overnight to the lab and wait.

Eczema flare at 22 months old before dairy elimination

So off we go.  Waiting for Jahan to have a bowel movement was our next step, which thankfully was only the next day (Saturday).  Jahan does his business and quickly I start in on this home scientific lab.  This was not fun.  Spooning fecal matter into various tubes, mixing and smoothing, repeat. They should really consider sending a mask home with this sample kit.  Not one of my finer mothering moments, but someone had to do it.

I package it up and off the stool goes to the lab for testing.

The results are in and right away from them I can see there are issues that need to be addressed. Inflammation. Leaky gut. Dysbiosis. Minimal bacterial diversity. And worst of all, two pathogens. Shit, how did this happen to my little guy? He was born vaginally, solely breastfed for 6 months, no antibiotics for the first year of life, probiotics from birth. He's only two!

Jahan's eczema and gut resolution regimen 

We circle back with Dr. Wong and he confirms everything from above.  Mehul and I are not interested in putting a "band-aid" on Jahan's symptoms, we want to solve the problems at the root. Wong knows this. He works to find "safe" supplements for Jahan's issues. This is quite the task given all of his food allergies, but ultimately we go home with our list of supplements and prescription to remove all dairy, even goat. So now Jahan is dairy free and ingesting 11 vitamins, supplements and herbs multiple times daily in hopes to improve the gut.

With this routine, the eczema has dissipated entirely with the exception of one stubborn patch.

And now we will continue the routine for eight weeks and then I get to spoon, smooth and smell the fecal matter of my adorable two-year old....again all while hoping we can stabilize Jahan's gut and entirely eradicate the scratch that itches and the itch that scratches.