Gerd And Carrageenan?

I have been having stomach issues for a couple of years now. It primarily started when I started having some serious family issues that went beyond the normal bickering. I started getting intense stomach pains that restricted my productivity drastically. At the time I assumed it was stomach ulcers given the extremely stressful situations that I had been put under. I began taking Prilosec regularly and drinking tea with Manuka honey constantly. After about 3 weeks of this, my stomach pains subsided drastically and things seemed to go back to normal.

However, about 5 months ago, they slowly began to come back until eventually I was woken up at 5am one morning in more physical pain than I had ever experienced. Later that week was when my scans all started to get to the bottom of the issue. After about 3 different tests, they finally discovered that I simply have GERD and was given a perscription as well as some guidance on changing my diet up to reduce the acidity in my stomach. I've also done my own personal research on the side as it has always interested me and can really only help.

Then came this morning.
My stomach has always been noticably more sensitive in the morning, however it hasn't been too much of a problem as breakfast is the easiest meal for me to keep pretty healthy. So this is what I had:

Honey Nut Chex (Gluten Free)
Almond-coconut milk (Almond breeze)

1 8 oz. cup of coffee
w/ about 2 TBSP almond-coconut milk


After that I was in the bathroom 4 times this morning and had terrible pains for about 2 hours.

This is my observation of that situation:

The honey nut chex are gluten, preservative, additive, and color free. There is no reason that I should have reacted to that as wheat and grain based food always sits on my stomach nicely and sometimes helps ease pains.
The coffee was obviously a laxative, however on normal mornings I drink it black with only a few truvia added. It causes a bowel movement, but not terrible indigestion, excess trips, and extreme pain to go with it.

So the almond milk?

I did a quick google search and found that it is common, particularly people with digestive problems, to have issue with almond and coconut milk. This is primarily caused by the ingredient carrageenan.

Check the label: Sure enough. There it is.

"Carrageenans or carrageenins (/ˌkærəˈɡiːnənz/ karr-ə-ghee-nənz from Irish carraigín, "little rock") are a family of linear sulphated polysaccharides that are extracted from red edible seaweeds. They are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties."

It is also described as an inflammatory as well as a laxative.

Well then.

I suppose that answers a lot of questions.

Moral of the story:

Know your body and read labels.

 

Coffee is known to make GERD worse, so it's the likely culprit http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/guide/reflux-disease-gerd-1

eliminating coffee and tobacco (if you also smoke) could fix the problem.

if it's still bad and if you've already seen an MD about this and had it thoroughly checked out, I recommend the next step is to see an acupuncturist.

 

Truvia, developed jointly by The Coca-Cola Company and Cargill (this alone should raise red flags), is the worst, most processed form of stevia available on the market. It also contains erythritol, a sugar alcohol which is well-known of have gastric side effects in some people. Try a more natural, pure form of stevia, like Sweet Leaf.

Carrageenan can also cause stomach upset and cramping, but generally not in the amounts your thread would indicate.

Also, a common misconception about GERD is that it is linked to excess acid production in the stomach. A good majority of people who suffer from GERD, who actually have their stomach acid levels checked, are found to actually have abnormally low acid levels. Often doctors do not even require that their patients have their levels checked, but prescribe medicine based on presented symptoms alone. These drugs do not address the root cause of the problem, only mask it. This requires people keep taking these drugs just to keep symptoms at bay, which makes the drug companies a lot of money while making people's health worse off in the long-run. There is a huge industry built around acid reducers, much like there is cholesterol medicine, which is based upon a lie as well since cholesterol doesn't mean squat when it comes to the root cause of heart disease.

The root cause of GERD in most people is poor diet. A diet that is high in refined carbohydrates (think Honey Nut Chex), contributes to an unhealthy gut flora, and this is believed by some doctors to be one of the contributors to acid reflux.

 

Im sorry you went thru that.......

Yes Carrageenan is garbage and should not be IN ANYTHING ANYONE CONSUMES!!!!!

I had some mac salad yesterday STUPIDLY w/o checking the ingredients first....YES Carrageenan!!!

I felt it today!!!!!!! -- Extremly Achy and my bottom was sore....

There is NOTHING good that comes from Carrageenan..... Only intensinal problems and other stuff...... THEY DONT HAVE TO USE THIS!!!!!!!

The Natural Ingredient You Should Ban From Your Diet

I wouldnt be surprised if our animal friends also have bad reactions to this!! (Its in alot of stuff now)