Non-soy Non-dairy Milks? Whats Safe?

[VydorScope]

Okay I have some Almond milk from a company called pacific somthing... says gluten-free right on it, was the only one that had such a lable. I wanted to try a rice milk, but I could not think which were gluten-free, and being how bad I am currently feeling and how hard it is to think I just grabbed the almond milk and went home. So what brands can I look for next kroger trip? I cant even think what was on the shelf now. Probably should have grabed the Kroger brand one cause at least I cougld get my wife to call them.

[Guest BERNESES]

Pacific makes a rice milk too. I like rice milk the best. If you have a Trader Joe's near you, their rice milk is gluten-free. Rice Dream is NOT- it has barley. Sorry you're feeling so yucky

[lorka150]

I love Almond Breeze.

[Jnkmnky]

WholeFoods 365 Organic brand (vanilla flavor) is my kid's favorite. It's also really inexpensive.. I pay $1.29 a carton! Cheap! I use the plain flavor for cooking as the vanilla comes across in other meals. We also use the Almond milks when I'm out of the 365 brand. My WholeFoods informed me that they're currently repackaging the 365 brand and the rice milks will be off the shelf for about a month. Bummer. So I got the Chocolate and vanilla and plain Almond milks. They like them just fine. The brand name is, Blue Diamond. I see it in lots of stores.

[Guest Robbin]

I hope you are feeling better soon I have tried all the rice milks, but the almond milk is the best. No bitter, chalky taste. I use it in coffee and cereals. It is called Almond Breeze.

[Judyin Philly]

I hope you are feeling better soon I have tried all the rice milks, but the almond milk is the best. No bitter, chalky taste. I use it in coffee and cereals. It is called Almond Breeze.

DITO--ONLY ONE I LIKE

DIAMOND I THINK MAKES IT AND I LOVE THE VANILA ALMOND BREEZE.

JUDY IN PHILLY

ARE YOU SICK, VINCENT???

[VydorScope]

DITO--ONLY ONE I LIKE

DIAMOND I THINK MAKES IT AND I LOVE THE VANILA ALMOND BREEZE.

JUDY IN PHILLY

ARE YOU SICK, VINCENT???

Open Original Shared Link

Thanks for the tips! i want to try rice milk cause this Pacfic Almond stuff has a bit of a nutty flavor that I am not used to....

[jenvan]

I can't remember what our Kroger carries exactly...but I do use Pacific Rice Milk and like it alot. Full Circle original is also gluten-free if they carry that.

[Carriefaith]

Almond Breeze has soy in it, I believe. Natura has a rice milk with no soy, dairy, or gluten.

[Cheri A]

The 365 brand is not just being repackaged ~ something about the oils is being changed so it's not going to be safe for peanut-allergic anymore.

If you can't find a good alternative that you like, I HIGHLY recommend Vance's Dari-Free potato milk. WF does not carry it, but it is very good! Open Original Shared Link I think.

[Jnkmnky]

Almond Breeze has soy in it, I believe. Natura has a rice milk with no soy, dairy, or gluten.

YOU'RE right! It does! I had gone to get my 20 cartons of 365 Organic one day last week, (they last us for months- like 5 months! because we don't use it all that much, but going to go get it is a hassle)... anyway, one of the young workers explained to me that the 365 would be back on the shelves in about a month, so I grabbed two chocolate Almonds, one vanilla and one plain to last us the month... Soy is worse than gluten. It's in so many products.

[Judyin Philly]

I QUIT--I'M THROWING IN THE TOWEL..I'M GOING TO ----MYSELF.

I JUST CAN'T DO THIS ANY MORE...

[Carriefaith]

I QUIT--I'M THROWING IN THE TOWEL..I'M GOING TO ----MYSELF.

I JUST CAN'T DO THIS ANY MORE...

Are you ok?

[terps19]

Dont most of the other non dairy milks (excluding Rice Milk from Rice Dream which is illegal) contain CARRAGEENAN??? Are there any that dont (rice milks that is). I am always affraid of carrageenan because of the following:

STOMACH ACHES CAUSED BY CARRAGEENAN

Some folks can eat just about anything. Some people might

have no problem producing a tall glass of homemade soymilk,

then converting it to chocolate milk by adding the

following ingredients: Three teaspoons of sugar. One

teaspoon of chocolate powder. Two tablespoons of Vaseline

petroleum jelly. The Vaseline might produce gastric

distress, and the soymilk drinkers would erroneously

conclude that they are "allergic" to soy. Some people

do not experience gastric discomfort caused by the

Vaseline-like food additive, carrageenan. Many people do.

Carrageenan is a commonly used food additive that is

extracted from red seaweed by using powerful alkali

solvents. These solvents would remove the tissues

and skin from your hands as readily as would any acid.

Carrageenan is a thickening agent. It's the vegetarian

equivalent of casein, the same protein that is isolated

from milk and used to thicken foods. Casein is also

used to produce paints, and is the glue used to hold

a label to a bottle of beer. Carrageenan is the magic

ingredient used to de-ice frozen airplanes sitting on

tarmacs during winter storms.

IS CARRAGEENAN REALLY NATURAL?

Carrageenan is about as wholesome as monosodium glutamate

(MSG), which is extracted from rice, and can equally be

considered natural. Aspartame (NutraPoison) is also natural,

as it is extracted from decayed plant matter that has been

underground for millions of years (oil). So too are many

other substances such as carrageenan that can also be

classified by FDA and USDA as wholesome and natural

food additives.

Just because something comes from a natural source does

not mean that it is safe. The small black dots in the

eyes of potatoes contain substances that are instantly

fatal if eaten. Got poison? You will if you eat the

black dots on the "eyes" of potatoes.

Carrageenan is a gel. It coats the insides of a stomach,

like gooey honey or massage oil. Digestive problems often

ensue. Quite often, soy eaters or soymilk drinkers react

negatively to carrageenen, and blame their discomforting

stomachaches on the soy.

High weight molecular carrageenans are considered to be safe,

and were given GRAS status (safe for human consumption) by

the FDA. Low weight carrageenans are considered to be

dangerous. Even SILK admits this.

In order to get more information about carrageenan from

a scientist, I spoke with one of America carrageenan

experts, Joanne Tobacman, M.D. Dr. Tobacman teaches

clinical internal medicine at the University of Iowa

College of Medicine. I explained to Dr. Tobacman that

I rejected animal studies (we discussed valid concerns

about animal research, and why they never produce

reliable results for humans). I requested evidence of

human trials that might show carrageenan to be a

danger for human consumption.

Dr. Tobacman shared studies with me that demonstrate that

digestive enzymes and bacterial action convert high weight

carrageenans to dangerous low molecular weight carrageenans

and poligeenans in the human gut. These carrageenans

have been linked to various human cancers and digestive

disorders. Again, I remind you that Tobacman's evidence

and conclusions are based upon human tissue samples,

not animal studies.

I will cite additional information from four studies:

1) Filament Disassembly and Loss of Mammary Myoepithelial

Cells after Exposure to Carrageenan, Joanne Tobacman,

Cancer Research, 57, 2823-2826, July 15, 1997

2) Carrageenan-Induced Inclusions in Mammary Mycoepithelial

Cells, Joanne Tobacman, MD, and Katherine Walters, BS,

Cancer Detection and Prevention, 25(6): 520-526 (2001)

3) Consumption of Carrageenan and Other Water-soluble

Polymers Used as Food Additives and Incidence of

Mammary Carcinoma, J. K. Tobacman, R. B. Wallace, M. B.

Zimmerman, Medical Hypothesis (2001), 56(5), 589-598

4) Structural Studies on Carrageenan Derived Oligisaccharides,

Guangli Yu, Huashi Guan, Alexandra Ioanviciu, Sulthan

Sikkander, Charuwan Thanawiroon, Joanne Tobacman, Toshihiko

Toida, Robert Linhardt, Carbohydrate Research, 337 (2002),

433-440

In her 1997 publication (1), Tobacman studied the effect

of carrageenan on the growth of cultured human mammary

epithelial cells over a two week period. She found that

extremely low doses of carrageenan disrupted the internal

cellular architecture of healthy breast tissue, leading

her to conclude:

"The widely used food additive, carrageenan has

marked effects on the growth and characteristics

of human mammary myoepithelial cells in tissue

cultures at concentrations much less than those

frequently used in food products to improve

solubility."

Tobacman continued her work by exposing low concentrations

of carrageenan for short intervals to human breast tissue

(2), and observed pathological alterations in cellular

membranes and intracellular tissues. Tobacman wrote:

"These changes included prominence of membrane-

associated vesicles that coalesced to form unusual

petal-like arrays...and development of stacked

rigid-appearing inclusions in the lysosomes that

arose from the membranes of the petal-like arrays

and from smaller, dense spherical bodies that

formed clumps."

In reporting a historical perspective, Tobacman

revealed that carrageenan has been found to

destroy other human cells in tissue cultures,

including epithelial intestinal cells and

prostate cells. She concludes:

"The association between exposure to low

concentrations of carrageenan in tissue

culture and destruction of mammary

myoepithelial cells may be relevant to

the occurrance of invasive mammary

malignancy in vivo and provides another

approach to investigation of mammary

carcinoma."

Tobacman's third paper (3) explored the increased

incidence of mammary carcinoma to the increased

consumption of stabilizers and additives such as

guar gum, pectin, xanthan, and carrageenan. While

no relationship between the either above named

additives and cancer was observed, carrageenan

showed a strong positive.

Although high molecular weight carrageenans are

considered to be safe, Tobacman demonstrates that

low molecular weight carrageenans are carcinogenic.

She writes:

"Acid hydrolysis (digestion) leads to shortening

of the carrageenan polymer to the degraded form,

poligeenan. It is not unreasonable to speculate

that normal gastric acid...may act upon ingested

carrageenan and convert some of which is ingested

to the lower molecular weight poligeenan during

the actual process of digestion. Also, some

intestinal bacteria possess the enzyme

carrageenase that degrades carrageenan."

Tobacman's 2002 publication (4) proves her earlier

hypothesis. She writes:

"Mild-acid hydrolytic depolymerization of

carrageenan affords poligeenan, a mixture of

lower molecular weight polysaccharides and

oligosaccharide products."

Tobacman is currently preparing and characterizing

low molecular weight poligeenans (carcinogenic)

that have been extracted from human digestion

modalities. Her yet-to-be published data suggest

that carrageenans are dangerous for human consumption.

My advice: Read labels. If there is carrageenan

in a product, select an alternative.

This morning, I checked my local supermarket (ShopRite,

Emerson, NJ) to see which soymilk manufacturers added

carrageenan to their formulas.

REFRIGERATED SOYMILKS

The largest selling soymilk in America is SILK.

Do I pick on the industry leader? Damned right I

do. SILK sets the standard. You deserve to know the

truth. Just for the record, when SILK changes

their formula they will become my hero. In my

opinion, SILK tastes better than any of the

commercially available soymilks. Unfortunately,

consumers sacrifice good health for good taste.

That is not a fair trade, particularly for

our children.

SILK uses carrageenan. SILK plain, SILK chocolate.

SunSoy also uses carrageenan. Hershey's real chocolate

is not so real. They use it too. So does Nesquik.

THESE COMPANIES DO NOT USE CARRAGEENAN

VitaSoy does not have carrageenan! they use barley flower

as a thickener. 8th Continent does not use carrageenan

either. Their choice is to use cellulose gel and soy

lecithin to create a smoother soymilk.

SHELF STABLE

On the shelf (non-refrigerated), I found Rice Dream.

They do not use carrageenan. They use xantham gum.

Soy Dream (made by Imagine Foods) does not use it

either. Their emulsifier is rice syrup. Eden Soy

does not use it. They use barley extract.

Do a little experiment. Drink a quart of SILK.

Pay careful attention to your carrageenen-induced

tummy ache and intestinal discomfort. Many consumers

unfairly blame that on soy. Now you know the truth.

Drink a quart of VitaSoy, 8th Continent, Soy Dream,

or Eden Soy, and you will not get the garrageenan-blues.

Why do some manufacturers "get it," while others

remain clueless?

Unfortunately it looks like all the alternatives that this article mentions contains some sort of gluten product (barley extract, barley flour etc). If only Rice Dream were gluten free!!!!!!

[Jnkmnky]

Well, actually... water in recipes works just as well as dairy. How necessary is dairy, soy, rice, almond milks anyway? I think we could actually live without it all together if we think about it.

[lorka150]

that's very true. the only time i drink milk is in coffee.

when i have cereal, i make tofu pudding and have it with that, i like it thicker.

[penguin]

Well, actually... water in recipes works just as well as dairy. How necessary is dairy, soy, rice, almond milks anyway? I think we could actually live without it all together if we think about it.

Things like broth help to make up for the lack of dairy in cooking savory things. Not sure about what would work for baking.

[VydorScope]

CAN we live with out milk ? SURE. Do I want to live with out ice cream? Not realy, I like it lots!

[jerseyangel]

I have also been using non milk type liquids for things. Water, broth, fruit juices can be substituted in a lot of things. When I absolutely have to have the "milk", I use Vance's. It's potato based and has no soy, nuts, grains or oils.

[dlp252]

One idea for a sort of ice cream substitute is what I do...I put some frozen fruit (I just buy packages of frozen fruit without sugar added), and put that in a blender (I use a Magic Bullet) with a little juice. It makes a sorbet which is really pretty good. Sometimes depending on the fruit I might add 1 package of Spenda (pre SCD days, now I'd add a bit of honey). It took me a couple of trys before I kind of got the correct ratio of juice to fruit.

Not as creamy of course, but satisfies when I want something like ice cream...fortunately I love sorbet too.

[jerseyangel]

dlp252--That sounds great! Think of all the combinations! I will be trying your idea in my food processor. I would think that adding a banana in would create a little creaminess.

[dlp252]

dlp252--That sounds great! Think of all the combinations! I will be trying your idea in my food processor. I would think that adding a banana in would create a little creaminess.

Hum, I haven't tried with banana...that would be good too I think. I did used to make it with protein powder too, but sometimes that's a bit gritty.

[StrongerToday]

My daughter and I make smoothies almost every day it seems. My favorite is strawberry/banana. Sometimes I add a sm dash of vanilla. We use the plain almond milk (less sugar) for almost everything - even mashed potatoes. I try to get it at Trader Joe's where it's literally half the price then from my regular grocery store.

I remember my cousin freezing bananas and putting them in his juicer - it came out exactly like DQ ice cream! We'd add toppings and congratulate ourselves on saving so many calories.

Vyderscope - you also may want to look at a product called Digestive Advantage. My dietician wants me to try it when I'm ready to try dairy again You take one or two a day for a few days, then try dairy. You take the pill(s) just once a day not at every meal.

[Carriefaith]

I enjoy eating frozen plain blueberries. They are very sweet and delicious.

[Jnkmnky]

OMG!!!!!! Vincent, your son is TOOOO cute!

I have a Green Life Juicer... A family member bought it for me about 5 years ago. It costs around $400. With it, I take cut frozen bananas and push them through the "juicer" with the "ice cream attachment in place. Then I add whatever other frozen fruit I want, like strawberries or frozen berries or frozen peaches. The result is an ice cream comparable to Breyers! NO JOKE. It's creamy, and delicious. The actual recipe calls for the addition of non frozen Dates for sweetness and a dash of vanilla. I use only the fruits and it's fantastic. I've toted my machine to the pre-school, the kindergarten and the elementary school for each of my children. I do a healthy foods choices presentation, then all the kids (in groups) make their own batch of "ice cream". They top with syrup and sprinkles and the like... can't be too healthy! But it's been great. If you want to make a fruity ice cream, you need the bananas as your base for the creamy texture.

I use water in my baking instead of milk when I don't have rice milk available. It works fine. I was worried the first time that I would ruin the whatever it was I was making- but it was the same as with milk. I think you'll find that milk is used as a nutritive addition.

Oh, wait.... EDIT... That's some kid named Joshua> WHo's Joshua? I thought it was your son. Oh, well- this kid is adorable too!