| When using agar as a dairy-free pudding base, 2 TBSPNS of agar, melted slowly over a small non-reactive saucepan containing a mixture of 1 8-10 oz. jar of all fruit sweetened organic jam and 2 jam jars of spring water over medium heat until completely dissolved, cooled, refrigerated, set. The mixture can be served chunky or blended until smooth. Health note: Naturopathic Physician, Peter D'Adamo in his book Live Right For Your Type recommends that people with non-secretor B blood subtype avoid agar. Naturopathic Doctors Joseph Pizzorno and Michael Murray write in their Textbook of Natural Medicine (p. 510) that Agar, kosher gelatin, Alginic acid, and carageenan are polysaccharide seaweed derivatives used extensively as thickening agents by the food and health and beauty industries. They point out that alginate, like other gel-forming fibers, has been shown to inhibit heavy metal intake in the gut. Unlike other plant polysaccharides, carageenan, (a common thickening ingredient in toothpaste, cottage cheese, milk chocolate, ice cream and even some non-dairy confections, cream soups and dairy-alternative rice and almond milks) adversely affects the intestinal mucosa. In rat studies, it induced ulcer formation in the cecum and increased risks of cancer and birth defects, among others. At page 1339, in a chapter entitled Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis) Drs. Murray and Pizzorno note studies showing that carageenan can serve as a hospitable environment for the growth of Bacteriodes vulgatus, a bacterial strain found in much higher fecal concentrations in people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Until more is known, Drs. Pizzorno and Murray recommend strict avoidance of carrageenan for those looking to live well with IBS. |
