Delicious Inflammation?

At Whole Foods there is a section of refrigerated coffee. Just brewed black coffee. I’m not willing to buy bold black coffee cold. I can do that myself. Oh, I guess I could also mix two shots of espresso with almond milk and get THIS, but that sounds like a lot more effort to me. There’s a pinch of added sugar, but nothing like the exorbitant quantity of sugar poured into the International Delight iced coffee varieties. Well, I just looked it up and the International Delight Mocha has 14 grams of sugar per serving. Compared to my above recommendation, which has 10 grams of sugar, I’m not sure how significant that difference is.

But let’s check out the ingredients:

Coffee (Filtered Water, Coffee Extract), Almondmilk (Filtered Water, Almonds), Pure Cane Sugar. Contains less than 2% of the following: Vitamin/Mineral Blend [Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin D2, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B12, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Carbonate], Gellan Gum, Carrageenan, Potassium Citrate, Natural Flavors, Sunflower Lecithin, Sea Salt.

Okay. So they both have too many ingredients. But one obvious win is that one is made with almond milk and without corn syrup and cream. So although my recommendation is not as high as it might have been when I started this entry, a swig won’t kill you….or will it?

I have a carrageenan update: Not banned from organic brands because it is derived from red seaweed, but buyer beware. Apparently this thickener used to improve the consistency of shakes, milk and yogurt leads to inflammation and gut problems. VERY common in almond milk and coconut milk, which is unpleasant news to me 🙁 

Chris Kresser, a functional medicine practitioner and one of the most respected minds in the paleo world has this to say about carrageenan:

“If I had to rank additives, I’d say carrageenan is a bit more concerning than the other two additives we’ve discussed so far because of its association with gut issues. Remember, in cases involving modern ingredients, the burden of proof should be on manufacturers to prove that they’re safe, rather than on consumers to prove that they’re harmful. Because the evidence isn’t conclusive either way, I recommend avoiding carrageenan, especially if you have a history of digestive problems.”

Well, this began as a simple recommendation for caffeinated deliciousness and has ended with my solemn vow to not buy it again. Now I’m going to go check the ingredients on our coconut & almond milk and weep. I’m not sure if I am enough of a purist to make my own….