14/04/2026
You would be surprised to see how many packaged foods have this ingredient. Check your labels people.
8 months of daily nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating, and diarrhea attributed to irritable bowel syndrome were followed by anaphylaxis during a barium e***a.
All caused by the common food additive carrageenan.
A case report details the experiences of a woman with severe gastrointestinal complaints who had an anaphylactic allergic reaction to a barium e***a.
The barium e***a was being used as a diagnostic imaging test to investigate the patient’s 8-month history of daily nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating, and diarrhea, which had been attributed to “irritable bowel syndrome”.
It was suspected she had a latex allergy, but tests disproved that. The doctors then performed allergy tests with other components of the barium e***a and found she reacted to carrageenan.
Removal of carrageenan from her diet cured her “irritable bowel syndrome”.
“In our patient we can conclude that the anaphylaxis during a barium e***a was due to allergy to carrageenan...
The role of carrageenans in the gastrointestinal symptoms of this patient is also of interest. Oral challenges with carrageenan were not performed because of her history of anaphylaxis. Even though she had no urticaria or respiratory symptoms associated with the gastrointestinal symptoms, these symptoms could be due to allergy to carrageenan. It is known that double-blind allergen ingestion challenges in people with food allergy can elicit exclusively gastrointestinal symptoms. A direct inflammatory effect comparable to that observed in animals is also possible but speculative. Further consideration of the possible direct or immunologic effects of carrageenan in the pathogenesis of irritable bowel syndromes or inflammatory bowel syndromes may be warranted, particularly in patients with symptoms exacerbated by milk products, including infant formulas, in the absence of milk allergy or lactose intolerance.”
Ref: Anaphylaxis to carrageenan: A pseudo-latex allergy
