Agar

[ejtwofiftyfive]

What does everyone think of agar (or agar agar)?

Wikipedia says: "Agar or agar-agar is a gelatinous substance derived by boiling a polysaccharide in red algae, where it accumulates in the cell walls of agarophyte and serves as the primary structural support for the algae's cell walls"

Sounds kind of like carrageenan to me, which we know is no good.

Reason I ask is I found a delicious canned dulce de leche, which unfortunately (?) contains agar, as well as disodium phospate.

 

[Daimyo]

Agar is made of carrageenan. It's a no-no.

 

[bookshelf]

Agar is made of carrageenan. It's a no-no.

This isn't exactly accurate. It's not made of carrageenan, it's made from the same seaweed and they are both gums but there are also marked differences.

See here: Agar vs Carrageenan: The 2 Big Differences You Should Know

While I have seen reports/studies where carrageenan can pose health risks and believe it to not be a safe choice, I have yet to find where agar (actually called agar agar) poses the same threats. In fact, I found a study that makes it sound like it may have anti-cancer properties:

"In Vitro Prebiotic and Anti-Colon Cancer Activities of Agar-Derived Sugars from Red Seaweeds" In Vitro Prebiotic and Anti-Colon Cancer Activities of Agar-Derived Sugars from Red Seaweeds - PubMed​

Compare it to carrageenan: Should You Avoid This Food Additive?

I am not suggesting that any or all gums are safe but I do think that carrageenan is in a class by itself.

I know this post was started in 2012 and didn't get and answer until 2014 but I came across it when I was looking up something about agar agar. So, I will go on to add that, IMHO, if there is a little bit of agar agar or even guar gum in something that is otherwise considered healthy (and/or you are in a situation where it's eat that 'health' food or starve), I would just eat the damn food and not stress about it as the stress is worse than the little bit in a one-off serving. Given a choice or control over your intake, then obviously it's best to avoid gums but I think our bodies are made to detox to a degree and, as long as it's not habitual or excessive, I wouldn't worry about it.