Diets

To the Editor: We suggest expanding the diets that are reviewed by Yannakoulia and Scarmeas (June 13 issue) 1 to include the avoidance of foods containing carrageenan, an additive that is used as a thickener in many processed foods. This suggestion is based on studies of the benefit of the carrageenan-free diet in patients with prediabetes 2 and ulcerative colitis, 3,4 the overwhelming laboratory-based evidence that carrageenan exposure predictably causes inflammation, and the deliberations of food safety authorities. 5 Carrageenan has been used in thousands of experiments in the scientific laboratory to induce inflammation, to study mediators of inflammation, and to determine the effectiveness . . .