Certain Food Additive Mixtures can be associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes

On a large scale used by the Agri-Food industry, food additives are mainly found in the ultra-processed products that are sold in our supermarkets. Until recently, safety evaluations of these additives have been kept due to content due to a lack of data about the effect that they are taken together.

In a new study, researchers from Inserm, Inrae, Sorbonne Paris Nord University, Paris Cité University and CNAM investigated as part of the research team of the Nutrition Pidemiology (Cress-Eeren) research team, the possible connections between exposure to mixtures of commonly used food additives and the start of type 2 diabetes.

They analyzed the health data of more than 100,000 adults who participated in the French Nutrinet-Santé cohort.

Two of the five mixed mixtures were found to be associated with a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes, in particular one mixture with different emulsifiers such as Carrageenans, modified starch and other additives (found in shares, milky desserts, fats and sauces, and another artificial sweeteners and sukses and suckers, and suksen’s stunned sweeteners and suckers, and suksen suksed sweeteners Sodas).

Their findings have been published in Plos -medication.

The scientific literature now provides information about the potential harmful effects of consuming various of these substances, associated with the development of metabolic disorders, chronic inflammation and intestinal microbiomon balance.

Recent studies of the Nutrinet-Santé cohort have also shown a connection between the consumption of some of these additives and An increased risk of type 2 diabetescancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Although these studies offer insights into the individual effect of each of these substances, no research had yet looked into the possible impact of their combined consumption. And this despite the fact that ultra-processed foods often contain mixtures of food additives, each with its specific properties (preservatives, flavor enhancers, dyes, texture products, etc.).

To measure the consequences of exposure to these mixtures, a research team under the leadership of Mathilde Touvier, Inserm Research Director and Study Coordinator analyzed the health data of 108,643 adults in the Nutrinet-Santé cohort for an average follow-up period of 7.7 years.

The participants completed at least two days (up to 15 days) online food records of all consumed foods and drinks and their brands.

In order to obtain a reliable estimate of the exposure to additives and to concentrate on people with potentially significant health effects, only those additives consumed by at least 5% of the cohort were included in mixing modeling.

The presence or absence of each additive in each food was determined by referring different databases, taking into account the date of consumption (to record any reformulations over time), as well as some laboratory provisions of quantitative levels of additives in the food.

Five main mixtures of additives were identified, which represent groups of substances that are often taken together (due to their joint presence in industrially processed products or as a result of the coining of foods that are often consumed together).

The results show that two of these mixtures are associated with a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes, regardless of the nutritional quality of the diet (intake of sugar, calories, fibers, saturated fat, etc.) and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. No associations have been found for the other three mixtures.

The first mixture was mainly composed of different emulsifiers (modified starch, pectin, guargom, carraeleen, polyphosphates, xanthan gum), a preservative (potassium sorbate) and a colorant (curcumin). These additives are usually found in various ultra-processed foods, such as stocks, milky desserts, fats and sauces.

The other mixture involved consisted mainly of additives found in artificially sweetened drinks and soft drinks. It contains acids and acidity regulators (citric acid, sodium citrates, phosphoric acid, malic acid), dyes (sulphite ammonia caramel, anthocyanins, paprika-extract), sweeteners (acesulfame-k, aspartame, suculose), and gumulose) Coauba-Was).

In this study, interactions between the additives of these mixtures were detected, which suggests that some could interact with each other, either by improving or weakening their effects (synergy) (antagonism).

“This study is the first to analyze the exposure to food -administrative mixtures in a large cohort of the general population and their link to the incidence of type 2 diabetes,” says Marie Payen de la Garantie, Ph.D. Student at Inserm and first author of this research.

“The findings suggest that various emblematic additives that are present in many products are often consumed together and that certain mixtures are associated with a higher risk on this disease. These substances can therefore represent a changeable risk factor, which makes the road clear for strategies to prevent type 2 diabetes.”

“Further studies are needed to clarify the underlying mechanisms and to deepen the understanding of potential synergies and antagonisms between these substances,” Dr. Touvier out.

“This observational research alone is not sufficient to create a causal link. However, our findings are in line with recent in Vitro Experimental Work that suggests possible cocktail effects. They indicate that the evaluation of additives must take into account their interactions and support recommendations for non-essentials to disruptions to Non-Senesentent.”