High blood pressure, heart attacks linked to common preservatives in food
common preservatives These substances, which are used to kill bacteria and molds in many store-bought foods, were linked to a 29 percent higher risk of blood pressure and a 16 percent higher risk of heart attack and stroke. a new study from France.
The study found that even so-called “natural” antioxidant protectants used to stop discoloration, such as citric acid and ascorbic acid (commonly known as vitamin C), led to a 22% higher risk of high blood pressure in people who consumed more foods with these ingredients.
Antioxidants such as citric and ascorbic acid are found naturally in foods such as fruit, but are “completely unnatural” when used as preservatives, senior author Mathilde Touvier said in an email. Touvier is the principal investigator of the NutriNet-Santé study used to conduct the research.
“Naturally occurring ascorbic acid and added ascorbic acid, which can be produced chemically, may have different effects on health,” said Touvier, who is also director of research at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Paris.
“Therefore, the results observed here for these food additives are not true for natural substances found in fruits and vegetables,” he added.
It’s not just ultra-processed foods
The study sheds light on how different additives in ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, may play a role in cardiovascular risk and “echoes a recent European Society of Cardiology report.” consensus, This highlights UPFs as a global public health issue,” Tracy Parker, nutrition lead at the British Heart Foundation in London, said in a statement. Parker was not involved in the study.
Ultra-processed foods consume approximately 50% higher risk It increases the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases and can increase the risk of obesity by 55%, sleep disorders by 41% and the development of type 2 diabetes by 40%. Obesity, diabetes and inadequate sleep are closely linked to poor heart health.
“This is one of the first large studies to examine individual preservatives in ultraprocessed foods rather than treating them as a single category,” Parker said. “UPFs have long raised concerns due to their high levels of sugar, salt, and fat, but these factors alone have never fully explained why they appear to be more harmful than their nutritional profiles suggest. These findings help fill some of that gap.”
But, previous research Touvier and his team found that ultra-processed foods account for only 35% of foods containing preservatives that people consume. This means “preservatives are ubiquitous,” said lead author Anaïs Hasenböhler, a PhD student at the Nutrition Epidemiology Research Team at Sorbonne Paris Nord University.
“There is no food group/item that should be eliminated from the diet to correct the situation,” Hasenböhler said in an email. “These results also support recommendations for consumers to choose minimally unprocessed foods.”
Opt for fresh, uncooked, unprocessed produce or, if you’re looking for the quickest to prepare and eat, opt for “frozen options preserved at low temperatures that don’t require the addition of food additive preservatives.”
More ‘natural’ preservatives associated with risk
Study, Published Wednesday The European Heart Journal investigated the effects of 58 preservatives on the cardiovascular health of more than 112,000 people over the age of 15. They all participate in NutriNet-Santé, which has been analyzing the diets of volunteers from all over France since 2009.
To participate in the study, each participant tracks every bite of their food and drink by brand name for three days every six months. Researchers then use a database of product ingredients to identify common preservatives and compare consumption levels over the years with medical data stored in the French national health system.
Researchers took an in-depth look at 17 preservatives consumed by at least 10% of participants and found that eight were associated with high blood pressure over the next decade. Three of these (potassium sorbate, potassium metabisulfite, and sodium nitrite) are “non-antioxidant” preservatives; This means they kill bacteria, molds and yeast that spoil food.
Potassium sorbate is often used in wine, baked goods, cheeses and sauces. Potassium metabisulfite, which releases sulfur dioxide when dissolved, is found in wine, juice, cider, beer and other fermented beverages. Sodium nitrite is a chemical salt commonly used in processed meats such as bacon, ham, and deli meats.
Nitrates and sulfur-based compounds are found in foods such as red and processed meat. is already known to increase the risk of heart disease. So some experts say this finding shouldn’t be surprising.
Preservatives are also needed if consumers want to continue buying foods they can save and eat later, according to Gunter Kuhnle, professor of food and nutritional science at the University of Reading in England. He did not participate in any studies.
“Preservatives have an important role in the food system by not only preventing foodborne illness but also preventing spoilage, reducing food waste and extending shelf life,” Kuhnle said in a statement. he said.
The remaining preservatives linked to high blood pressure in the study (ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, sodium erythorbate, citric acid and rosemary extracts) are natural “antioxidant” preservatives used to reduce oxidation that turns foods brown and rancid.
The study also found that ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, was specifically linked to cardiovascular disease.
Similar preservatives are also linked to cancer and type 2 diabetes
The results support the findings of two other studies by Touvier and his team, which found similar links between preservatives and a much higher risk of poisoning. cancer and type 2 diabetes.
Six preservatives (sodium nitrite, potassium nitrate, sorbates, potassium metabisulfite, acetates, and acetic acid) increased the risk of prostate cancer, breast cancer, and all types of cancer by up to 32%. All but one of the same preservatives also increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 49%.
Although the new study’s findings are observational and cannot prove cause-and-effect, the study does a good job of controlling for other factors that can influence health, such as age, body mass index, or BMI, smoking, physical activity and diet in general, said Rachel Richardson, director of methods support at The Cochrane Collaboration, an international nonprofit organization highly respected for its scientific approach to research. He did not participate in the research.
“Other strengths of this study include the way it assessed people’s diets and their comprehensive approach to identifying hypertension and cardiovascular disease,” Richardson said in a statement. “Although they cannot prove causality, there are signals in the results that warrant further investigation.”
For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at: CNN.com
