Nearly everyone eats them: These 8 food preservatives may be tied to high blood pressure, large French study finds
Almost no one avoids food preservatives. In a new French study, 99.5% of participants consumed at least one of them during their first two years of tracking. That near-universal exposure is why researchers wanted to know what they might be doing to the cardiovascular system over time. Their answer, published in the European Heart Journal , is a warning, though not a verdict. Decoding the peptide…
Nearly every individual consumes food preservatives, as revealed by a recent French study that found 99.5% of participants ingested at least one during their first two years of tracking. This widespread exposure prompts researchers to investigate potential impacts on the cardiovascular system over time. The findings, published in the European Heart Journal, warrant caution but not definitive conclusions.
The study, conducted within the NutriNet-Santé project, surveyed 112,395 French volunteers. Each participant documented their dietary habits every six months, providing comprehensive dietary data. Researchers then evaluated the presence of preservatives in their food intake and monitored participants for hypertension and cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks, strokes, and angina, over an average period of seven to eight years.
The study identified eight preservatives with notable associations with higher risks of hypertension. These include potassium sorbate (E202), potassium metabisulphite (E224), sodium nitrite (E250), ascorbic acid (E300), sodium ascorbate (E301), sodium erythorbate (E316), citric acid (E330), and rosemary extracts (E392). Among these, ascorbic acid (E300) was specifically linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Researchers acknowledge that observational studies like this cannot prove causation. However, they highlight the potential role of oxidative stress, which arises when reactive molecules accumulate faster than the body's defenses can neutralize them. This oxidative stress may damage cells and tissues over time. Additionally, potential impacts on the pancreas, a key organ in regulating blood sugar and metabolism, are under investigation.
The lead researcher, Dr. Mathilde Touvier, emphasizes the novelty of this evidence: "Food preservatives are used in hundreds of thousands of industrially processed foods. Experimental studies suggest that some preservative food additives may be harmful to cardiovascular health, but we have not had enough evidence on the impact of these ingredients in humans."
Touvier underscores the need for a re-evaluation of the risks and benefits of these additives by regulatory authorities, such as the EFSA in Europe and the FDA in the United States, for enhanced consumer protection.
In the interim, the researchers advocate for favoring non-processed and minimally processed foods to minimize exposure to unnecessary additives. They also recommend that healthcare professionals play a crucial role in informing the public about these findings. The team plans to further investigate how food additives and ultra-processed foods might influence inflammation, oxidative stress, blood metabolic profiles, and the gut microbiota.
This ongoing research seeks to elucidate the mechanisms behind the observed associations between preservatives and cardiovascular disease risk.
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