Posted on 09/11/2023 11:26:51 AM PDT by nickcarraway
High intake of several emulsifiers (part of the 'E numbers' group of food additives), widely used in industrially processed foods to improve texture and extend shelf-life, is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), suggests a study published by The BMJ today.
Given that these food additives are used ubiquitously in thousands of widely consumed ultra-processed food products, these findings have important public health implications, say the researchers.
Emulsifiers are often added to processed and packaged foods such as pastries, cakes, ice cream, desserts, chocolate, bread, margarine and ready meals, to enhance their appearance, taste, texture and shelf life. They include celluloses, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, modified starches, lecithins, carrageenans (derived from red seaweed; used to thicken foods), phosphates, gums and pectins.
As with all food additives, the safety of emulsifiers is regularly assessed based on the available scientific evidence, yet some recent research suggests that emulsifiers can disrupt gut bacteria and increase inflammation, leading to potentially increased susceptibility to cardiovascular problems.
To explore this further, researchers in France set out to assess the associations between exposure to emulsifiers and risk of cardiovascular disease, including coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease - conditions affecting blood flow and blood vessels in the heart and brain.
Their findings are based on 95,442 French adults (average age 43 years; 79% women) with no history of heart disease who were taking part in the NutriNet-Santé cohort study between 2009 and 2021.
During the first two years of follow-up, participants completed at least three (and up to 21) 24-hour online dietary records. Each food and beverage item consumed was then matched at the brand level against three databases to identify the presence and the dose of any food additive. Laboratory tests were also performed to provide quantitative data.
Participants were also asked to report any major CVD event, such as a heart attack or stroke, which were validated by an expert committee after reviewing the participants' medical records.
Deaths linked to CVD were also recorded using the French national death register, and several well known risk factors for heart disease including age, sex, weight (BMI), educational level, family history, smoking status, physical activity levels, and diet quality (e.g. sugar, salt, energy, alcohol intakes) were taken into account.
After an average follow-up of 7 years, higher intake of total celluloses (E460-E468), cellulose (E460) and carboxymethylcellulose (E466) were found to be positively associated with higher risks of CVD and specifically coronary heart disease.
SLAS EU - Highlights from 2022 eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download the latest edition Higher intakes of monoglycerides and diglycerides of fatty acids (E471 and E472) were associated with higher risks of all studied outcomes. Among these emulsifiers, lactic ester of monoglycerides and diglycerides of fatty acids (E472b) was associated with higher risks of CVD and cerebrovascular diseases, and citric acid ester of monoglycerides and diglycerides of fatty acids (E472c) was associated with higher risks of CVD and coronary heart disease.
High intake of trisodium phosphate (E339) was also associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease.
There was no evidence of an association between the other studied emulsifiers and any of the cardiovascular outcomes.
This is a single observational study, so can't establish cause, and the researchers acknowledge some study limitations. For example, the high proportion of women, higher educational background, and overall more health conscious behaviors among the NutriNet-Santé study participants compared with the general French population, may limit the generalisability of the results.
Nevertheless, the study sample was large and they were able to adjust for a wide range of potentially influential factors, while using unique detailed brand-specific data on food additives. What's more, the results were unchanged after further testing, suggesting that they are robust.
The authors stress that these results need replication in other large-scale studies, but say they could "contribute to the re-evaluation of regulations around food additive usage in the food industry to protect consumers."
"Meanwhile, several public health authorities recommend limiting the consumption of ultra-processed foods as a way of limiting exposure to non-essential controversial food additives," they add.
Source:
BMJ
Journal reference:
Sellem, L., et al. (2023) Research: Food additive emulsifiers and risk of cardiovascular disease in the NutriNet-Santé cohort: prospective cohort study. The BMJ. doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-076058.
Ping
So, what does this mean in plain English?
We’re all gonna die.
Flies don't eat Cool Whip for a reason.
I tried to read the article, but I was blinded by the flashing Tort Lawyer warning light.
Hear hear!! I read this asking, "What? Tell me what, specifically, you are writing about!" Bunch of gobbledy-gook. I've read better thesis papers...
If they use plain English, the academics would think they are simple.
Processed food is unlike anything humans had eaten before 100 years ago. Even with processed foods, we have choices. A bag of plain corn chips has three ingredients: corn, oil and salt. Its cheese flavored cousin has about 20 ingredients, the other 17 probably bad for you.
Eggs are evil again.
Seems like it should be cleaning those arteries right out!
My Dad passed away in 1979 at the age of 56 with his fourth heart attack. I am the same physical type as my Dad was and heart disease runs in my family. My younger brother has a pacemaker. My youngest brother has had bypass surgery. My oldest brother who died in a car wreck had bypass surgery and his son has had bypass surgery twice.
That was just for background, here is the thing. I am a picky eater (a meat and potatoes type of guy) so, many years ago I decided I should supplement my diet. I found Earl Mindell's Vitamin Bible and read it cover to cover to plan my vitamin regime. Along with everything else, he recommended that emulsifiers (soy lecithin) will help break up plaque in the blood stream which might be beneficial to control heart disease.
A few years ago at my regular Medicare doctor visit, she found what she called anomalies in my EKG (something like staticky roll-off spikes on the waveform) and sent me to a cardiologist. He told me that my EKG was normal for my age and had me do a treadmill stress test which I passed with flying colors, along with, of course other tests since they were subsidized by Medicare and my insurance. Then he told me that there was nothing wrong with me and with an annoyed demeanor told me to come back if I ever have a symptom. I asked the cardiologist one last question, that with my family history of heart disease is it possible that my taking 1200 mgs of Lecithin every day for the past 40 years has helped to stave off symptoms? The cardiologist said yes it could have helped.
Jump to now. In two days I am having a surgical procedure that required my regular's doctor's approval and she said that I needed to get an approval from my cardiologist. When the nurse was about to setup my appointment with the cardiologist, I remembered that he had said that he had intended to retire. After she made the appointment she came back in the exam room and said, "the cardiologist's last day was today:"
I saw his replacement and of course I noted the irony that I was back to see the cardiologist without having symptoms. I got his approval with no questions asked, but I also mentioned my taking 1200 mg of lecithin every day for the past 40 years and he also agreed that it could have helped lessen the damage of plaque buildup.
So I say the harm is the fat and starch laden food itself, not the emulsifier you educated idiots.
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