Certain food additive mixtures may be associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes

Medical Xpress / Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale / PLOS Medicine ^ | April 8, 2025 | Mathilde Touvier et al

[ConservativeMind]

In a study, researchers examined the possible links between exposure to mixtures of commonly consumed food additives and the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Two out of the five mixtures tested were found to be associated with a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes.

To measure the consequences of exposure to these mixtures, a research team analyzed the health data of 108,643 adults over an average follow-up period of 7.7 years.

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

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

Five main mixtures of additives were identified, representing groups of substances frequently ingested together (due to their joint presence in industrially processed products or resulting from the co-ingestion of foods often consumed together).

The results show two of these mixtures to be associated with a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes, regardless of the nutritional quality of the diet and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors.

The first mixture incriminated was primarily composed of several emulsifiers (modified starches, pectin, guar gum, carrageenans, polyphosphates, xanthan gum), a preservative (potassium sorbate) and a coloring agent (curcumin). These additives are typically found in a variety of ultra-processed foods, such as stocks, milky desserts, fats and sauces.

The other mixture implicated was primarily composed of additives found in artificially-sweetened drinks and sodas. It contained acidifiers and acidity regulators (citric acid, sodium citrates, phosphoric acid, malic acid), coloring agents (sulfite ammonia caramel, anthocyanins, paprika extract), sweeteners (acesulfame-K, aspartame, sucralose), emulsifiers (gum arabic, pectin, guar gum) and a coating agent (carnauba wax).

[ConservativeMind]

The takeaway:

“The first mixture incriminated was primarily composed of several emulsifiers (modified starches, pectin, guar gum, carrageenans, polyphosphates, xanthan gum), a preservative (potassium sorbate) and a coloring agent (curcumin). These additives are typically found in a variety of ultra-processed foods, such as stocks, milky desserts, fats and sauces.”

“The other mixture implicated was primarily composed of additives found in artificially-sweetened drinks and sodas. It contained acidifiers and acidity regulators (citric acid, sodium citrates, phosphoric acid, malic acid), coloring agents (sulfite ammonia caramel, anthocyanins, paprika extract), sweeteners (acesulfame-K, aspartame, sucralose), emulsifiers (gum arabic, pectin, guar gum) and a coating agent (carnauba wax).“

[ConservativeMind]

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[kawhill]

Thank you for this thread. I did EHR template mod’s for a medical facility specializing in ob/gyn, orthopedic reconstruction and general practice. Amazing people.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

RFK Jr will have a field day with this news.

[Jemian]

commonly consumed food additives and the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Sugars spring to mind.

[higgmeister]

LOL, that ship sailed a couple of decades ago.

I've sense enough to know that sugar, sugar, sugar and sugar caused my type 2 diabetes.   I drank eight to twelve cans of Coca-Cola a day, kept a giant plastic container of atomic fireballs on my desk, ate gummy bears when I watched Doctor Who every day.   Of course I never turned away ice cream, cake, cookies or pie.   Now, I look at everything I purchase and if something has more then 6 grams of sugar, I put back on the shelf at the grocery store.   I have never had any diabetic crisis and have gone for months without testing my levels.   Last monday my doctor said that my A1C had gone down.

All of the so called increased risk here is bunk.

---

It's like all the bogus claims of second smoke.   I gave up tobacco forty years ago.   My dad had another heart attack every time he picked up his tobacco and the fourth one took him out.   Two weeks ago, my youngest brother went to the emergency room where they drained 1.6 liters of fluid, had a collapsed lung, found spots and a mass which was diagnosed stage 4 cancer. He had quit smoking but picked up vaping instead.   Last week my younger brother made an appointment with his doctor because he lost 22 pounds since January, that he was not trying to lose.   He had bariatric surgery for weight loss years ago and this visit the doctor saw spots on his peritoneum and a mass in a piece of stomach that was disused.   He is in the hospital right now awaiting the results of six tissues of biopsy.   The doctors postponed lymph node biopsies, but even a layman like me should know that seeing spots on the peritoneum means the cancer had metastasized.

Occam's razor says you need not look for an arcane risk while the elephant is right in the room.

[Liz]

Two mixtures associated with a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes,
regardless of dietary nutrition, and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors:

The first mixture was composed of several emulsifiers (modified starches, pectin, guar gum, carrageenans, polyphosphates, xanthan gum), a preservative (potassium sorbate) and a coloring agent (curcumin)........typically found in a variety of ultra-processed foods, such as stocks, milky desserts, fats and sauces.

The other was composed of additives found in artificially-sweetened drinks and sodas........acidifiers and acidity regulators (citric acid, sodium citrates, phosphoric acid, malic acid), coloring agents (sulfite ammonia caramel, anthocyanins, paprika extract), sweeteners (acesulfame-K, aspartame, sucralose), emulsifiers (gum arabic, pectin, guar gum) and a coating agent (carnauba wax).

[Katya]

Easy solution: don’t buy premade food from the shops.

[sauropod]

No more Fruit Loops.

[Freee-dame]

“ Easy solution: don’t buy premade food from the shops.”

Exactly correct. I just listened to a nutrition podcast that claimed that , though the new Ozempic type drugs make a person lose their appetite for most tastes, there are a few that the drug does not work on and the ultra processed food industry is finding a way to get them into their ultra processed foods.

[ptsal]

This is getting close to home.