Think about it: a seemingly innocuous broth or a bubbly diet soda might have ingredients that sneakily direct your health in the wrong direction. Recent research has discovered that certain combinations of food additives those sneaky chemicals that provide texture, taste, and shelf life to foods can be linked with higher type 2 diabetes risk. If UPFs are your cup of tea, this is your wake-up call.
The research, in PLOS Medicine, looked at information about more than 108,000 French adults participating in the NutriNet-Santé cohort study, a prospective dietary and health study. In a median of 7.7 years, researchers found five prevalent food additive combinations, two of which were also found by evidence of increased type 2 diabetes risk.
Mix 2, in foods such as broths, milk confectionery, fats, and sauces, contains coloring matter, emulsifiers like xanthan gum, carrageenan, and guar gum, and preservatives. Mix 5, in most artificially sweetened soft drinks and drinks, contains colorants like sulphite ammonia caramel, artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose, and acid regulators. The mix of the two mixes paints a grim picture of how pervasive foods are to affect our metabolic well-being in subtle ways.
The subjects with more exposure to the mixtures had 8% to 13% higher odds of type 2 diabetes for each standard deviation increase in additive intake score, the research finds. The percentages may appear minute but reflect a bigger problem: additive synergy in combination.
Interesting is how these additives will interact. Synergistic and antagonist interactions were found between certain additives by exploratory analysis, i.e., enhance or inhibit their effect on each other. For instance, as an example, emulsifiers such as carrageenan, for instance, were found to degrade gut microbiota and induce inflammation and impaired glucose homeostasis in experimental studies. Artificial sweeteners sucralose and aspartame, however, were associated with gut dysbiosis, which can lead to insulin resistance and sweetness craving.
These conclusions are in keeping with larger meta-studies on ultra-processed foods. Further analysis of the EPIC study was conducted, and for each 10% increase in UPF consumption, there was 17% increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Sweet drinks and processed meats were among the top categories in risk. The message is clear: the higher the processed, the worse your metabolic health will be.
But don’t go and ban all processed foods quite yet, because it’s also important to mention that the study authors indicate that the study researchers indicate that the study is observational research. As lead study researcher Dr. Mathilde Touvier says, “This observational study alone is not sufficient to establish a causal link,” she said. “However, our findings are in line with recent in-vitro experimental work suggesting possible cocktail effects.”
And how do you keep yourself healthy? Begin by putting whole, less processed foods at the front of your grocery list. Drink water or herbal tea instead of soft drinks or sweetened tea. Snack on fresh fruit instead of packaged snack food. And if you must eat something processed, read the label and avoid additives such as xanthan gum, aspartame, or carrageenan.
Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a specialist dietitian, thinks that gradual, slow changes will be worth the effort. “Replacing ultra-processed foods with minimally processed or processed alternatives can reduce diabetes risk,” she suggests. For instance, having artisan bread rather than sliced bread from a pack or unflavoured yoghurt rather than flavouring them will lower your intake of these additives.
It is also worth noting that not all UPFs are created equal. A UCL study found that certain UPFs, such as plant alternatives and certain breakfast cereals, were linked with reduced risk of diabetes. This heterogeneity supports the argument for informed choice rather than food group prohibition.
Finally, this new evidence compels us to re-evaluate our relationship with food additives. Although food additives as a class are proven to be safe in regulated quantities, long-term effects particularly when combined need to be studied in greater detail.
Concurrently, the golden rule is to adhere to fundamentals: whole foods with nutrients, which nourish your body and put your belly in a permanent grin. Prevention is sweeter than cure, as people say.
