A brand new study from the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team CRESS-EREN granted the National Institute for Health and Medical Research in France paints an even scarier picture. It finally provides evidence that combinations of widely used food additives are leading culprits behind the rise in type 2 diabetes. Research under the direction of Mathilde Touvier, PhD, identifies two targeted additive mixtures. By combining these chemicals, the health risks can be even more powerful.
Using data from the largest population-based cohort, this study presents evidence for two specific combinations of food additives. The initial compound features surfactants like sodium stearoyl lactylate and sodium stearoyl fumarate. The second blend of additives, acidifiers and acid regulators, includes citric acid, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners and other emulsifiers. The study did find a more pronounced correlation with the second mixture. This was particularly the case for food categories like broth, dairy desserts, and fats and sauces.
“The prevalence of type 2 diabetes has risen dramatically in most countries over the past three decades,” Touvier stated. She stressed that figuring out the roles that food additives play in this disturbing trend is necessary for protecting public health.
Together, these findings point to reducing the use of these commonly used food additives as an important step toward prevention of type 2 diabetes. Seizing this opportunity to adapt may significantly lower your risk. This is not the first time that researchers have made associations between other food additives and heightened diabetes risk. A study published just this past May 2024 found that ultra-processed foods contain seven particular emulsifiers. These emulsifiers have been linked to serious health concerns. Similarly, research from July 2023 indicated a potential link between artificial sweeteners and an increased likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes.
Though these findings are powerful, the authors do concede one limitation in their study. They note it is challenging to know precisely what ingredients participants ate many years ago. This complicates attempts to connect those ingredients directly to improvements in health outcomes. This highlights the importance of continued research on longer-term dietary trends.
Marie Payen de la Garanderie, the PhD student who worked on this study, emphasized the importance of their findings. She said that this is the first time researchers have been able to estimate exposure to food additive mixtures in a large population-based cohort. It examines the link between these additives and the development of type 2 diabetes. Our findings show that food additives are pervasive in common products. When eaten together often, they have the potential to be a modifiable risk factor for preventing type 2 diabetes.
Beyond the modeling, Payen de la Garanderie noted a clear gap in the literature. She noted that throughout history, researchers have assessed food additives individually. Your average person around the world experiences complex concoctions of these very additives every day. We want to see comprehensive comparative analyses of additive behavior within mixtures. This deeper level of understanding would be critical for predicting their possible health effects.
Given these new statistics, health professionals urge people to take matters into their own hands and make the first move towards a healthier diet. As a longtime leader of national nutrition advocacy, Richard lays out real-world strategies for shifting the quality of our diets. Take a trip to your farmer’s market or the produce aisle of your grocery store. Blast off with colorful veggies, zesty herbs, lively fruits, and Healthy Heart dry beans! He emphasized the importance of whole foods over processed items: “Lean on Mother Nature and your local farmers to consume more whole foods and less ‘shelf-stable’ packaged items that don’t have a label.”
Richard wants everyone to appreciate food by understanding its natural flavors and not using artificial flavorings to mask or enhance it. For example, “Recipes make whole, real food the main ingredient,” he said. “Usually synthetic processed fillers, enhancers, thickeners and preservatives are unnecessary for palatability.”
This research has important implications that extend beyond individual dietary choices. Second, it has the potential to inform public health strategies aimed at combating the rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Recent research is connecting the dots between food additives and large-scale chronic illnesses. Therefore, regulatory agencies should consider changing how they assess and classify these chemicals.
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