A large-scale study published in the European Heart Journal found that eight common food additives are associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. This is the first study of its kind to analyze the impact of a wide range of preservatives on human health.
The study, conducted as part of the NutriNet-Santé project, involved 112,395 volunteers from across France, whose diets were tracked over seven to eight years. Participants regularly reported all the food and drinks they consumed, allowing researchers to assess ingredients, including preservatives, in detail. The analysis showed that people who consumed the largest amounts of preservatives had a significantly higher risk of developing hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Specific additives and risks
Participants with the highest consumption of non-antioxidant preservatives, which prevent the growth of microorganisms, had a 29% higher risk of hypertension and a 16% higher risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, and angina. For those who consumed the most antioxidant preservatives, which prevent the oxidation of products, the risk of hypertension was 22% higher.
Among the 17 most common preservatives, eight were specifically linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure. These include potassium sorbate (E202), potassium metabisulfite (E224), sodium nitrite (E250), ascorbic acid (E300), sodium ascorbate (E301), sodium erythorbate (E316), citric acid (E330), and rosemary extracts (E392). Of these, ascorbic acid (E300) was also associated with cardiovascular disease.
Calls for reassessment and recommendations
The study was led by Dr. Matthilde Touvier, research director at INSERM (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research), and graduate student Anaïs Gazon from the Nutrition Epidemiology Research Team at the University of Paris-Nord and the University of Paris-Cité. According to Gazon, “experimental studies suggest that some preservatives may be harmful to the cardiovascular system, but we did not have enough evidence of their impact on humans”.
Dr. Touvier noted that, despite the observational design of the study, “the data obtained are based on very detailed indicators, and we took into account other factors that may increase or decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease”. She added that these results require “a reassessment of the risks and benefits of these food additives by relevant authorities, such as the EFSA in Europe and the FDA in the US, to better protect consumers”. Meanwhile, the study supports existing recommendations to prefer unprocessed and minimally processed products and to avoid excessive additives.
The research team continues to study how food additives and ultra-processed products affect inflammation, oxidative stress, blood metabolic markers, and gut microbiota composition to explain the biological mechanisms of these associations.
Source: Science Daily