A French study revealed that high consumption of food preservatives is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
The study was conducted within the epidemiological nutrition research team, with the participation of researchers from several French research institutions, and relied on health and nutritional data for more than 100,000 French adults participating in a study published in the journal “Nature Communications.”
How are preservatives classified?
Preservatives belong to the family of food additives, and millions of foods and drinks around the world contain at least one of them.
The researchers divided these substances into two types: non-antioxidant preservatives that prevent the growth of bacteria or slow down chemical changes that cause food spoilage, and antioxidant substances that delay food spoilage by reducing oxygen levels in the packaging.
These substances are often indicated on food packages with European symbols between E200 and E299 for preservatives, and E300 and E399 for antioxidants.
Research methods and data collection
Between 2009 and 2023, participants collected information about their health, eating habits, and lifestyle, and sent detailed daily records of the industrial food they ate, including names and brands. This data was matched against multiple databases to assess participants’ exposure to preservatives.
Of the 58 preservatives detected in the participants’ meals, 17 were individually analyzed for their effect on diabetes, and they are the most common substances among the participants.
The results showed that high consumption of preservatives in general, non-antioxidant preservatives, and antioxidants was associated with an increased risk of diabetes by 47%, 49%, and 40%, respectively, compared to the lowest levels of consumption.
Among the individual preservatives, 12 were associated with increased diabetes risk, including: Non-antioxidant preservatives: potassium sorbate (E202), potassium metabisulfite (E224), sodium nitrite (E250), acetic acid (E260), sodium acetate (E262), calcium propionate (E282).
Antioxidants: sodium ascorbate (E301), alpha-tocopherol (E307), sodium erythorbate (E316), citric acid (E330), phosphoric acid (E338), and rosemary extracts (E392).
The first observation of the relationship between preservatives and diabetes
“This is the first time globally that the relationship between preservatives and type 2 diabetes has been studied,” says Dr. Mathilde Touvier, Research Director at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research and lead coordinator of the study. “The results are consistent with experimental data indicating harmful effects of some of these substances.”
Anaïs Hasenbühler, a doctoral student who participated in the study, added: “These results indicate the need to reconsider the regulation of the use of food additives to improve consumer protection.”
Touvier concluded: “The study confirms the recommendations of the National Nutrition and Health Program, which advises choosing fresh and processed foods with the least amount of additives possible.”
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