8 common food additives linked to high blood pressure and heart disease — SkimNews
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- NutriNet-Santé researchers tracked 112,395 French adults for an average of seven to eight years, finding that 99.5% of participants consumed at least one food preservative during their first two years in the study
- Highest consumers of non-antioxidant preservatives showed a 29% higher risk of hypertension and a 16% higher risk of cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke, angina) compared to those with the lowest intake
- Highest consumers of antioxidant preservatives had a 22% higher risk of hypertension
- Eight specific preservatives were tied to elevated hypertension risk: potassium sorbate (E202), potassium metabisulphite (E224), sodium nitrite (E250), ascorbic acid (E300), sodium ascorbate (E301), sodium erythorbate (E316), citric acid (E330), and rosemary extracts (E392)
- Ascorbic acid (E300) was also specifically linked to higher cardiovascular disease risk beyond hypertension
- Dr. Mathilde Touvier called for re-evaluation of these additives by the EFSA in Europe and the FDA in the U.S., while noting the research is observational and cannot prove preservatives directly caused the conditions
- Researchers pointed to oxidative stress and possible disruption of pancreatic function as plausible biological mechanisms, and are now studying how additives interact with gut microbiota and inflammation
Why it matters: With near-universal preservative exposure (99.5% of participants) and identified hypertension risk increases of 22%–29%, the findings pressure EFSA and FDA to revisit additive safety standards governing hundreds of thousands of processed food products, though the observational design means causation remains unproven.
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