03/05/2015
POPULAR FOOD ADDITIVE LINKED TO OBESITY, GUT DESTRUCTION
A go-to ingredient added to most processed foods to improve texture and extend shelf life can also alter your gut in a way that triggers intestinal inflammation and promotes the development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) and metabolic syndrome, according to new research published in the journal Nature.
The research, led by Georgia State University Institute for Biomedical Sciences researchers Benoit Chassaing, PhD, and Andrew T. Gewirtz, PhD, found that emulsifiers commonly used in processed foods messed with the gut microbiota, setting off a host of unhealthy side effects. (Gut microbiota refers to the diverse population of 100 trillion bacteria that inhabit the intestinal tract, which is often disturbed and thrown out of balance in people living with colitis and Crohn's disease.)
That makes sense, since incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases, including ailments like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, have been on the rise since the mid 20th century, a time when emulsifiers became more prevelant in food. The incidence of metabolic syndrome, a group of obesity-related disorders that can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart, and liver diseases, has been climbing, as well.
"Importantly, incidence of IBD and metabolic syndrome has been markedly increasing since about the mid 20th century, and this dramatic increase has occurred amidst constant human genetics, suggesting a pivotal role for an environmental factor," the scientists told Rodale News. "We considered that any modern additions to the food supply might play an important role, and addition of emulsifiers to food seems to fit the time frame of increased incidence in these diseases."
And this might seem crazy, but many of the chemicals introduced on the market are not fully tested for long-term impacts on human health. "Annually, we consume, on average, 17 pounds of food additives, including colorings, preservatives, favorings, emulsifiers, humectants, and antimicrobials," says clinical nutritionist Elizabeth Lipski, PhD, author of Digestion Connection. "In 1990, the EPA estimated that 70,000 chemicals were commonly used in pesticides, foods, and drugs."
Moreover, the researchers said those emulsifying agents have been shown to promote bacterial translocation across epithelial cells. To test the hypothesis, they studied how emulsifiers might impact the gut microbiota on mice.
The team fed mice two very commonly used emulsifiers, polysorbate 80 and carboxymethylcellulsose, at doses seeking to model the broad human consumption of the numerous emulsifiers that almost all processed foods contain. Doing this changed the animals' guts in a way that flared up inflammation. And that altered microbiota had an enhanced capacity to digest and infiltrate the dense layer of mucus that lines the intestine, which is normally largely devoid of bacteria. This set off widespread inflammation in the gut.
Such changes in bacteria triggered chronic colitis in mice genetically prone to this disorder due to abnormal immune systems. In contrast, in mice with normal immune systems, emulsifiers induced low-grade or mild intestinal inflammation and metabolic syndrome, characterized by increased levels of food consumption, obesity, and insulin resistance.
The team is now testing additional emulsifiers and designing experiments to investigate how emulsifiers affect humans. If similar results are obtained, it would indicate a role for this class of food additive in driving the epidemic of obesity, its interrelated consequences, and a range of diseases associated with chronic gut inflammation.
"We do not disagree with the commonly held assumption that overeating is a central cause of obesity and metabolic syndrome," Gewirtz says. "Rather, our findings reinforce the concept suggested by earlier work that low-grade inflammation resulting from an altered microbiota can be an underlying cause of excess eating."
The team notes that the results of its study suggest that current means of testing and approving food additives may not be adequate to prevent the use of chemicals that promote diseases driven by low-grade inflammation and/or which will cause disease primarily in susceptible hosts. Although they say more research, including human trials, is needed, Chassaing and Gewirtz have already changed their own diets to avoid emulsifiers in processed foods. They also point to another recent and important study showing how artificial sweeteners can disrupt the gut microbiota, signaling that food choices could play a huge role in digestive disease. (Check out the best foods for your gut to help keep your digestive tract happy.)
Organic processed foods may not be in the clear, either.
"Emulsifiers are detergent-like molecules that stabilize mixtures of immiscible liquids and are commonly added to processed foods," note the study authors. "On this point, it is important to note that a lot of emulsifiers are "natural," such as soy lecithin, meaning that organic food can still be loaded with emulsifiers. We are currently working on deciphering if all emulsifiers have similar effects or not."
Read More At: http://www.rodalenews.com/food-additives-colitis?cid=NL_RNDF_2036888_03022015_Popular_food_additive_linked_obesity_gut_destruction_text
