Food additive emulsifiers increase the risk of cancer

Bad for the intestinal flora: Emulsifiers promote the development of intestinal inflammation
Emulsifiers, which are present in many foods today, can lead to inflammatory bowel disease and make tumor cells grow faster. Researchers have found this out in animal experiments. Health experts have long been warning about additives in foods.

Emulsifiers in numerous foods
Emulsifiers are used today in many foods such as sauces, desserts, shortenings or chewing gum. They serve to mix and stabilize two immiscible liquids, such as oil and water, into a finely divided mixture, the so-called emulsion. Some of these additives are suspected of harming one's health. This assumption is now confirmed in a new study.

In experiments with mice, researchers have found that emulsifiers can cause inflammatory bowel disease and make tumor cells grow faster. (Image: ag visual / fotolia.com)

Enteritis caused by food additives
Already last year, scientists reported to Dr. Benoit Chassaing of Georgia State University, Atlanta, in the journal Nature, states that "food additives could be linked to modern diseases such as chronic intestinal inflammation and the metabolic syndrome".

In a study with mice, it was found that the emulsifiers carboxymethylcellulose (E 466) and polysorbate 80 (E 433) alter the composition of the intestinal bacteria and in this way promote the development of inflammation. The researchers discovered "more types of bacteria that could migrate into the thick mucus layer of the intestine interior and degrade this". Normally, hardly any bacteria penetrate into this mucus layer, so that the intestine is protected.

Emulsifiers could promote cancer
Well, Dr. Benoit Chassaing and his colleagues in a new trial also tested emulsifiers on mice that already had tumors in their intestines triggered by chemicals. As the researchers in the journal "Cancer Research" report, the growth of ulcers in animals accelerated with the chemically induced intestinal tumors. According to the scientists, the additives could affect the intestinal flora in such a way that intestinal inflammation and consequently colon cancer would be favored.

Unclear effects on humans
In addition, the researchers found in the study that mice that had emulsifiers in the feed, gained more weight than animals from the comparison group. The team believes that the cause of these differences lies in the bacteria and not in the additives themselves.

However, the new findings initially only refer to mice. Whether the observed effects could occur in humans, would have to be clarified in further studies. (Ad)