Eight food preservatives tied to higher blood pressure risk in French study

A large French nutrition study has linked higher consumption of several common food preservatives with greater risks of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. The findings matter because preservatives are widely used in industrially processed foods, and nearly every participant in the study consumed at least one during the first two years.

The research, published in the European Heart Journal, was conducted within the ongoing NutriNet-Santé study and described by the European Society of Cardiology. The work was led by Dr. Mathilde Touvier, research director at INSERM, and Anaïs Hasenböhler, a PhD student, both with the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team at Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité.

The study included 112,395 volunteers in France. Participants reported all foods and drinks consumed over three-day periods every six months, allowing researchers to estimate exposure to preservative additives in detail.

Researchers then followed participants’ health for an average of seven to eight years, according to the European Society of Cardiology. They looked for new cases of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke and angina.

Higher intake, higher risk

The researchers reported that people with the highest intake of non-antioxidant preservatives had a 29% higher risk of hypertension than those with the lowest intake. The same high-intake group had a 16% higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

Non-antioxidant preservatives are added to foods to slow the growth of microbes such as mold and bacteria. Antioxidant preservatives are used to limit oxidation, which can cause foods to brown or become rancid.

For antioxidant preservatives, the study found a 22% higher risk of hypertension among participants with the highest intake, according to the European Society of Cardiology. The associations were strongest among people consuming the largest amounts of the additives.

The study does not prove that preservatives caused the health problems. Touvier said the work has limitations because it is observational, while noting that the analysis used detailed dietary data and accounted for other factors that can raise or lower cardiovascular risk.

Eight additives identified

The team separately assessed 17 commonly consumed preservatives. Eight were associated with a higher risk of high blood pressure:

• Potassium sorbate, E202
• Potassium metabisulphite, E224
• Sodium nitrite, E250
• Ascorbic acid, E300
• Sodium ascorbate, E301
• Sodium erythorbate, E316
• Citric acid, E330
• Extracts of rosemary, E392

Among those eight, ascorbic acid, E300, was also specifically associated with cardiovascular disease, according to the study.

Hasenböhler said preservatives are used in many industrially processed foods and that earlier experimental research had raised concerns about possible cardiovascular effects. She said the team knew of no previous human study examining links between a broad set of preservatives and cardiovascular health in this way.

Touvier said prior experimental research has suggested possible mechanisms, including oxidative stress and effects on pancreatic function. She said the findings support a fresh review of the risks and benefits of these additives by regulators such as the European Food Safety Authority and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The researchers said their findings also support existing advice to choose unprocessed or minimally processed foods and avoid unnecessary additives. The team is continuing to study how additives and ultra-processed foods may affect inflammation, oxidative stress, blood metabolic markers and gut microbiota, according to the European Society of Cardiology.

This story draws on original reporting from ScienceDaily.