Yogurt and cookie emulsifiers may increase your risk of diabetes: a Lancet study

Emulsifiers, such as guar gum and xantham, are the most widely used additives. They are added to processed and packaged foods to improve its appearance, flavor, and texture, as well as to lengthen their shelf life.

Research published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology found that emulsifiers, including celluloses, gums, pectins, modified starches, lecithins, phosphates, and mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, have been linked to an elevated risk of Type 2 diabetes. Emulsifiers have been linked in the past to breast and prostate cancer.

Researchers from France’s INRAE – National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment, analyzed the relationships between the dietary intakes of emulsifiers, assessed over a follow-up period of 14 years, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in a large study involving 104,139 adults between 2009 and 2023.

In a massive study involving 104,139 adults between 2009 and 2023, researchers from France’s INRAE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment) analyzed the associations between the dietary intakes of emulsifiers, assessed over a follow-up period of 14 years, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Approximately 1,056 instances of diabetes were identified as a consequence of long-term exposure to certain emulsifiers.

Specifically, these included carrageenans (3% increased risk per increment of 100 mg per day), tripotassium phosphate (15% increased risk per increment of 500 mg per day), esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (4% increased risk per increment of 100 mg per day), sodium citrate (4% increased risk per increment of 500 mg per day), guar gum (11% increased risk per increment of 500 mg per day), gum arabic (3%) and xanthan gum (8% increased risk per increment of 500 mg per day).

“As of right now, these results are based only on one observational research, and therefore cannot be used to prove causation. To further understand the mechanisms linking these food additive emulsifiers and the onset of type 2 diabetes, they must be repeated in other epidemiological studies conducted worldwide and complemented by toxicological and interventional experimental studies, according to the study’s lead authors, Mathilde Touvier, Research Director at Inserm, and Bernard Srour, Junior Professor at INRAE.

To better safeguard consumers, they said, “our results represent important elements to enrich the debate on re-evaluating the regulations around the use of additives in the food industry.”