Background Emulsifiers are substances added to industrially processed food products to enhance texture and lengthen shelf life. Studies conducted on healthy individuals have reported detrimental impacts of food emulsifiers on the gut microbiome and metabolome, which can result in chronic inflammation in the gut and increase CVD and cancer risk.
The outcome measures were relationships between exposure to food emulsifiers [continuous ] and risk of cerebrovascular disease, coronary artery disease, and cardiovascular disease, characterized by multivariate proportional hazard Cox modeling to calculate hazard ratios . Regular dietary consumption was assessed at study initiation and then semi-annually using three, online one-day diet records, assigned randomly over 14 days. The records included details such as brands and commercial names of industrial food products to calculate the intake of each additive. Portion sizes were estimated based on the volume or weight of food consumed using validated containers or photographs.
Results Of 127,826 individuals with two or more valid dietary records at baseline, 21,708 were excluded due to under-reported calorie intake, 1,890 were excluded due to prevalent cardiovascular disease at baseline, and 8,786 were excluded since they provided less than three one-day diet records. In addition, individuals with increased emulsifier intake showed tendencies to consume more calories, sodium, saturated fats, fiber, and sugars.
Increased cellulose intake was positively correlated with higher CVD risks and coronary artery disease. In particular, increased E460 cellulose consumption was associated with elevated risks of cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease, and increased carboxymethylcellulose intake was linked to higher coronary artery disease and CVD risks.