Why Processed Foods May Promote Gut Inflammation (Emulsifiers)

[charlie]

Certain food additives may interfere with your gut bacteria, causing changes that boost inflammation in the intestines and potentially promote the development of some chronic diseases, a new study suggests.

In the study, researchers looked at ingredients called emulsifiers, which are added to many processed foods, including ice cream and peanut butter, to improve those foods' texture and extend their shelf life.

Adding the emulsifiers led to a dramatic increase in a marker of gut inflammation, said study co-author Benoit Chassaing, an assistant professor of biomedical science at Georgia State University. Chassaing presented the study here on Saturday (May 21) at Digestive Disease Week, a scientific meeting focused on digestive diseases.

The new findings add to those of a 2013 study by the same group of researchers, which found that emulsifiers promote the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in mice that are genetically predisposed to the condition.

Emulsifiers are listed on ingredient labels, but the additives go by many different names, Chassaing said. This makes it hard to avoid emulsifiers simply by reading food labels. The best way to keep from eating emulsifiers is to avoid processed food, he said.

More at link:
Why processed foods may promote gut inflammation | Fox News

 

[Such_Saturation]

So it's a little like eating soap...

 

[jyb]

That said, apparently they used really huge amount to reach that effect, so the study alone might be crap.

But I don't need to read any study to avoid eating stuff called "polysorbate-80 (E433) and carboxymethylcellulose (E466)". I don't understand why it's even there, ice cream without those kind of surprise ingredients are no less tasty.