Certain preservatives are often added to foods to make them last longer, but research about the possibly damaging effects is ongoing.
One study found that preservative food additives are linked to a higher incidence of diabetes, and another found a similar link between certain preservative food additives and some cancers.
People can take steps to minimize their consumption of food preservatives.
Do preservatives carry health risks? One study recently published in Nature CommunicationsTrusted Source identified 12 preservatives that were linked to a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes.
Another study from the same research team, looking at data from the same original cohort, found that higher intake of certain preservatives was associated with a greater incidence of certain cancer types and overall cancer.
The results highlight potential dangers of certain food additives and the possible need for people to minimize these in their diets.
Preservative food additives: What are the health risks?
For the first study, the researchers wanted to examine how preservative food additives related to the incidence of type 2 diabetes. The study used the French NutriNet-Santé prospective e-cohort, ultimately including 108,723 participants, excluding individuals such as those who already had confirmed diabetes.
The average age of participants was around 43 years, and they had completed an average of 21, 24-hour dietary recalls.
Researchers identified 17 preservatives that at least 10% of the participants consumed. Citric acid was the additive that was consumed by the greatest percentage of participants.
