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Ubiquitous food additive alters human microbiota and intestinal environment:
Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) is a synthetic member of a widely used class of food additives, termed emulsifiers, which are added to many processed foods to enhance texture and promote shelf life. CMC has not been extensively tested in humans but has been increasingly used in processed foods since the 1960s. It had long been assumed that CMC was safe to ingest because it is eliminated in the feces without being absorbed. However, increasing appreciation of the health benefits provided by bacteria that normally live in the colon, and thus would interact with non-absorbed additives, has led scientists to challenge this assumption. Experiments in mice found that CMC, and some other emulsifiers, altered gut bacteria resulting in more severe disease in a range of chronic inflammatory conditions, including colitis, metabolic syndrome and colon cancer. However, the extent to which such results are applicable to humans had not been previously investigated.
The team performed a randomized controlled-feeding study in healthy volunteers. Participants, housed at the study site, consumed an additive-free diet or an identical diet supplemented with carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). Because the diseases CMC promotes in mice take years to arise in humans, the researchers focused here on intestinal bacteria and metabolites. They found that CMC consumption changed the make-up of bacteria populating the colon, reducing select species. Furthermore, fecal samples from CMC-treated participants displayed a stark depletion of beneficial metabolites that are thought to normally maintain a healthy colon.
Lastly, the researchers performed colonoscopies on subjects at the beginning and end of the study and noticed that a subset of subjects consuming CMC displayed gut bacteria encroaching into the mucus, which has previously been observed to be a feature of inflammatory bowel diseases and type 2 diabetes. Thus, while CMC consumption did not result in any disease per se in this two week study, collectively the results support the conclusions of animal studies that long-term consumption of this additive might promote chronic inflammatory diseases. Therefore, further studies of this additive are warranted.
Journal Reference:
Benoit Chassaing, et. al. Randomized controlled-feeding study of dietary emulsifier carboxymethylcellulose reveals detrimental impacts on the gut microbiota and metabolome. Gastroenterology, 2021;
(DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2021.11.006)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 02 2021, @02:13PM (1 child)
This is, intentionally or not, a class problem. Boxed macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles, and similar products have long shelf life, are incredibly cheap per volume or per calorie, require few dishes and little space to repair, and don't need to be refrigerated before you make them.
My diet is much healthier now than it was three years ago - because my youngest kid is now a teenager, and my oldest kid can drive. I'm not paying for daycare, I'm not changing diapers, I can afford more expensive foods, I can get to the store more often, I have more time to cook, I have more time to wash dishes and other people in the house are old enough to wash dishes.
So I grant your premise. But when you see someone else eating processed food, it could be, "I can't afford to buy unprocessed stuff" or "I am struggling to keep up with the dishes, and a microwaved meal makes that easier" or "I don't have the energy to cook anything elaborate because if I hear the Peppa Pig theme song one more time I'm going to hang myself" or "I can only get to the grocery store twice a month and anything that's not boxed or canned spoils after a week".
In other words, please recommend unprocessed foods and public policy that promotes unprocessed foods without turning this into a moral crusade against people who eat processed foods.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 03 2021, @07:56PM
The good stuff (not the faked Chinese poison) isn't that cheap though... ;)