Overlooked ingredient could increase your risk of obesity and diabetes — not sugar

The ingredient is found in a huge number of foods millions of us eat every day (Image: Getty Images)

A leading nutritionist has sounded the alarm over a common ingredient found in many foods that could be detrimental to our health.

Emulsifiers, present in a vast array of products such as ice cream, mayonnaise, and bread, have been flagged by Dr Federica Amati, chief nutritionist at Zoe. She highlighted their prevalence, stating on a Zoe podcast that "about 95% of baked goods like buns and croissants and breads in supermarkets" contain them, reports Surrey Live.

Dr Amati cautioned that regular consumption of emulsifiers might be disruptive to our wellbeing. She explained: "What we're starting to see is that emulsifiers eaten every day in various types of foods actually do disrupt the gut microbiome and they can potentially lead to higher levels of inflammation."

She continued to outline the potential consequences: "All of these things contribute to a higher risk of basically being unwell, whether that's from the gastric symptoms, so having IBS or suffering with symptoms of indigestion, things like this. But further down the line, when you have increased inflammation in the gut for a long time, that's when you run into a higher risk of things like developing obesity, type 2 diabetes, and of developing autoimmune conditions."

What are emulsifiers?

Emulsifiers are food additives that are added to a variety of products for reasons such as texture and shelf life. They play a crucial role in the food industry. They help blend foods that wouldn't naturally mix, like oil and water in salad dressing or oil and vinegar in mayonnaise.

Without emulsifiers, these components would separate naturally in the jar or bottle. Emulsifiers can either be natural, derived from plants or animals, or synthetic, made from chemicals.

What foods contain emulsifiers?

Common items include bread (to enhance volume, softness and shelf life), chocolate, ice cream, margarine, and processed meat.

How can you tell if your food contains an emulsifier?

If you're purchasing any of the above-mentioned foods from a supermarket or convenience store, there's a high likelihood it contains emulsifiers. If a food does contain an emulsifier, it will be listed on the ingredients list on the packet.

Some common names for emulsifiers that you see in a lot of foods are:

• lecithin
• guar gum
• xanthan gum
• agar

Are emulsifiers harmful to us?

All foods consumed in the UK, USA and EU must be deemed safe by the relevant authority. Therefore, any of the foods you buy in the supermarket, including those mentioned above, will have undergone this process.

However, Zoe states on its website: "Most relevant studies focus on cancer and genotoxicity - a compound's ability to damage your genetic information. Other possible effects, like those on your gut or metabolic health, receive less attention."

Zoe highlighted research limitations, noting: "It's worth remembering that most of the studies below were conducted on animals or in a lab. So, we can't assume that the results apply to us. Also, the researchers only investigated one emulsifier at a time, for relatively short periods. So, the results can't help us understand the cumulative effects of consuming cocktails of emulsifiers daily over a lifetime."

Zoe mentions a mice-focused study that "found that the emulsifier polysorbate-80 reduced the diversity of the small intestine's microbiome". The article also recounts: "Another study, also in mice, found that the emulsifier glycerol monolaurate caused an imbalance in the gut microbiome, as well as inflammation and metabolic syndrome."

The article makes reference to a particular research on carboxymethylcellulose, suggesting "is an ideal suspect to account for the rise of IBD in the 20th century", after finding it induced "gut inflammation and an overgrowth of bacteria", according to the study's authors.

Meanwhile, Professor Kevin Whelan, a dietetics expert at King's College London, advised the BBC: "As yet, we cannot say that people should avoid eating emulsifiers. They are contained in a wide range of foods, and some may have healthy nutritional properties. Therefore, in the meantime, most scientists, dietitians, and doctors would recommend that it is sensible to eat a diet that contains more unprocessed, natural plant foods."