Studies show that mixtures of food additives in ultraprocessed foods increase Type 2 diabetes risk, even for those following otherwise healthy diets
Two additive mixtures pose higher diabetes risk — one found in sweetened beverages and another in processed foods like dairy desserts and canned broths
Food additives damage gut microbiome, disrupt cellular function, and cause DNA damage when combined, even at low doses that match typical consumption patterns
Current safety assessments by health agencies are incomplete as they test individual additives rather than the combinations consumed in everyday diets
Healthy recommendations include eliminating ultraprocessed foods, choosing whole or biodynamic foods, educating family about real food, and learning to identify harmful additives
*
Additives in modern foods are ubiquitous and ingested all the time. While a single additive in your food might seem harmless, keep in mind that all of your consumption will eventually add up. Furthermore, published studies have linked the usage of food additives to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Globally, around one in nine people are diabetic, and more than 40% are unaware that they already have this condition.1 While common medical knowledge dictates that managing Type 2 diabetes is reducing sugar intake, it paints an incomplete picture. Research shows that food additives also come into play.
Additives in Ultraprocessed Food Are Quietly Raising Diabetes Risk
A large-scale observational study published in PLOS Medicine2 investigated whether common combinations of food additives found in everyday ultraprocessed foods are increasing the risk of Type 2 diabetes in the general population.
Led by researchers from France, the team analyzed data from 108,643 adults over an average follow-up of nearly eight years. The unique approach in this study is that instead of isolating individual additives, it focuses on mixtures of additives, mimicking food habits practiced in daily life. Based on collated data, here are the common additives used together:3
Mixture 1: Additives — Sodium carbonates; diphosphates; glycerol; ammonium carbonates; potassium carbonates; sorbitol
Mixture 2: Additives — Modified starches; pectins; guar gum; carrageenan; polyphosphates; potassium sorbate; curcumin; xanthan gum
Mixture 3: Additives — Magnesium carbonates; riboflavin; alpha-tocopherol; ammonium carbonates
Mixture 4: Additives — Ammonium carbonates; sodium carbonates; diphosphates; alpha-tocopherol; DATEM; magnesium carbonates; lecithins
Mixture 5: Additives — Citric acid; sodium citrates; phosphoric acid; sulphite ammonia caramel; acesulfame K; aspartame; sucralose; arabic gum; malic acid; carnauba wax; paprika extract, capsanthin, and capsorubin; anthocyanins; guar gum; pectins
• Sweetened beverages increase your risk of diabetes — Based on the results of the study, the researchers noted that two additive mixtures contributed more to diabetes risk compared to the others. Specifically, they pointed out mixture 5, which contains chemicals mainly found in sweetened beverages like sodas.
• Processed foods are also to blame — The second group that greatly contributes to diabetes risk is mixture 2. According to the researchers, examples of these foods are processed dairy desserts, sauces, and canned broths.
• Even people who follow a generally healthy diet are at risk — The increase in diabetes cases wasn’t limited to those with poor diets. Researchers specifically ran separate analyses adjusting for overall diet quality.
People following nutritionally “healthy” diets were still at increased risk if their food contained these additive combinations. That means you could be eating low-fat dairy, low-calorie salad dressing, or “sugar-free” drinks, and still be exposed to high-risk chemical blends without even knowing it.
• Additive mixtures act in complex ways — The study detected signs of both synergistic and antagonistic interactions between additives. In other words, some additives enhanced each other’s harmful effects, while others blunted them.
For example, within the second mixture, researchers found six additive pairings that acted synergistically and four that seemed to cancel each other out. The takeaway here is that these interactions are unpredictable for your health.
The Mechanisms Behind the Additives You Eat
Several of the additives in the mixtures, especially artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose, have been shown in previous articles to damage the gut microbiome. The result — your blood sugar stays elevated, and your risk of insulin resistance and full-blown Type 2 diabetes increases.
• Emulsifiers are implicated in microbiome disruption and gut barrier damage — These substances affect the mucus layer that protects the intestinal lining. When that layer breaks down, your body becomes more permeable to toxins and inflammatory triggers.
In the review of published literature, the researchers noted that carrageenan has been shown to impair glucose tolerance and promote inflammatory pathways that mirror early-stage diabetes.
• Metabolic effects of food dyes — The study also implicated the application of food dye in the context of Type 2 diabetes. Specifically, the researchers singled out Brilliant Blue (also known as E133), which has been shown to alter mitochondrial function in other research. As noted in a different study, Blue No. 1, a popular food dye, “has been found to inhibit mitochondrial respiration in vitro.”4
• It’s not just one additive that’s causing poor health — The researchers investigated whether individual additives within the mixtures were solely responsible for the risk. They weren’t.
When the team adjusted for each additive one by one, the diabetes risk didn’t go away. This confirmed that it wasn’t just a matter of one or two chemicals — it was the combined, cumulative effect of the mixture that mattered most.
The findings of the study are clear. If you’re trying to manage your blood sugar and avoid metabolic dysfunction, it’s not enough to cut back on sugar intake. You also need to pay attention to the invisible chemical combinations added along with your food.
Toxic Reactions from Additive Mixtures Show Up in Human Cells
Earlier research published in Food and Chemical Toxicology5 took a different approach to investigate the issue of food additive in human health. Instead of looking at long-term human outcomes, researchers tested how these common additives, and their mixtures, affect human cells directly.
The study examined 32 widely consumed food additives and six mixtures identified in the NutriNet-Santé cohort, which is the same database used by the PLOS Medicine study earlier. The study’s goal is straightforward — expose human liver, colon, kidney, and neuron cells to these additives, both alone and in combinations, and record signs of toxicity or damage.
• Individual additives caused no measurable harm — However, the situation changed dramatically when they were combined. Two out of the six additive mixtures produced clear signs of genotoxicity, which means they damaged the cells’ DNA. That kind of damage will lead to mutations, faulty cell replication, and eventually chronic disease.
One mixture in particular triggered these mentioned effects at realistic, real-world concentrations. This included additives like modified starches, guar gum, citric acid, aspartame, and sodium citrate.
• Even combinations at low dose produced startling effects — The researchers calculated expected human exposure by converting dietary intake into bloodstream concentration equivalents. Then, they tested mixtures at those realistic levels and still saw cellular stress, DNA damage, and reduced cell viability.
For example, mixture 2 caused a sharp increase in γH2AX expression, a biomarker for DNA damage. It also reduced cell survival rates, particularly in colon and liver cells. Mixture 5, which included more dyes and sweeteners, triggered similar effects in kidney and liver cells. In other words, these mixtures were toxic at doses that match what many people are consuming.
• Not all additives behave the same way when combined — For instance, E503 (ammonium carbonates) and E120 (carmine) are generally harmless on their own. But in this study, E503 alone caused genotoxicity in three different cell types, while E120 induced significant DNA damage at relatively low concentrations.
When these and similar additives were part of a mixture, the damage became more severe and widespread. That means the mixture of chemicals, and not only the dose, is what’s driving harm.
• Cellular processes are affected — The researchers followed another biomarker, pH3, to detect whether additives interfered with mitosis, the process of cell division. Additives that disrupt mitosis will lead to uncontrolled cell growth or cell death, both of which are linked to metabolic disorders and cancer development.
Going back to the study, several mixtures increased pH3 levels dramatically, signaling that these food chemical combinations are also interfering with the cells’ ability to reproduce and maintain normal function.
Ultimately, the research shows that safety assessments released by health agencies based on single tests are dangerously incomplete. In the real world, you’re not consuming one isolated chemical — you’re ingesting cocktails of them, often multiple times a day.
Take Control of Your Food Choices
If you’re dealing with blood sugar issues, struggling with your weight, or just trying to protect your stay healthy, it’s important to address the root cause of the problem and not just to focus on managing the symptoms only.
As discussed by the research, it’s the hidden combinations of industrial food additives in ultraprocessed products that also stealthily disrupt your metabolism, gut health, and cellular function. Once you start reading labels and connecting the dots, you’ll notice the patterns. To protect your health, here are practical recommendations:
1. Stop eating ultraprocessed food altogether — The real solution that addresses the root cause of Type 2 is to stop feeding your body the chemical combinations that trigger metabolic chaos. That means cutting out any product with an ingredient list that reads like a chemistry experiment — preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners, and anything ending in “gum” or “sorbate.”
If you are still eating frozen entrees, flavored drinks, boxed snacks, or processed meats, it’s time to stop. These are the foods where additive mixtures hide and do their damage.
2. Choose whole, biodynamic, or regenerative foods as your base — If you want to heal your metabolism and gut, start with foods that never needed additives in the first place. Go for fresh fruits and vegetables, root vegetables, meats from properly raised animals (especially ruminants like beef and lamb), raw dairy from trusted farms, and eggs from pasture-raised chickens.
If you’re not able to find biodynamic foods near you, prioritize clean labels and connect with local producers. Your gut microbiome needs real food — not synthetic chemical blends.
3. Educate your family about where real food comes from — If you’re a parent, your kids need to understand this early. If you’re caring for older parents, help them see how food has changed. Teach them to recognize the difference between an apple and an apple-flavored snack. Remind them that food doesn’t need to have a paragraph of ingredients.
Explain how pesticides, additives, and flavorings weren’t part of human diets for thousands of years, and show them the difference in how they feel when they eat clean. Change starts in your home.
4. Check the label when going grocery shopping — Avoid products that contain emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives. That includes carrageenan, guar gum, aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame-K, citric acid, and potassium sorbate. Look up every ingredient you don’t recognize — In essence, be a discerning consumer.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Link Between Food Additives and Type 2 Diabetes
Q: How do food additives contribute to Type 2 diabetes?
A: Food additives, especially in ultraprocessed foods, have been linked to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, even among people with otherwise healthy diets. Research shows that it’s not just sugar intake to watch for; mixtures of common food additives disrupt metabolism, elevate blood sugar, and increase insulin resistance through complex biological interactions.
Q: Which types of foods are most associated with diabetes risk?
A: Research has shown two product groups that contain additives greatly contributing to your risk of diabetes:
• Sweetened beverages — Sodas and processed fruit juices contain artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose, as well as food dyes.
• Processed foods — Dairy desserts, sauces, and canned broths include substances like modified starches, carrageenan, and potassium sorbate.
Q: What are the biological effects of additive mixtures on human health?
A: Studies found that additive mixtures cause DNA damage, cellular stress and reduced cell survival, disruption of gut microbiota and intestinal barrier, and altered cell division. These effects occurred even at realistic dietary exposure levels, especially in organs like the colon, liver, kidney, and even neurons.
Q: Why aren’t current food safety regulations enough?
A: Most food safety assessments evaluate additives in isolation, not the combinations people consume daily. However, research reveals that when combined, even harmless additives interact synergistically, worsening their effects, or antagonistically, masking damage until it’s too late. This makes current safety evaluations incomplete and misleading.
Q: What steps can individuals take to reduce their risk?
A: Here are four strategies to help turn your health back on the right track:
• Eliminate ultraprocessed foods — Avoid products containing additive cocktails (preservatives, sweeteners and emulsifiers).
• Opt for whole, organic, or regenerative foods — Choose fresh fruits and vegetables, pasture-raised meats, and raw dairy.
• Learn to read labels — Avoid unfamiliar or synthetic ingredients.
• Educate family members — Share information about the benefits of eating real food at home instead of relying on chemically processed alternatives.
*
Click the share button below to email/forward this article. Follow us on Instagram and X and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost Global Research articles with proper attribution.
Notes
1 International Diabetes Foundation, Type 2 Diabetes
4 Adv Nutr. 2021 Jul 9;12(6):2301–2311
5 Food and Chemical Toxicology Volume 196, February 2025, 115198
Featured image is from Flickr
Global Research is a reader-funded media. We do not accept any funding from corporations or governments. Help us stay afloat. Click the image below to make a one-time or recurring donation.
Counter Information publish all articles following the Creative Commons rule creative commons. If you don't want your article to appear in this blog email me and I will remove it asap.
No comments:
Post a Comment