Common Food Preservatives Tied to Health Risks
Research published in the European Heart Journal suggests that consuming foods with common preservatives may heighten the risks for high blood pressure and heart disease.
Dr. Mathilde Touvier, a research director at INSERM, and Anaïs Hasenböhler, a Ph.D. student, led the study through the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team at the Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité in France.
Hasenböhler noted, “Food preservatives appear in countless processed foods. While earlier studies have hinted at their potential harm to cardiovascular health, there hasn’t been sufficient evidence regarding their effects on humans. To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze a variety of preservatives and their connection to heart health.”
This research is part of a larger project named NutriNet-Santé, which involved 112,395 participants across France. Over a three-day period, every six months, these volunteers reported everything they consumed.
The research team meticulously examined the ingredients in all food and beverages, including preservatives, while monitoring each participant’s health over an average span of seven to eight years to determine any onset of high blood pressure or cardiovascular conditions.
Remarkably, 99.5% of participants had consumed at least one preservative during the first two years of the study.
The findings indicated that those who ingested the most “non-antioxidant” preservatives had a 29% increased risk of hypertension compared to those who consumed the least. They also had a 16% higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks, strokes, and angina. Additionally, the highest consumers of antioxidant preservatives faced a 22% increased risk of hypertension.
Non-antioxidant preservatives are aimed at preventing harmful bacteria and mold, while antioxidant preservatives help stop oxidation, which keeps food from turning brown or becoming rancid.
The team analyzed 17 commonly consumed preservatives and identified eight specifically linked to higher blood pressure: potassium sorbate (E202), potassium metabisulphite (E224), sodium nitrite (E250), ascorbic acid (E300), sodium ascorbate (E301), sodium erythorbate (E316), citric acid (E330), and rosemary extracts (E392). Ascorbic acid was also connected to cardiovascular issues.
Dr. Touvier acknowledged the study’s limitations due to its observational nature but emphasized that the data was highly detailed and accounted for various other risk factors. Previous experimental studies have suggested that preservatives might instigate oxidative stress in the body or disrupt pancreatic function.
She urged regulatory bodies, like the EFSA in Europe and the FDA in the U.S., to reassess the risks and benefits associated with these food additives for better consumer safety.
In light of these findings, she endorsed existing recommendations advocating for less processed foods and caution against unnecessary additives. Healthcare professionals have a vital role in communicating these recommendations to the public.
The researchers are now investigating the effects of food additives and ultra-processed foods on inflammation, oxidative stress, blood metabolic profiles, and gut microbiota composition to further understand how these additives might elevate disease risks.
Publication details
Preservative food additives, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases: the NutriNet-Santé study, European Heart Journal (2026). DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehag308
