From making it look better, to tweaking the texture, to enhancing the shelf life, the use of both natural and man-made emulsifiers has become commonplace in many processed foods.
And because these food additive molecules are so ubiquitous in our food, nutritional researchers are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of consuming large amounts of emulsifiers on our health.
In a new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) this week, French scientists at the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN) in Bobigny have associated high consumption of a whole range of common emulsifiers with an increased risk of coronary heart disease and even all forms of cardiovascular disease. The team identified these associations through following more than 95,000 adults over a number of years and examining their dietary records.
