Common food additives 'linked' to bowel cancer

NHS: "Why processed food may cause bowel cancer: Common additives change gut bacteria which allow tumours to grow," reports the Mail Online. This follows a study in mice investigating whether common food additives (E numbers) called emulsifiers cause inflammation in the gut that in turn triggers bowel cancer. The researchers divided the mice into three groups: two received emulsifiers, either sodium carboxymethycellulose (CMC) or polysorbate 80 (P80), and the third group received water. They also gave the mice toxins to trigger inflammation and cancer.

Decades of research yield natural dairy thickener with probiotic potential

Oregon: Microbiologists at Oregon State University have discovered and helped patent and commercialize a new type of dairy or food thickener, which may add probiotic characteristics to the products in which it’s used. The thickener is now in commercial use, and OSU officials say it may have a significant impact in major industries. The global market for polymers such as this approaches $7 billion, and there are estimates the U.S. spends up to $120 billion a year on probiotic products such as yogurt, sour cream and buttermilk. The new product is produced by a natural bacterium that was isolated in Oregon. It’s the result of decades of research, beginning in the early 1990s when a novel polymer with an ability to rapidly thicken milk was discovered by an OSU microbiologist. The polymer is known as Ropy 352 and produced by a non-disease-causing bacterium.

Food emulsifiers could increase our chronic disease risk

TheConversation: Have you ever wondered what those food additive numbers in the ingredients list on your food packaging meant and what they were really doing to your body? A recent study suggests emulsifiers – detergent-like food additives found in a variety of processed foods – have the potential to damage the intestinal barrier, leading to inflammation and increasing our risk of chronic disease. The research was done on mice, so it’s too early to say humans should stop eating emulsifiers, but let’s examine the mechanisms involved.

Widely Used Food Additive Promotes Colitis, Obesity And Metabolic Syndrome, Research Shows

Georgia University. US: Emulsifiers, which are added to most processed foods to aid texture and extend shelf life, can alter the gut microbiota composition and localization to induce intestinal inflammation that promotes the development of inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic syndrome, new research shows.