Common food ingredient could be contributing to chronic diseases. Emulsifiers are found in many of the processed foods we eat. They act as a kind of bridge between fats and water-based components to keep them from separating out the way oil separates in salad dressing. But new research has found that these chemicals may be having a serious effect on your health. “Researchers fed mice emulsifiers through water or food. The experiment used polysorbate 80 (common in ice cream) and carboxymethylcellulose, and found that it altered microbiota in a way that caused chronic inflammation. They tested the emulsifiers at levels below those approved for use in food and also at levels modeled to mirror what a person would eat if they eat a lot of processed food. Mice with abnormal immune systems fed emulsifiers developed chronic colitis. Those with normal immune systems developed mild intestinal inflammation and a metabolic disorder that caused them to eat more, and become obese, hyperglycemic, and insulin resistant. The inflammatory response prompted by eating emulsifiers appears to interfere with ‘satiety’–the term scientists use for behaving like you’ve eaten enough–and can lead to overeating. Mice experiencing this inflammation therefore developed more fat.” The findings may help explain some of the rise in these diseases in recent decades

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