Saturday 30/November/2024 – 12:19 AM
Researchers have found that one of the materials added To foods found in soy milk, milk shakes, and ice cream, it leads to type 2 diabetes. Carrageenan, also known as E 407, is used in the food industry as an emulsifier and thickener due to its gel-like consistency.
Emulsions can harm the intestines
According to what was published in the British newspaper Daily Mail, researchers warned that emulsions could harm the intestines, destabilize blood sugar levels, and even lead to bowel cancer.
A team of scientists in Germany investigated whether this additive, found in many popular sweets, could put people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In the study, published in the journal BMC Medicine, 20 men of a healthy weight, aged… Between 27 and 31 years old received 250 mg of carrageenan daily for two weeks in addition to their normal diet, and the other half received a placebo.
At the end of the two-week experiment, the researchers took MRI images of the participants’ brains and intestines looking for any signs of inflammation, a known precursor to a myriad of bowel diseases. They also measured the participants’ sensitivity to insulin, the hormone responsible for helping the body absorb energy from food. And stabilizing blood sugar levels.
After two weeks, the data showed that people in the carrageenan group with higher body weight experienced some decrease in insulin sensitivity, compared to people in the placebo group, and signs of insulin dysfunction appeared, especially in the liver.
An MRI brain scan revealed signs of inflammation in the hypothalamus in the brain, the area responsible for sugar metabolism and appetite, in overweight participants who took the additive.
Larger harmful bacteria reach the intestines
An MRI of the intestine showed increased permeability of the small intestine, which means that larger harmful bacteria can reach the intestine, and this phenomenon has been linked to a range of health conditions including heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Professor Robert Wagner, a clinical researcher in the field of diabetes and metabolism from Henry University, said: “Our study indicates that carrageenan consumption can weaken the function of the intestinal barrier, and this may have long-term health consequences and increase the risk of developing inflammatory diseases, and increases the risk of infection.” Bacterial infections in the intestines, some of which may lead to intestinal cancer.
