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Alexandra Murcier (Liberal dietitian-nutritionist)
A food additive added for food preservation, nitrites and nitrates are present in many supermarket products. French researchers are interested in their role in the onset of type 2 diabetes. The point of view of Alexandra Murcier, dietitian nutritionist member of the committee of experts of Doctissimo.
Nitrites and nitrates are food additives found naturally in drinking water or in fruits and vegetables. They are also added to more than 15,000 food products found in supermarkets to improve their color or their preservation, as is the case in cold cuts, hams and sausages.
The National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) also recommends limiting the use of nitrites and nitrates as food additives, due to their likely impact on the risk of colorectal cancer.
Analysis of nitrite and nitrate levels
Scientists from Inserm, INRAE, Sorbonne Paris Nord University, Paris Cité University and Cnam, within the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team chose to study the exposure of 104,168 adults to nitrites and nitrates, by analyzing health and exposure data to these compounds through the NutriNet-Santé cohort study. The objective: to establish a link between exposure to these additives and type 2 diabetes.
The volunteers provided detailed information on their food consumption through complete recordings of their meals over repeated 24-hour periods, including product names and brands. In addition to this information, the experts collected their exposure to nitrites and nitrates naturally present in the soil and water using monitoring data provided by the health authorities, depending on their location in the territory.
The scientists also had access to data on the medical history of the participants but also information on their practice of physical activity, their lifestyle and their state of health.
An “increased” risk of type 2 diabetes
The participants studied here did not have type 2 diabetes at baseline and were followed between 2009 and 2021 to monitor the onset of this disease.
Results: Participants with higher nitrite exposure had a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.”Statistical analyzes suggest an association between nitrite consumption and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. However, no association between nitrate consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes has been found. note the researchers.
The increase in risk was indeed 27% for people with the highest consumption of total nitrites compared to those with the lowest consumption. On the other hand, the increase was greater (53%) for “people consuming the most nitrites from additives“while she is only”26% for nitrites from other sources”.
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Limit your consumption of deli meats
For Bernard Srour, post-doctoral researcher at Inserm, and Mathilde Touvier, Inserm research director, who piloted this study, “these results provide a new piece of evidence in the context of current discussions regarding the need to reduce the use of nitrite additives in processed meats by the food industry […]. In the meantime, several public health authorities around the world are already recommending that citizens limit their consumption of foods containing controversial additives, including sodium nitrite.“.
The opinion of Alexandra Murcier, dietitian nutritionist and member of the Doctissimo expert committee
A point of view shared by Alexandra Murcier, dietician nutritionist member of the committee of experts of Doctissimo. “Deli meats as a whole are foods rich in saturated fatty acids and salt. It is important to limit their consumption for this reason. In addition, the nitrites they contain are also harmful to health; this is another good reason to limit their consumption, to once a week, for example. Finally, there are foods whose nitrite level is voluntarily lowered, it is generally noted on the packaging. These are the products that should be favored” she concludes.