A study published Tuesday night in PLOS Medicine shows that people with a high degree of nitrite exposure were “at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.” It was carried out by a team of researchers from Inserm, INRAE, Sorbonne Paris Nord University, Paris Cité University and Cnam.
“This is the first large-scale cohort study to suggest an association between nitrite from additives and a potentially increased risk of type 2 diabetes,” explain Inserm Postdoctoral Researcher Bernard Srour and Inserm Research Director Mathilde Touvier. , who piloted this study.
These results come from the analysis of data from 104,168 participants of the NutriNet-Santé cohort, followed between 2009 and 2021. None of them had type 2 diabetes at the time of study inclusion.
These volunteers “reported their food intake in detail,” allowing the scientific team to accurately assess their nitrate and nitrite intake. Their place of residence was also reported, as well as abundant information about them, in order to know their degree of exposure to these substances on a day-to-day basis.
“An increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes”
Both nitrites and nitrates exist naturally in our environment, “in certain foods (especially vegetables) as well as in water and soil; agricultural and industrial practices can accentuate this phenomenon”, explain the researchers.
These two products can also be intentionally added to food, in the form of food additives, ANSES writes. Nitrites are “used in this way to prevent the development of pathogenic bacteria, such as salmonella and listeria”, and they are especially present in sausages.
Thanks to the large cohort available and the extensive data provided, the researchers were able to establish that “participants with higher exposure to nitrites (specifically from food additives, but also from ‘non-additive’ sources) were at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.” “.
As a reminder, type 2 diabetes is the most common in France, 92% of diabetics have type 2 diabetes, explains the Health Insurance.
The increased risk of developing this diabetes “was 27% for people with the highest intake of total nitrites, compared with those with the lowest intake,” the researchers write. The increased risk amounts to 53% “for people who consume more nitrites in additives and 26% for nitrites from other sources,” it specifies.
However, no association was found between nitrate exposure and the risk of type 2 diabetes.
“The need to reduce the use of nitrite additives”
“Currently, more than 15,000 packaged products on the French market contain nitrites and/or nitrates,” recalls the press release. “Our diet exposes us daily to nitrites and nitrates,” ANSES also writes.
As early as July 2022, ANSES wrote confirming “the existence of an association between the risk of colorectal cancer and exposure to nitrites and/or nitrates.” The food safety agency also wrote that “other cancer risks are suspected, but a causal link cannot be concluded from the available data to date.”
“These results provide new evidence in the context of current discussions about the need for a reduction in the use of nitrite additives in meats processed by the food industry,” write the two researchers leading the study.
It could also “support the need for better regulation of soil contamination by fertilizers.”
The French government this summer announced an action plan to reduce, or even eliminate, the use of “nitrogen additives in all food products where possible without impact on health and as quickly as possible.”
Source: BFM TV
