processed meat, frozen meals, snacks, soft drinks, sauces, desserts, and many other supermarket products.
Most people rarely notice them, even though they appear in the ingredient lists of foods eaten every day.
These additives are mainly used to keep food fresh for longer, prevent mold and bacteria from growing, and improve appearance and flavor stability. For decades, preservatives have helped companies produce foods that can travel long distances and stay on shelves for weeks or months.
But a major new study from France suggests that some commonly used preservatives may come with hidden health risks. Researchers found that people who consumed larger amounts of certain food preservatives had a higher risk of developing high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
The study was published in the European Heart Journal and involved scientists from INSERM, the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, together with researchers from Université Sorbonne Paris Nord and Université Paris Cité.
The research was led by Dr. Mathilde Touvier and Anaïs Hasenböhler from the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team.
The findings are attracting attention because cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide. High blood pressure is one of the biggest drivers of heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, and heart failure.
Although unhealthy diets have long been linked to these conditions, scientists are now becoming increasingly interested in how ultra-processed foods and their additives may affect health in more complex ways.
To investigate this issue, researchers used data from a large French project called NutriNet-Santé. More than 112,000 adults from across France participated in the study.
Every six months, volunteers carefully recorded everything they ate and drank over three separate days. Researchers then analyzed the nutritional content and ingredient lists of all foods and beverages consumed, including the preservatives added to them.
Participants were followed for around seven to eight years so scientists could track who later developed hypertension or cardiovascular disease.
The researchers discovered that almost everyone in the study consumed food preservatives regularly. In fact, 99.5% of participants had eaten at least one preservative during the first two years of the study.
The team divided preservatives into different groups depending on their purpose. One group included preservatives designed to stop bacteria, yeast, and mold from growing in food. These are known as non-antioxidant preservatives.
Another group included antioxidant preservatives, which help prevent food from spoiling, changing color, or developing unpleasant smells.
People who consumed the largest amounts of non-antioxidant preservatives had a 29% higher risk of developing high blood pressure compared with people who consumed the least. They also had a 16% higher risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks, strokes, and angina.
The study also found that people who consumed the highest levels of antioxidant preservatives had a 22% higher risk of high blood pressure.
Researchers then looked more closely at individual additives. Eight preservatives showed clear links with hypertension risk. These included potassium sorbate, potassium metabisulphite, sodium nitrite, ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, sodium erythorbate, citric acid, and rosemary extract.
One of these additives, ascorbic acid, was also associated with cardiovascular disease risk. Ascorbic acid is commonly known as vitamin C and is widely used in processed foods as a preservative.
Scientists emphasized that vitamin C naturally found in fruits and vegetables is still considered beneficial and healthy. The concern may instead involve the broader effects of additives inside highly processed foods and the way these substances interact with the body over time.
The researchers explained that this study does not prove preservatives directly cause heart disease or high blood pressure. Since it was an observational study, it can only show associations between dietary patterns and health outcomes.
However, the researchers adjusted for many other factors that can influence heart health, including smoking, physical activity, alcohol use, body weight, overall diet quality, and medical history.
According to Dr. Touvier, previous experimental studies have already suggested that some preservatives may trigger oxidative stress or interfere with important metabolic processes in the body.
Oxidative stress happens when harmful unstable molecules damage cells and tissues. Over many years, this damage may contribute to inflammation, blood vessel injury, and chronic disease.
The study adds to growing concerns about ultra-processed foods, which have already been linked to obesity, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease in earlier research.
Scientists increasingly believe that the health effects of processed foods may involve more than just fat, sugar, and salt. Additives, artificial ingredients, and industrial processing methods may also play important roles.
The researchers said their findings support recommendations to eat more fresh and minimally processed foods whenever possible. Meals made from vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, fish, and fresh ingredients usually contain fewer preservatives than packaged convenience foods.
The team also believes regulatory agencies may need to re-evaluate some food additives more carefully. Authorities such as the European Food Safety Authority and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regularly review additive safety, but the researchers say long-term effects on cardiovascular health may require closer attention.
The scientists are now continuing their research to better understand why preservatives may affect the body in harmful ways. Future studies will explore how additives influence inflammation, oxidative stress, blood chemistry, metabolism, and the balance of bacteria in the gut microbiome.
Although many questions remain unanswered, the study highlights an important issue in modern diets. Many people consume preservatives daily for years without realizing how common these additives are.
As research continues, reducing heavily processed foods and choosing simpler, fresher meals may become an increasingly important step for protecting long-term heart health.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and Vitamin K2 could help reduce heart disease risk.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about how to remove plaques that cause heart attacks, and results showing a new way to prevent heart attacks, strokes.
Source: INSERM.
