The Effects of Food Preservatives on Gut Health

You’ve likely heard that food preservatives are bad for you. But what exactly do food preservatives do to our bodies? A new study released by the ACS Chemical Biology Journal has shed some light on what happens when we eat preservatives and how they interact with the commensal gut microbes. The effects of food preservatives on gut health.

The Importance of Food Preservation

Food preservation has been used for centuries. Long before we had refrigerators, people were preserving foods by smoking them and adding salt to kill bacteria.

Food preservation is important to prevent people from developing food-borne illnesses and infections. If food is contaminated with salmonella or clostridia, you run the risk of getting extremely sick.

As time has evolved so have our preservation methods. People began canning in the early 1800s. Canning is still used today by people who have gardens so they can enjoy their crops for longer. This allows them to get the benefits of foods that aren’t grown during certain seasons which we know is great for the gut microbiome!

Unfortunately, even at home canning can expose you to bacteria causing serious illnesses like botulism. Even in recent years families have used incorrect methods of canning and have died as a result.

So as time has progressed, food production companies have found different additives that can protect food from spoiling and causing disease. These additives are called food preservatives.

What are food preservatives?

Food preservatives are used to extend the shelf life of the foods sold in stores. The addition of preservatives keeps the food fresh for longer by preventing dangerous bacterial growth.

This is good for mass food-producing companies because their food stays good long enough to be sold and consumed. This is also helpful for people who have a full schedule and not enough time to maintain a garden of their own.

Food preservation has allowed people to save time while providing their families with quick and easy meals. Unfortunately, the effects of food preservatives on human health hadn’t been studied before they began being used.

Plus, when they started using food preservatives, there wasn’t much known about commensal microbes in the human body. So killing bacteria sounded like a good idea all around. But knowing what we know now, it is important to see how these preservatives affect our health, specifically the gut microbiome.

With the information released about how the gut microbiome controls human health, immunity, brain health, and function, in addition to a plethora of other things, researchers needed to know what exactly was happening to this delicate and powerful organ.

Which food preservatives were studied?

Bacteriocins are natural antibiotics that bacteria give off to prevent the growth of bacterial competitors. All bacteria give off bacteriocins. A common bacteriocin, called lanthipeptide, is used in the food industry to preserve foods and kill any bacteria that may be present. These are called lantibiotics (lanthipeptide + antibiotic).

Class I Lantibiotics are used in everything from cheese to beer to sausage to dips.

Nisin and blauticin are the most frequently used lantibiotics in the food industry. They are extremely effective in preventing bacterial growth in our foods.

Interestingly, nisin-like lantibiotics are given off by the commensal bacteria within the human gut microbiome. This study found 6 types and 4 were new. All 6 nisin-like class I lantibiotics found that were given off by gut bacteria include:

Blauticin
Nisin O
Lan-Df
Lan-CE02
Lan-P49.1
Lan-P49.2

Unexpected Effects of Food Preservatives on Gut Health

Although they have been used for many years, the effects of food preservatives like lantibiotics have not been studied specifically in the human gut microbiome.

Researchers found that nisin and nisin-like class I lantibiotics have interesting effects on the human (and other mammals) microbiome.

Not only did the lantibiotics kill off harmful bacterial strains like E. coli, but they also killed off helpful bacteria in the gut. More research will help determine how this affects individuals differently and to what extent human microbiomes are impacted by this everyday exposure to antibiotics.

This is very new research and it is paving the way for us to be able to create better ways to approach food safety. Lantibiotics are also currently being explored for other uses and this knowledge is an important consideration for their future use.

What can you do to protect your gut?

However, since they are not likely to pull everything off the shelves that contain lantibiotics, you can work on protecting your gut in a few simple ways.

1. Limit your consumption of foods that contain preservatives.

This is pretty obvious, but just as a helpful reminder, limit your exposure to foods that are going to contain preservatives in them.

2. Enjoy a diet filled with fresh foods especially fruits and vegetables.

Fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy proteins is a great way to avoid eating preservative-filled foods. Plus the benefits you get from these foods help to boost your gut and immune system! They’re full of vitamins, nutrients, minerals, and polyphenols. When you’re using fresh foods you don’t have to worry about adding preservatives so it’s a quick easy way to reduce your anxieties.

3. Refrain from using antibiotics unless it is absolutely necessary.

We often can’t avoid the use of antibiotics, but if your doctor is trying to prescribe one to you, it never hurts to ask if they have alternative suggestions for your complications. Try seeing functional practitioners who share your views on health as a way to reduce your worries when bringing the subject up.

4. Make friends with the good ‘-biotics’!

There are a lot of ‘-biotics’ out there and while lantibiotics and antibiotics aren’t good for us, there are others that are great!

Focusing on a diet rich in probiotics and prebiotics allows your healthy gut microbes to provide the helpful postbiotics our bodies need to repair damage and fight off invading cells or microorganisms.

5. Live a healthy and happy life.

Doing the things that promote our health and happiness are actually incredibly beneficial for our gut health. Some of the best things we can do for our gut and mental health are:

Having an active lifestyle (find an activity that gets your body moving and that you enjoy so it’s easy to do daily)
Making healthy choices when it comes to our habits (limiting smoking, drinking, and social media while including more hobbies like puzzles, creating art, or sports)
Being social with people who fill your cup
Sleeping enough hours each night
Managing stress levels and keeping your work/life balance more life and less work

As always, taking Atrantil is beneficial for the gut microbiome as well. Atrantil nourishes and protects your gut microbiome, while reducing unwanted bacteria and archaea from your digestive tract. We live in a world with a lot of unknowns, but there are some things that we can control and focusing on these 5 main tasks can help reduce some of the stress of cutting out what may be harmful.

What is your favorite way to support a healthy gut? Let us know in the comments!

Resources:

0 Shares

Atrantil Pro: What You Need to Know

Red Light Therapy for Improved Gut Health