Food Additives Inflame Mouse Guts By Disturbing Microbes

If you walk down the aisles of any supermarket, you’ll see what dietary emulsifiers can accomplish. This common class of food additives binds water and oils together, preventing mixtures of the two from splitting. They stabilise ice-cream and other frozen desserts, mayonnaise, salad dressings, and virtually every kind of processed food. “Anything that sits in a package on a supermarket shelf, and can stay there for a while, probably has emulsifiers in it,” says Andrew Gewirtz from Georgia State University.

These additives may confer stability to food, but they can also bring discord to the gut—at least in mice. Gewirtz has found that two common emulsifiers—caboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and polysorbate-80 (P80)—can change the roll call of bacteria in a mouse’s

DON'T MISS THE REST OF THIS STORY!
Create a free account to continue and get unlimited access to hundreds of Nat Geo articles, plus newsletters.

Create your free account to continue reading

No credit card required. Unlimited access to free content.
Or get a Premium Subscription to access the best of Nat Geo - just $19
SUBSCRIBE

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet