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In recent years, scientists have begun to cautiously warn about the subtle damage that certain food additives could cause in humans. A new study released Wednesday suggests that common food preservative propionate could be one of those additives to fear. In experiments in both mice and humans, it has been found that propionate consumption may have a negative effect on metabolism, including increased insulin resistance.
Propionate, or propionic acid, is an omnipresent part of our world. It is naturally produced by many bacteria, including those living in the intestines and skin. It is added to animal feed and humans, such as cheese, baked goods and artificial flavors, as a preservative. However, although propionate is one of many additives on the Food and Drug Administration (GRAS) list generally recognized as being safe for health, research has shown that it is not completely harmless in the body.
"But here, it almost made the body think that it should produce glucose when it is not."
In animals, for example, it was thought that propionate could increase blood sugar levels in the liver, which converts glucose into fuel without fuel. This capacity is even used by phytophagous ruminant species, such as cows, to regulate healthy blood sugar levels. In humans, the relationship with propionate is more mysterious. Some studies suggest that propionate and other short-chain fatty acids naturally produced by intestinal bacteria in the body can help maintain a healthy metabolism, suppress appetite, and reduce the risk of obesity. But other studies have suggested that people who have more propionate in their system are more likely to be obese.
To better understand the short-term effects of propionate consumed in foods, the authors of this study, published in Science Translational Medicine, have experimented with feeding experiments with mice and humans. The human portion of the study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 14 healthy volunteers.
"We checked that in mice, it led to an increase in blood sugar. But the most interesting thing that we have determined during these experiments is that a single dose of propionate can increase the body's hormones designed to stimulate glucose production by the liver, "said writer Gökhan S. Hotamışlıgil , director of the Sabri Ülker Center for Research on Nutrients, Genes, and Metabolism at Harvard School of Public Health, Chan, told Gizmodo. "There are times when it is necessary, for example when you are starving or your blood sugar level is dangerously low. But here it almost made the body think that it needed to produce glucose when it was not. "
And in humans, these high levels of hormones also appeared to cause insulin resistance, meaning that their bodies did not respond as well to insulin signaling to lower blood sugar levels. Over time, it is known that chronic insulin resistance contributes to type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders such as obesity.
In experiments on mice, mice that were fed low doses of propionate for long periods also progressively gained more weight than mice that did not consume propionate. But Hotamışlıgil and his team are not saying that their discoveries should immediately prompt someone to avoid cheese and bread.
"We are reluctant to make gigantic claims and recommendations at this time," he said. "This is a proof-of-principle study that simply illustrates the fact that we can actually identify these molecules and study their biology, which will then stimulate further work."
For the moment, added Hotamışlıgil, it is necessary to conduct more research to determine exactly how propionate could cause these metabolic changes. In humans, for example, they found evidence that the effects of propionate occurred in the brain and nervous system by producing adrenaline rather than directly affecting the digestive system or liver. This research should include human studies with many more volunteers from different laboratories.
Regardless of what Hotamışlıgil and other scientists are discovering about propionate, he sees a glimmer of silver in studies like this one that are trying to determine the more nuanced nutritional effects of foods.
"I think that in the 21st century, we can really approach food, nutrition and food with a goal very different from the one we had a century ago. We now have tools that can allow us to study in detail, at the molecular level, not only the harmful substances, because in general, people are interested in these harmful substances, but also the useful elements of our food, "was -he declares. "Some of these harmful substances that we can then easily remove from our food preparation or reduce our exposure to it could have a significant impact on our health."
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