Additive found in baked goods linked with possible type 2 diabetes risk

[DCUK NewsBot]

An ingredient commonly found in bread and baked goods to preserve food could increase the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, researchers have said. Propionate is often used to prevent food from going mouldy, but now has been linked to an increase in hormone levels associated with weight gain and type 2 diabetes. A team from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Sheba Medical Centre in Israel began using mice to see how the ingredient affected blood glucose levels. They then applied their findings to a further study to see whether humans were affected in the same way. A total of 14 volunteers were divided up, where one group received a meal containing propionate and the other participants were given the same meal but with a placebo in place of the preservative. Samples of blood were taken before and after every meal. The researchers found that consuming propionate triggered a series of metabolic events that lead to insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. Harvard Chan School's Gökhan S. Hotamıslıgil, said: "Understanding how ingredients in food affect the body's metabolism at the molecular and cellular level could help us develop simple but effective measures to tackle the dual epidemics of obesity and diabetes." The findings have prompted the researchers to question how safe propionate is, even though the US Food and Drug Administration has approved it for public consumption. Professor of medicine Amir Tirosh, who works at Sackler School of Medicine in Tel-Aviv, said: "The dramatic increase in the incidence of obesity and diabetes over the past 50 years suggests the involvement of contributing environmental and dietary factors. "One such factor that warrants attention is the ingredients in common foods. We are exposed to hundreds of these chemicals on a daily basis, and most have not been tested in detail for their potential long-term metabolic effects." The findings have been published in the Science Translational Medicine journal.

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[wiflib]

Not a thing to do with the ultrafine white flour and sugar then

 

[jjraak]

Not a thing to do with the ultrafine white flour and sugar then

Fair point @wiflib

BUT there might just be something in it.

i recently visited india, and was sort of dreading the dilemma of food choices spoiling what should be an idyllic holiday
So decided to eat what i liked (within reason wk 1..and test, then limit foods to those that i knew were good, for wk 2 n 3
But pleasantly surprised that a little bit of rice, more then several breads roti, nans and OMG chips...didn't seem to push my
BGs up dramatically like they would here.

suffice to say i then relaxed and enjoyed a lot more foods then i thought i would.

Admittedly the 3 scenarios that i considered was.

* After 6 months of LCHF i had reset and emptied my internal sugar bowl
* food here is way more processed then foods there..(all be it it was mainly restaurant food so freshly made on premises)
* far less / cheaper (cow poo) chemicals there then here are used in growing the products.

One more i hadn't considered but equally valid, was the stress level of being on holiday instead of in the rat race was considerably lower and helps me absorb and manages carbs more efficiently

who knows which, but i certainly wouldn't discount the fact it MAY have a bearing.

Be good to hear the experience of others in similar situations

NB the only time i had a worrying reading WAS when the bread was of the usual shape we have here,
the processed loaf..that i had once, hit 13 mmol.. then avoided after.

 

[Guzzler]

I wonder if the low carb Bergen I buy for the family has Propionate in it. Off to Google....

 

[jjraak]

I wonder if the low carb Bergen I buy for the family has Propionate in it. Off to Google....

its western and sits on a shelf..so i'd say that's deffo got it in..

 

[lucylocket61]

Its found in a lot of foods: https://getfit.jillianmichaels.com/foods-containing-calcium-propionate-1437.html

 

[Guzzler]

its western and sits on a shelf..so i'd say that's deffo got it in..

Oh Poo! First I heard about Trehalose and now Propionate. Good job I taught all three of mine to cook from scratch but we havn't made home-made ice cream since I was dx so with summer on the horizon I shall have to dig out the instructions. It is nicer than shop bought anyway.

 

[jjraak]

Oh Poo! First I heard about Trehalose and now Propionate. Good job I taught all three of mine to cook from scratch but we havn't made home-made ice cream since I was dx so with summer on the horizon I shall have to dig out the instructions. It is nicer than shop bought anyway.

ooh..recipe please.

 

[Guzzler]

ooh..recipe please.

My recipe is for non Diabetic family members (table sugar in it) but other members have sugar free recipes, I think @Resurgam may have one.

 

[Guzzler]

That's the problem with stuff being given the GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) label. They are not tested as thoroughly in the US.

 

[wiflib]

ooh..recipe please.

Instant ice cream.
In a food processor, put in your portion of frozen fruit. Perfect during the summer when berries are plentiful and you can buy the ones that have gone over a bit at reduced prices and foraged berries in autumn which you can then bag up and freeze. If the strawbs are big, cut them up before freezing as some blades won’t cope with whole frozen ones.
Whizz up the fruit for a few seconds until broken up a bit, then add cream/yoghurt/marscapone/whatever and sweetener of your choice into the fruit and keep going until it goes all ice cream like. Serve straightaway.

My grandchildren love the stuff and way cheaper and far better than anything that can be bought.