A study unveiled by Inserm reveals a link between nitrite consumption and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Explanations.
Par Johanna Amselem
© Lionel VADAM / MAXPPP / PHOTOPQR/L’EST REPUBLICAIN/MAXPP
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Une new good reason to slow down your consumption of charcuterie. More than 15,000 packaged deli meats contain nitrites, warns ANSES. Used as additives, they allow better conservation of products and give a pink color to ham, among other things. But is their use really safe for health?
Maybe not, according to a French study unveiled by Inserm the results of which were published in Plos Medicine. Researchers from Inserm, Inrae, Sorbonne-Paris-Nord University, Paris-Cité University and Cnam, within the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (Eren-Cress ), were interested in the role of dietary nitrites and nitrates in the onset of type 2 diabetes. According to them, there is indeed an association between the consumption of nitrites and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
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A higher risk of type 2 diabetes
“In our study that we conducted with a sample of the NutriNet-Santé cohortwe observed that participants who were more exposed to nitrites from food additives had a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes during the years of follow-up of the cohort”, underlines the first author of this study, Bernard Srour, Inserm post-doctoral researcher, interviewed by the Pr Boris Hansel (columnist at Point), endocrinologist and nutritionist at Bichat Hospital in Parisand also host of the PuMS health channel on YouTube.
“The increased risk was 27%”
As part of this study, the team asked volunteers to fill in their food consumption with complete meal details. Using this detail, the researchers assessed the nitrate and nitrite additive exposures of all participants. “We are not yet at the level of evidence for nitrites and diabetes, but what we can say is that the study brings a stone to the building in understanding the links between nitrites and health and, precisely, there are a few experimental studies that have shown a possible link between nitrosamines, compounds formed during exposure to nitrates and nitrites, and insulin resistance,” adds Bernard Srour.
“In this study, the increased risk was indeed 27% for people with the highest consumption of total nitrites compared to those with the lowest consumption. [avec dans le détail une augmentation de 53 % pour les personnes consommant le plus de nitrites provenant des additifs et de 26 % pour les nitrites provenant d’autres sources] “, reports Inserm. Questioned by the Pr Boris Hansel, the main author of this study underlines the impact of nitrites and, this, regardless of the source: “What we have observed is a link with total nitrites, therefore whatever their source, and not just nitrites that don’t come from food additives and nitrites that come from food additives. »
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No association between exposure to nitrates and the risk of type 2 diabetes was found. “Of course, it is always recommended to consume more fruits and vegetables to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases in this case, and this is what the nutritional recommendations of the PNNS [Programme national nutrition santé] advise, but also to limit the consumption of cold meats to 150 grams per week, so that we might limit exposure to nitrites which might therefore increase or be associated with an increase in several chronic diseases”, concludes Bernard Srour.
