Common food additive found in ice cream, sauces and microwave meals may raise risk of health problems in children if eaten during pregnancy, study warns

Eating an additive commonly found in ultra-processed foods during pregnancy may increase children’s risk of health problems, scientists say.

A Spanish study in mice found that two common emulsifiers used to bind food chemicals caused their offspring to develop physical and mental health problems, such as anxiety.

The study looked at two additives — carboxymethyl cellulose and polysorbate-80 — found in thousands of foods, including microwave meals, butter, dressings and ice cream.

It adds to the long list of health problems caused by eating too many ultra-processed foods, a staple of the American diet.

Some of America’s favorite products contain as many as 120 hard-to-pronounce ingredients and are loaded with sugar, fat and sodium.

Emulsifiers, commonly found in ultra-processed foods such as microwave meals, butter, dressings and ice cream, may increase the risk of complications in offspring of pregnant mice

The researchers gave female mice water with one percent emulsifiers, the maximum amount allowed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Usually somewhere between 0.25 and 0.8 percent is added to food.

The mice continued to receive the water during pregnancy and lactation. A control group received water without emulsifiers.

They found that the mice’s offspring showed unintentional weight loss and anxious behavior when they were 10 weeks old.

Male mice were more likely to experience weight loss, while females were more likely to experience anxiety.

This is because the emulsifiers disrupted the neural connections in the hypothalamus, a brain structure that acts as the body’s control center.

The hypothalamus produces leptin, a hormone that causes the body to use more energy, leading to weight loss.

Unintentional weight loss, if left unchecked, can have serious health consequences, including malnutrition.

Female mice also experienced higher levels of anxiety.

While the mice in the study lost weight, rising obesity rates suggest that additives in processed foods could have the opposite effect in humans.

For example, a global comparative study study published in Obesity Reviews showed that an increase in per capita sales of ultra-processed food and drink was associated with a higher body mass index (BMI).

These foods have become ubiquitous in the American diet.

a 2022 For example, a study by Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute found that 73 percent of the food supply in the United States is ultra-processed.

And a study published in Limits in nutrition found that more than 60 percent of the calorie intake in the US comes from these foods.

During processing, raw materials are added or modified, for example by storing them in oil or adding sugar or salt.

Foods like apples are usually exactly as they occur in nature and are classified as minimally processed.

Processed foods, such as applesauce, have undergone at least one level of processing that has changed their original form.

Ultra-processed foods have gone through multiple levels of processing and are usually full of extra hard-to-pronounce fats, colors, and preservatives.

Jessica Cording, a registered dietitian in New York City, previously told DailyMail.com, “[Ultra-processed foods]tend to be very high in sodium, things like sodium, sugar, refined carbohydrates in general, and unhealthy fats, as well as preservatives.”

Microwave meals, snack mixes, and ice cream are common examples.

While the health effects in the new study are mild, they add to a long list of complications identified in previous research.

A 2022 study published in the journal Neurology, for example, found that a 10 percent increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods could increase the risk of dementia.

In addition, a large cohort study in France found that the same increase in ultra-processed foods led to an increased risk of breast cancer.

And a few studies from researchers in Spain And France found a link between consuming ultra-processed foods and an increased risk of premature death.

Researchers in the new study said more research is needed to clarify how these effects in mice would translate to humans.

The study was published in the journal PLOS Biology.