Food additives associated with increased risk of diabetes: Study.

ISLAMABAD -- Food additives, which are added to food to maintain flavour or enhance taste, appearance, or other sensory properties, are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, a new study has shown.

According to the study published in the journal PLOS Medicine, nitrites and nitrates are chemical compounds used as food additives to increase shelf life, while researchers suggest a link between dietary exposure to nitrites and the risk of type 2 diabetes.

To investigate the relationship between dietary exposure to nitrites/nitrates type 2 diabetes risk, researchers accessed data collected from 1,04,168 participants in the prospective cohort NutriNet-Sante.

The researchers analysed self-reported diet information with health outcomes using detailed nitrite/nitrate exposure derived from multiple databases and sources.

The researchers discovered that participants in the NutriNet-Sante cohort who reported a higher intake of nitrites overall, and specifically from food additives and non-additive sources, had a higher...