Food additives in ultra-processed products and some health effects

Laura Moreno-Altamirano, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
Sandra Hernández-Valencia, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
Juan J. García-García, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
Karina Robles-Rivera, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
Oscar I. Robles-Vizcaya, AFINES Programme, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
Angélica E. Flores-Ocampo, Social Service, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico

Public policies and recommendations on food and nutrition, traditionally based on quantities and proportions of nutrients or types of food, are now limited. Industrial food processing with the use of chemical additives has become the main driving force of the global food system. Consequently, the traditional diet has been abandoned to adopt one with higher energy density and products made with multiple chemicals. The purpose of this review was to describe some relevant aspects of the additives found in the most consumed ultra-processed products, in Mexico, and some of their negative consequences on people’s health. It was observed that all the products reviewed contain highly and medium dangerous additives that generate various health effects, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, Parkinson’s disease, some types of cancer, increased symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as alterations in the intestinal microbiome and its consequent immunological alterations.

Keywords: Food additives. Ultra-processed products. Health effects.