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Updated: 04/26/21
Food additives are criticized for their indirect effects on the body,
Today we are talking about one of the lesser known aspects: their impact on the balance of the intestinal flora.
Reminder on the microbiota or intestinal flora
The intestinal microbiota, or intestinal flora , refers to all the bacteria that we harbor in our digestive tract.
Hundreds of billions of different bacteria make it up, in a fragile balance between them but determining for our health (absorption of nutrients, immunity, resistance to stress).
Every day new studies demonstrate its importance for our well-being.
Food and intestinal flora
Diet is the main factor that influences the composition and evolution of our intestinal flora .
As such, minimally processed foods, rich in non-soluble fiber, are the best allies of 'good bacteria' which have a positive influence on the functioning of the body.
- Prepared meals rich in additives
The opposite of minimally processed foods cooked at home are 'prepared meals', ready for consumption.
The proposals are endless and their development has been widely seen as an important step forward in saving time on household chores, this should not be forgotten.
Over the last few years, we have been able to observe some positive developments in these prepared products, particularly in the limitation of their salt and sugar content.
There are still too many of course, but it's a little better than before.
On the other hand, their content of 'preservative' additives remains high, for understandable reasons.
The products must be kept longer, maintain a more attractive texture and not encourage the development of undesirable micro-organisms (bacteria, mold).
Food Additives disrupt the intestinal microbiota
The counterpart of this concept of prepared foods is also obvious:
the preservatives they contain continue their action in our intestine and disrupt, undoubtedly to a very significant extent, the microbiota.
There are still few studies on this subject, however, researchers from the University of Massachusetts in the United States (1) carried out a study on a population of mice in order to understand the role of preservatives on their intestinal microbiota.
The results of the latter confirmed the undesirable effects of chemical agents on the diversity and quality of the intestinal flora of mice.
Although these conclusions remain to be confirmed in humans, the authors of the study believe that the effects would be identical in humans and that the increase in digestive pathologies over the last fifty years could be linked to the increase in additive consumption.
This is a good reason to consume unprocessed foods and to favor “homemade”, at home or away from home and to moderate your consumption of foods which disrupt your intestinal flora!
The contribution of Argalys Essentiels products
Our Vegaflore , a combination of pre and probiotics will allow you to rebalance your damaged intestinal flora, but a healthy diet is the best way to preserve it afterwards!
And in Argalys Essentiels food supplements, you will only find a few natural additives in tiny quantities (rice bran, acacia fibers) intended to thin the powders for their precise dosage in each capsule.
