High blood pressure, heart attacks linked to common preservatives in food

(CNN) — Common preservatives used in many store-bought foods to kill bacteria and mold were linked to a 29% greater risk of elevated blood pressure and a 16% higher risk of heart attacks and stroke, according to a new study from France.

Even so-called “natural” antioxidant preservatives used to stop discoloration, such as citric acid and ascorbic acid (widely known as vitamin C), led to a 22% greater risk of high blood pressure in people who ate more foods with those ingredients, the research found.

While antioxidants such as citric and ascorbic acid are found naturally in foods such as fruits, they are “not exactly natural” when used as preservatives, senior author Mathilde Touvier said in an email. Touvier is the principal investigator of the NutriNet-Santé study used to conduct the research.

“Naturally occurring ascorbic acid and added ascorbic acid — which may be chemically manufactured — may have different impacts on health,” said Touvier, who is also director of research at France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Paris.

“Thus, the results observed here for these food additives are not true for natural substances found in fruits and vegetables,” she adde...