First up, lets talk Additives.
Additives are pervasive in the manufacture and processing of food products. Food additives are primarily used to add colour, flavour and extend product life. Another commonly used food additive class are emulsifiers, which are detergent-like substances that are added to foods to increase shelf life, decrease clumping, agglomeration and separation, and improve texture and consistency.
Specifically, emulsifiers
Many protein powers use emulsifiers to allow for instantaneously smooth consistency when they are added to liquids, along with adding to a prolonged shelf life.
Despite the joys an emulsifier-induced creamy smooth protein drink gives us, dietary emulsifiers have recently come under the spotlight after several studies, first in animal experiments and later in human models, have raised questions over the potential negative effect on our health.
We don't like them, not one little bit!
The reason why we don’t include emulsifiers in our Aus Natural Protein products is because it messes with our gut flora and the natural processes in our digestive system. Adding emulsifiers usually counteracts the benefits of most health supplements. Emulsifiers have caused IBS, irregularity and bowl problems, as well as cramping and other discomfort in some people. These symptoms are painful and uncomfortable, but most importantly are indications of an unhappy digestive system.
Studies have shown that two of the most commonly used emulsifiers drastically alter gut microbial population and gut lining function, and subsequently increase the risk of obesity, irritable bowl syndrome and colitis in mice, despite the emulsifiers being present in small amounts. These results in animals have recently been confirmed in human model experiments as well.
Taken as a whole, it appears that dietary emulsifiers have the potential to alter the delicate ecology of the gut flora and gut barrier function which might then initiate gut inflammation and trigger the onset of irritable bowel syndrome, increase body weight and a promote a cluster of metabolic derangements, collectively known as the metabolic syndrome.
It has been recently shown that there are at least 88 natural and synthetic emulsifiers that directly target the microbiota and cause inflammation of our gastrointestinal tract. It is due to this growing body of evidence that dietary emulsifiers can profoundly and directly cause numerous inflammatory conditions, impair metabolic pathways and promote weight gain.
Trust your gut!
For these reasons, we felt strongly about not adding emulsifiers to our protein powders. We are aware that this will result in a product that may clump when not mixed properly and that may not have the smooth consistency of other powers, but we feel that is a better option than developing irritable bowl syndrome.
References
Chassaing B, Koren O, Goodrich JK, Poole AC, Srinivasan S, Ley RE, Gewirtz AT. Dietary emulsifiers impact the mouse gut microbiota promoting colitis and metabolic syndrome. Nature. 2015 Mar 5;519(7541):92-6. doi: 10.1038/nature14232. Epub 2015 Feb 25.
Chassaing B, Van de Wiele T, De Bodt J, Marzorati M, Gewirtz AT. Dietary emulsifiers directly alter human microbiota composition and gene expression ex vivo potentiating intestinal inflammation. Gut. 2017 Aug;66(8):1414-1427. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2016-313099. Epub 2017 Mar 21.Cani PD. Metabolism: Dietary emulsifiers--sweepers of the gut lining? Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2015 Jun;11(6):319-20. doi: 10.1038/nrendo.2015.59. Epub 2015 Apr 14
Benoit Chassaing, Tom van De Wiele, Andrew T. Gewirtz; Gastroenterology: 88 Dietary Emulsifiers Directly Impact the Human Gut Microbiota Increasing Its Pro-Inflammatory Potential VOLUME 150, ISSUE 4, SUPPLEMENT 1, S22, APRIL 01, 2016
Torres-Fuentes C, Schellekens H, Dinan TG, Cryan JF. The microbiota-gut-brain axis in obesity. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017 Oct;2(10):747-756. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(17)30147-4. Epub 2017 Aug 24.
Malamige Minoli Weroshana Aponso, GO De Silva and AT Abeysundara:Journal of Pharmacognosy & Phytochemistry: Emulsifiers as food additives: An overview on the impact to obesity and gut diseases 2017
