SOME of the ingredients hidden in your favourite foods could be putting you at risk of killer heart disease.
Emulsifiers - know as e-numbers - are used to make foods like ice cream, snacks and ready meals last longer and taste better.
Study author, Dr Bernard Srour, urged people to “reduce” the amount of ultra-processed food they eat, so as to stay healthy.
Heart disease, which includes events like heart attacks and heart failure, kills over 160,000 people in the UK each year.
The French study, which involved over 100,000 adults, found different e-numbers can trigger different heart problems including stroke and coronary heart disease, which affects the arteries.
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Previous studies have suggested the additives can disrupt 'good' gut bacteria and increase inflammation; potentially making people more susceptible to heart issues.
The research, published in the British Medical Journal found adults who ate more foods high in additives found in fatty foods like margarine and sausages had a greater chance of a stroke.
While baked goods like croissants made coronary heart disease more likely.
Scientists quizzed them about their diet, measured their vitals and asked to report any heart issues they had.
Participants were then followed up after seven years.
Dr Srour acknowledged the study only found a small association between e-numbers and heart disease.
But he said the findings were still important given that these food additives are used “ubiquitously in thousands” of widely consumed ultra-processed food products.
"The results will contribute to the re-evaluation of regulations around food additive usage in the food industry to protect consumers,” he added.
In the meantime he suggested people should “reduce the consumption of ultra-processed foods to avoid exposure to emulsifiers and other food additives.”
