Are food coloring agents altering your microbiome?
I’m Dr. Orr, and I’ve been getting some questions from my patients about E171 recently.
What is E171?
E171 is a food additive that France recently banned. It’s a pigment used to make frosting, cake batter, toothpaste, and other foods that are colored white.
Chemically, E171 is known as titanium dioxide, and it’s also added to things like paint, plastics, and paper.
How do food additives like E171 affect your microbiome (or gut health)?
Several studies in the last 10 years suggest that E171 may contribute to diseases of the gut. It’s tied to colon cancer, abnormal immune responses to bacteria in the gut, biofilm formation in the gut, antibiotic resistance, and increased inflammation in the gut.
E171 appears to have numerous mechanisms that alter your microbiome and disrupt gut health, but the main one that led France to ban it is its influence on the gut bacteria. Basically, it changes the way in which bacteria communicate with the body.
These changes caused enough of an increase in risk for colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease that France decided it was no longer safe for human consumption.
Detox Your Microbiome
The United States has no plans to ban E171 in the pipeline at present, so make sure to read labels for E171 or titanium dioxide. Especially for foods that are white or light in color. Avoiding food additives like E171 is one way you can detox your microbiome.
We can also help you detox your microbiome and improve your gut health. Contact the clinic for more information.
