Preservatives and their effect on your immune system.

This post is a request from my sister who wanted to know about the effects of preservatives on the human body. I suspect this may be an ongoing topic due to the fact that I'm not an expert on the subject, therefore I will present information as I come across it.Today, while scanning PubMed, I came across a study that sheds some light on the adverse effects of two common food preservatives.

Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Benzoate are found in many many things. SB can be found in soda, jams, salad dressings, silver polish, and shampoo. PB is commonly found in fruit juices, pickles, and is what creates the whistle in bottle rockets. This leads me to question it's health benefits greatly.

The study went about testing their effects on lymphocytes which are very important to your body. These lymphocytes act as fighters against a wide range of sicknesses. They are actually incredibly interesting things that you should read about here. But to make it brief, lymphocytes come as either natural killer cells, T cells, or B cells. Each of which has a specific job when it comes to destroying viruses or pathogens that invade your body.

Just to put into perspective how important these cells are to your body, consider that when a person contracts HIV, the virus targets T Cells in their body. Each individual T Cell is paired with one B Cell and each team is present in the body for the sole purpose of eradicating a single illness or virus.  The destruction of the T cells leads to AIDS which makes their body unable to protect itself. So these cells are the reason that you and I are able to live illness free lives.

So what did they find?

The study introduced varying amounts of PB and SB to peripheral lymphocytes and tested their chromosomal aberrations, sister chromatid exchange, and micronuclei. In nearly all cases the CA, SCE, and MN increased when compared to controls. They also tested the DNA damage from both preservatives and found that SB did far more damage than PB. As the study states: "The present results indicate that SB and PB are clastogenic, mutagenic and cytotoxic to human lymphocytes in vitro."


In short, these two preservatives weaken your immune system, leaving you more susceptible to illness. 


I would see this as a great reason to cut out sweets from your diet. Not only does the SB and PB have debilitating effects on your immune system, but the sugar in the products inhibits immune function for hours after ingestion. 


Do yourself a favor and loose the processed junk food. You'll thank yourself later.