Your food label may be hiding more than calories and sugar — it may also reveal clues about your heart health.A major NutriNet-Santé study published in the European Heart Journal followed 112,395 adults in France for nearly 8 years and found that several common food preservatives were linked to higher risks of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Your food label may be hiding more than calories and sugar — it may also reveal clues about your heart health.

A major NutriNet-Santé study published in the European Heart Journal followed 112,395 adults in France for nearly 8 years and found that several common food preservatives were linked to higher risks of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Researchers found that people with the highest intake of non-antioxidant preservatives had a 29% higher risk of hypertension and a 16% higher risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, and angina, compared with those consuming the least. Nearly all participants — 99.5% — had consumed at least one preservative during the first two years of the study.

Eight additives stood out in the analysis: potassium sorbate, potassium metabisulphite, sodium nitrite, ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, sodium erythorbate, citric acid, and rosemary extracts. Importantly, this does not mean vitamin C from fruits is dangerous — the concern is about these compounds when used as additives in industrially processed foods.

The study does not prove that preservatives directly cause heart disease, but it adds to growing evidence that diets high in ultra-processed foods may carry hidden cardiovascular risks.

Source: Hasenböhler et al. (2026). Preservative food additives, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases: the NutriNet-Santé study. European Heart Journal.