Dangerous additive lurking in dessert could be destroying your gut health, experts say

A big threat to gut health may be hiding in your favorite frozen treat, according to experts.

An emulsifier called Polysorbate 80 is raising concerns about how additions to processed foods can disrupt health by altering the balance of gut bacteria.

The chemical is found in many foods ranging from bread, cake mix, salad dressing and even chocolate, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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"It is [also] utilized as a surfactant in soaps and cosmetics and also as a lubricant in eye drops," the NIH notes. 

Fox News Digital interviewed two medical experts about the potential risks associated with the emulsifier. 

Efrat LaMandre, FNP, Ph.D., popularly known as "Dr. E" on social media, revealed why Polysorbate 80 is so widespread in ice cream. 

"There was a time [when] if you left the ice cream in the fridge, it would get icy or gritty after a few days," she said. "So emulsifers came along with the intent to fix that — to create this unnatural, constant mixing between things that don't want to mix."

She added, "This is completely man-made with one purpose in mind: to make the food last longer and look more appealing. It does nothing [good] for your health."

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LaMandre, who has nearly 700,000 followers on TikTok, dismissed the idea that Polysorbate 80 can just "pass through you" and raised concerns about the long-term impact of the substance.

"It breaks down the mucus layer that protects your [gastrointestinal] tract," she said. "It confuses your immune system because it has this foreign thing that it doesn't know what to do [with]."

LaMandre works as a family nurse practitioner in New York with a Ph.D. in integrative medicine. She stressed that this is "more than just a theoretical issue for your microbiome … It really is connected to diseases. And this is important because you could be trying to do everything right, see all your doctors, take all the meds and still be sick."

Daryl Gioffre, a gut health specialist and celebrity nutritionist based in Florida, told Fox News Digital that Polysorbate 80 is "one of the most toxic and acidic ingredients that you can put inside your body." (See the video at the top of this article.) 

The chemical attacks healthy probiotics while also "feeding the bad guys," Gioffree said, including parasites and viruses.

"You ultimately have to look at your gut like a garden. You want lots of flowers. You don't want lots of weeds. So the more of this synthetic chemical that goes inside your gut — you're strengthening those weeds."

Steve Christensen, executive director of the Missouri-based North American Ice Cream Association, told Fox News Digital that most independent ice cream shops aren't using emulsifiers like Polysorbate 80.

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"Many ice cream shops are either making their own ice cream by buying a dairy base from a dairy manufacturer, or they're buying ice cream from a supplier that is also using a base from a dairy manufacturer – and many of those bases have mostly natural ingredients," he said.

Christensen said the industry "is leaning more toward" a clean-label process "for stabilizers, emulsifiers and that kind of thing."

In terms of satisfying desserts to enjoy, Gioffre suggested healthier alternatives, including coconut ice cream, chia pudding and avocado chocolate mousse.

Incorporating chia seeds into sweet treats will help bring omega-3 fatty acids into your diet, which can "heal" your body, according to Gioffre.

"When we have these coconut ice creams with chia seeds and flax seeds, we're getting all that fiber," he said. "We are getting all this goodness" that will "heal and seal our gut lining, as opposed to promoting something like leaky gut, which is one of the things we have to avoid."

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"These are even desserts that you can have for breakfast … They're so healthy for your body. You can eat them anytime."

Gioffre added, "It's not about giving up the taste or the things that you like. It's just finding some alternate versions of that, then just making those and having those more readily available in your diet."

Christiansen said there are lots of "education-training partnerships that happen within our industry to ensure that we're giving our customers the best possible product that we can."

What about ice cream without Polysorbate 80? 

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The beloved dairy treat doesn't pose any inherent risks to the gut biome, LaMandre said – as long as the person eating it doesn't have medical issues with sugar or dairy.

"An ice cream once in a while, in terms of sugar, is not going to make a difference," she said. 

"Emulsifiers by themselves, we know, can do harm," LaMandre said.

But ice cream without the emulsifier "is not known to do harm unless there is some vulnerability for the patient."

Fox News Digital's Tessa Hoyos contributed to this report.