This series examines common artificial food ingredients and their health effects.
Please note: This is not meant to be an exhaustive analysis. It is simply a quick overview of some of the negative health effects associated with Titanium Dioxide as well as a repository of resources for further research.
What is Titanium Dioxide?
While this article and series are food focused, it should be noted that Titanium Dioxide has a wide range of applications beyond food.
For the food angle, let’s go to the food babe for Titanium Dioxide’s food applications.
From foodbabe.com
Titanium Dioxide – E171
What it is: Food color used to brighten and whiten.
Commonly found in: Yogurt, cottage cheese, powdered sugar, candy, chewing gum, pudding, drink mixes, marshmallows, mayonnaise.
For more details on what Titanium Dioxide is and what applications it’s used for, here is a bit from wikipedia.
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula TiO2. When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or CI 77891. Generally it is sourced from ilmenite, rutile and anatase. It has a wide range of applications, from paint to sunscreen to food coloring.
It is also important to note that it is used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, health supplements, and toothpastes.
Now let’s take a brief look at some of the health effects that Titanium Dioxide is associated with.
Lung Damage
Possible Carcinogen
Cell Damage – Cell Death
Inflammation
Neurological Damage
Concerning possible lung damage from Titanium Dioxide, let’s have a look at material published on Dr. Group’s website, globalhealingcenter.com
Titanium oxide nano particles have been shown to induce emphysema and lung redness in adult mice. Furthermore, exposure of developing lungs to nano particles may lead to chronic irritation and negative effect on lung development, increasing the risk of respiratory disorders.
We’ll now look at a compendium of various statements from scientists at the National Institutes of Health regarding other health effects.
TiO2 nanoparticles predominantly cause adverse effects via induction of oxidative stress resulting in cell damage, genotoxicity, inflammation, immune response etc. ….
….TiO2 nanoparticles are classified as “possible carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as occupational carcinogen by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO(2) Nps)…….can enter directly into the brain through the olfactory bulb and be deposited in the hippocampus region……. TiO(2) NPs had a cytotoxic effect on glial cells, suggesting that exposure to TiO(2) NPs could cause brain injury and be hazardous to health.
We come to a conclusion that nanosize titanium dioxide causes neuronal apoptosis…..These results show that a relationship between nanoparticle exposure and pathogeny of neurodegenerative diseases may exist.
It is also interesting to note that, according to material on Dr. Mercola’s website….
Titanium dioxide nanoparticles are capable of moving from your lungs or gastrointestinal tract to other organs.
Very interesting, I’d say. This ability of Titanium Dioxide nanoparticles, along with their ability to cross the blood brain barrier, makes them especially troublesome.
Based on these findings, I have made the personal choice to try and avoid Titanium Dioxide as much as possible.
In conclusion, I’d like to pose a question.
In recent decades, neurological diseases and chronic lung diseases have gone up significantly.
Could the prevalence of Titanium Dioxide in so many applications, specifically food and pharmaceuticals, play a role in this?
Resources used in this article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium_dioxide#Applications
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3423755/
https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/health-risks-of-titanium/
https://www.naturalnews.com/027000_titanium_dioxide_vitamins.html
http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9925268
https://foodbabe.com/ingredients-to-avoid/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23044362
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18662496
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22933961
Thanks for your time and attention!
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