Children have highest exposure to Titanium Dioxide nanoparticles in M&Ms, Smarties, etc.

Children may be receiving the highest exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide in candy, which they eat in amounts much larger than adults, according to a new study.

Published in ACS' journal, Environmental Science and Technology, it provides the first broadly based information on amounts of the nanomaterial, a source of concern with regard to its potential health and environmental effects, in a wide range of consumer goods e.g. M&Ms and Smarties.

In the study, Paul Westerhoff, Ph.D., and colleagues point out that titanium dioxide is a common additive to many consumer products, from food to paint to cosmetics.

Westerhoff explained that the body releases the nanoparticles in feces and urine, sending them to wastewater treatment plants, which cannot prevent the smallest particles from entering lakes and rivers.

Only one previous study, done a decade ago, reported on titanium dioxide content in a few commercial products.

To fill the knowledge gap about the sources of humans' exposures, the researchers bought and tested food, personal care products, paints and adhesives and measured how much titanium dioxide they contain.

The group found that children consume more titanium dioxide than adults because sweets like candies (M&Ms, Smarties, etc.), marshmallows and icing are among the products with the highest levels.

The paper lists the names of the products tested and their titanium dioxide content.

Westerhoff recommends that regulators shift their focus from the type of titanium dioxide used in paints and industrial processes to food-grade particles, because those are much more likely to enter the environment and pose a potential risk to humans and animals.

JC Polyomavirus: Deadly but with a weakness for sugar

It doesn’t strike often but when the JC polyomavirus does, it’s ruthless. The virus preys on people with weakened immune systems and almost always kills them.
Now the killer may have a target on its back. An international team has uncovered that the virus must bind to a very specific sugar molecule dangling from the side of the brain cells it attacks.

The finding, reported this week in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, could provide a basis for developing drugs to interrupt that process.

Researchers from Brown University, the University of Tübingen in Germany, and Imperial College in London painstakingly characterized the precise structure and biology of how the virus binds to host cells down to the atomic level.

By exposing a specific target, the work sets the table for drug development to begin, says Walter Atwood, professor of molecular biology, cell biology, and biochemistry at Brown and a senior author of the study.

“The overall goal is to get these ‘plans’ and then design small molecules—drugs that will fit in this receptor, binding and preventing infection,” Atwood says.

Atwood notes that this paper also marks the first time anyone has fully determined the structure and binding functionality of a human polyomavirus. While the JC polyomavirus causes the brain-wasting disease known as PML, others in the “family” are implicated in ailments such as skin cancers.

When the virus floats toward a cell, it encounters a metaphorical cityscape of sugary molecules on its surface, says Brown postdoctoral researcher Melissa Maginnis, one of the paper’s two lead authors. The team wanted to know which one the virus chooses.

Sunny Delight - High in Sugar

Sunny D may contain a full day's supply of vitamin C, as its bottle says, but as with all Cola and Soda drinks, the tangy orange drink is drowning in sugar — 27 g per glass.

Better choice: Milk. Skip Sunny D and pour your kid a glass of skim milk. It's full of calcium and essential vitamins without the sugar.