You may be taking a second look at your favorite candy after hearing this week's news about titanium dioxide. Recently, a lawsuit was filed against Mars, Inc. based on claims that the manufacturer's popular Skittles candy is "unfit for human consumption." The class-action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in mid-July, alleged that the candy contained "heightened levels" of a "known toxin" called titanium dioxide a food additive that the company previously pledged to phase out from their products in 2016, according to the Center for Food Safety.

Some consumer advocacy groups and health agencies particularly, those at the Environmental Working Group have been pushing federal officers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reconsider their existing rules on the additive, which is commonly found in processed snacks and sweets.

But what is titanium dioxide, exactly? Here's what you need to know about this popular food additive including what products it's used in and whether it's safe to consume.

According to the American Chemistry Council, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is an inorganic substance that's used as a white powder in a variety of industrial and consumer goods, including in sunscreen, cosmetics, toothpaste, paint, plastics, food and more.

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Because of its ability to absorb UV light, it's particularly useful as an ingredient in sunscreens while its light-scattering properties are great for applications that require white opacity and brightness, such as in paint and paper.

When used in food specifically, titanium dioxide is known as an additive called E171 and can be found in products like candy, chocolate, coffee creamer, cake decorations, chewing gum and even vitamin supplements. E171 is often used as coloring additive in foods, to lend the processed item a natural whiteness and opacity such as in Skittles candy, where it's used as a white base to help give the candies their signature bright, colorful hue.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deems that titanium dioxide may be safely used in cosmetics and that it "may be safely used for coloring foods generally," subject to a set of tight restrictions including that the quantity of the ingredient does not exceed 1% of the total weight of the product in question. Despite this, there is a growing concern as to what titanium dioxide does to the consumers bodies, says Amy Fischer, M.S., R.D., CDN, a registered dietitian in the Good Housekeeping Institute.

"While [titanium dioxide] is considered Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by the FDA, it has been banned by many European countries," Fisher notes.

Indeed, the European Commission recently announced a ban of titanium dioxide as a food additive in the European Union, with the full ban taking place after August 7, 2022. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that titanium oxide should not be considered safe as a food additive, due to uncertainties about its ability to damage DNA.

Other regulatory organizations have also issued warnings about the ingredient. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified titanium dioxide as a Group 2B carcinogen in other words, an additive that may be "possibly carcinogenic to humans." But the body maintains that research is currently lacking a sufficient link in animal and human cases to confirm longterm effects. The classification was given based on a few animal studies that showed increased lung tumors in rats associated with titanium dioxide inhalation.

At this time, titanium dioxide is still used as an additive in thousands of food products in the United States. If you wish to avoid foods with this particular ingredient, you should be sure to check the label carefully for titanium dioxide, or "E171", as a listed ingredient. Skittles isn't the only product that reportedly makes use of titanium dioxide news reports indicate there are more than 300 edible products available in your grocery store that include titanium dioxide.

Generally, foods that commonly contain titanium dioxide include heavily processed items in these categories:

Of course, if you're looking to avoid potentially unhealthy or harmful ingredients in your food, Fischer also advises that it's not just about reading the list of ingredients it's also understanding exactly what each ingredient is. "A good place to start is to compare ingredients between rival brands," she says. "Beware of purchasing foods that contain ingredients that you dont understand."

To date, titanium dioxide is considered safe for consumption by officials at the FDA. Despite a growing concern over its safety in consumer products, there is currently not enough sufficient research to prove that it poses immediate health risks over consistent consumption or exposure here in the U.S.

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Is Titanium Dioxide in Food Safe? What Experts Say About the Skittles Lawsuit - Good Housekeeping

The US News & World Report magazine invites many experts in cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, nutrition, obesity and food psychology to review and rank dozens of diets each year. Among them, the Mediterranean diet has been ranked as the Best Diet Overall for five years in a row and ranked the first in several categories in 2022, including:

Numerous studies have proven that following the Mediterranean diet can reduce weight, protect heart and brain health, and prevent cancer, diabetes, and chronic diseases.

However, adopting a Mediterranean diet does not necessarily mean that you can get these benefits directly. It also depends on how you do it.

The four keys to the Mediterranean diet are:

However, due to some misconceptions, using the Mediterranean diet in the wrong ways can be detrimental to our health. What are the common mistakes to avoid, and how can we consume a Mediterranean diet correctly?

The Mediterranean diet can be a balanced diet with a variety of foods, but many people do not pay attention to the word balance and ignore the proportion and quantity of food, said nutritionist Jiahuei Lee. She said with a smile that people may find it annoying to hear balanced diet all the time, but it is the basics of everything.

For instance, the United States government recommends adults to eat at least two to three cups of vegetables a day to replenish fiber and various nutrients. Although there is no upper limit to daily vegetable intake recommendation, this does not mean that eating too much will not make people feel uncomfortable.

Since vegetables contain a lot of indigestible dietary fiber, when too much is consumed, it may cause symptoms such as constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and flatulence.

Dietary fiber promotes gastrointestinal motility and also increases gas emission, which can cause flatulence when dietary fiber is consumed in large quantities.

Certain vegetables are particularly prone to making gas and should be consumed in moderation. They include onions, garlic, leeks, cabbages, broccoli, snow peas, peas, and asparagus.

In addition, vegetables often contain the mineral potassium, some at very high levels. Patients with chronic kidney disease need to limit potassium intake, so they need to be careful about their choice of vegetables. This doesnt mean they cant adopt a Mediterranean diet, only that it requires additional vigilance regarding their potassium intake.

The medical journal Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation actually published a review that listed the Mediterranean diet as the preferred diet for patients with chronic kidney disease. In the article, the Mediterranean diet was stated to be able to significantly reduce the risk of chronic kidney disease and to reduce the risk of end-stage renal disease by 16 percent, thus improving patient survival.

Patients with chronic kidney disease can choose vegetables and fruits that are low in potassium, such as broccoli sprouts, towel gourds, white flowered gourds, wood-ear mushrooms, white radishes, purple onions, wax apples, watermelons, and apples. Or, when cooking vegetables, they can reduce the concentration of potassium and not drink the soup.

The Mediterranean diet does not avoid fats or oils, but they have to be healthy ones, such as extra virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil, and avocado oil. And when adding these oils into the diet, we still need to pay attention to the amount. Even for healthy oils, excessive intake will add a burden on our bodies.

The recommended daily intake of lipids and oils is 3 to 8 tablespoons (1 tablespoon is 15cc).

People who eat a Mediterranean diet are generally accustomed to using olive oil. Lee said that people all know that olive oil is good for our health, but I have heard of people drinking it directly. The reason is related to the myth that olive oil does not tolerate high temperatures, and that the nutrients in it will be destroyed when the oil is heated.

In fact, there has been no research to support the claim that drinking olive oil is more beneficial than using it in cooking. Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at Kings College London, tried a one-week olive oil diet that included drinking olive oil for the sake of scientific experimentation and his book. As a result, he experienced nausea and dizziness and later abandoned the experiment.

Lee pointed out that some people drink olive oil for the sake of health benefits, and then they also use oil when they cook, so they end up consuming too much oil, which will cause a burden to their body. Therefore, it is recommended to add the oil into the meal rather than drinking it directly.

Olive oils smoke point, which is the temperature that will destroy its nutrition, is around 190 degrees. The cooking temperatures are usually not that high, so we can safely use olive oil as cooking oil. In addition, a recent study from Spain shows that minor constituents of extra virgin olive oil prevent fatty acid and vitamin oxidation during cooking.

In addition to olive oil, Lee suggested using a variety of edible oils alternatively, choosing ones that are rich in unsaturated fatty acids like olive oil.

When choosing cooking oil, many people will buy olive oil in transparent glass bottles or plastic containers, which are cheaper. In fact, it is best to store olive oil in dark glass bottles, because such bottles insulate the oil from light to prevent rapid oxidation. Furthermore, the use of plastic containers and cans is a concern due to the release of plasticizers.

The oxidation process of oil and grease will produce lipid peroxides, which are quite unstable and will continue to disintegrate and produce more and more free radicals in the process of oxidation and deterioration of oil and grease. Free radicals are unstable factors that can damage cells and cause aging and many chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and cancer.

Some people may also choose large containers of inexpensive blended oil for financial reasons. This kind of cooking oil, which blends different vegetable oils in different proportions, also contains higher unsaturated fatty acids, but the larger containers of oil are prone to oxidation and spoilage if they are not used up quickly. Therefore, if you have a lot of family members who often cook, you can choose blend oils, but you have to finish them quickly.

One of the characteristics of the Mediterranean diet is the consumption of a glass of red wine at meals. The health benefits of red wine are thought to be related to resveratrol, a polyphenol.

However, academicians who promote the Mediterranean diet do not necessarily recommend people to drink wine, due to its alcohol content.

Dr. Chih Hao Lin, neurologist and director of the Brain Stroke Center at Lin Shin Hospital in Taiwan, is against people drinking red wine or other alcoholic beverages. He pointed out that after analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of drinking alcohol, it is found that alcohol does not have much benefit to the body and also reduces the quality of sleep.

Drinking too much alcohol can cause fatty liver and damage the brain. One study found that alcohol causes atrophy of the hippocampus, which is mainly responsible for memory and spatial orientation navigation.

Once alcohol reaches the liver, it further turns into a carcinogen, increasing the risk of many cancers. In 2020, more than 740,000 of all new cancer cases worldwide were attributed to alcohol consumption, of which about 100,000 were caused by light and moderate alcohol consumption.

So is it okay to drink a small amount of alcohol? The Lancet, a top international medical journal, gave us the answer: after a systematic review of alcohol consumption and its health effects in 195 countries from 1990 to 2016, it was found that the safe intake of alcohol is 0.

Lee said that people who dont drink to begin with should not start drinking red wine when they adopt the Mediterranean diet. Or, they can cook with red wine, such as making beef bourguignon. However, although alcohol content diminishes with cooking time, even after long cooking times, such as two and a half hours, there will still be 5 percent of alcohol remaining in the dish.

If you want to supplement resveratrol, you can just eat grapes or blueberries with deep purple or dark red skins, or even have a glass of grape juice.

Many people have the misconception that fruits with a refreshing taste are low in calories, so they eat a lot of them with relish. Lee reminded us that we should pay special attention to the amount of fruit consumption.

Clinically, there have been people, who seldom consumed sweets or sugary drinks ending up with high blood lipids, fatty liver, or weight loss failure, due to their excessive fruit consumption and fructose intake.

Epidemiological studies have shown that high fructose intake is associated with independent risk factors for obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline.

Furthermore, it is best to eat fruits after meals and to avoid turning them into fruit juice. Some studies have pointed out that eating some food before eating fruits can activate the small intestines ability to metabolize fructose, which has a protective effect on the liver. However, the study emphasized that if we eat too many fruits (high-dose of fructose) or drink fruit juice (the fructose release rate in the intestines is relatively high), it may still lead to fatty liver.

High-quality protein can be found in beans, fish, eggs, and meat, in descending order of protein quality. White meat (e.g. poultry) is of higher quality than red meat (e.g. beef and pork), and the latter should be consumed no more than twice a week.

Whether it is plant-based protein or animal-based protein, we should avoid preparing it with high-temperature cooking.

Some people enjoy eating fried and grilled fish, but this can deplete the health benefits of fish oil and even spoil it. Moreover, the proteins in meat are easily denatured at high temperatures, and beans are also suspected of producing carcinogens after being processed at high temperatures.

As staple food sources, whole grains and cereals, such as brown rice, germ rice, pearl barleys, oats, rye, buckwheat, quinoas, wheats, barleys, and millets, are all familiar to us.

These grains provide the body with various nutrients and starch. Starch can be a source of energy for the body, but too much starch intake can still cause high blood sugar and high blood cholesterol.

However, there are many ingredients that look like vegetables, but are actually whole grains, which can make people accidentally consume too much starch. Such food items include corn, taros, pumpkins, yams, lotus roots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, red beans, green beans, broad beans, and chestnuts.

In addition, whole grains such as brown rice are high in phosphorus, so patients with chronic kidney disease who need to limit phosphorus should keep and eye on the amount they consume. Fortunately, plant-based sources of phosphorus are not fully absorbed by the body, and studies have shown that only 40 percent to 60 percent of phosphorus in plant-based foods is absorbed.

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6 Common Mistakes That Make This Top-Ranked Health Diet Ineffective - The Epoch Times

St. George Spectrum & Daily News

Record heat waves in America and Europe endanger millions, as wildfires rage, in a brutal manifestation of man-induced global warming.

Each of us can reduce our personal contribution by cutting back on consumption of animal foods, which account for a whopping portion of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide is released by burning forests to create animal pastures. Methane and nitrous oxide are released from digestive tracts of cows and sheep and from animal waste pits.

In an environmentally sustainable world, vegetables, fruits, and grains must replace animal food products in our diet, just as wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources replace fossil fuels. The next trip to our favorite supermarket provides a great opportunity to explore the delicious, healthful, eco-friendly plant-based meat and ice cream products in the frozen food section.

Strat Gonzalez

St. George

It has taken me 21 years to appreciate the amazing work your community angels accomplished in coming to our rescue after our plane made a middle-of-the-night emergency landing at your airport on September 18, 2001.

From my point of view as a passenger back then, all I could appreciate was my own and my fellow passengers trauma as our plane made an extremely precipitous descent into your airport after there was a fire in the cabin. What I realize only now is that your communitys emergency services people acted quickly, inventively, and safely to get us all off the disabled plane and into the terminal where we sheltered for the next 12 hours.

Living moment-to-moment in the emergency I was blind to the effort it must have taken to awaken a probably closed airport and mobilize a construction lift to remove us from the aircraft. As our big plane had landed quite far from your small terminal, you also found school buses and drivers to transport us to the terminal. In the morning I saw the pick-up trucks (who organized those?) filled with our luggage, awaiting a replacement plane to complete our journey to Chicago.

One week after 9/11 everyone in this country was experiencing some degree of trauma. I am so thankful that your community arose to help rescue strangers who dropped out of the sky that night.

Marie Shakespeare

Bloomington, Indiana

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Letters to the editor for July 24 - The Spectrum

Do I need to warm up before a swimming workout?

Warming up before a workout is always a good idea. Taking 5 to 10 minutes to warm up the muscles you plan to use before starting your workout can help loosen your joints and prime those muscles for exercise, Koleber says. Before swimming, perform a few sets of push-ups and planks on dry land, and then spend a few laps swimming at a slow, easy pace to warm up.

The number of calories youll burn when swimming varies depending on your age, sex, body weight, and the intensity and duration of the exercise. However, as mentioned above, a 150-pound person may burn 216 calories from 30 minutes of general swimming (not vigorous), according to Harvard Medical School. If that same person increases the intensity, the expected calorie burn can jump to 360 calories in 30 minutes.

When youre first starting out, any number of laps youre able to do is a good swimming workout. For those who need concrete numbers, however, four laps of any basic stroke is a good distance to start with, Slabaugh says. (For reference, standard-sized pools tend to be 25 yards long, according to U.S. Masters Swimming.) From there, the number of laps you do will depend on your goals, intensity, fitness level, and how much time you have to exercise.

Swimming is a full-body workout. It works the large muscles in your back (latissimus dorsi and trapezius), chest (pectoralis major), shoulders (deltoids), hips (glutes), legs (quadriceps and hamstrings), and midsection (abdominals), Buckingham says.

Many groups of people, including beginners, kids, older adults, pregnant women, people with chronic conditions, and those with joint pain or injuries, can all potentially benefit from swimming. However, its a good idea to consult with your physician if you have any medical condition or injury that may make exercise and swimming in particular unsafe. In addition, Slabaugh recommends avoiding swimming if youre recovering from surgery, have open wounds, or cant complete the strokes.

A comfortable swimsuit and a pair of goggles may be all you need. However, some people may want to wear a swimming cap to protect their hair from damage from pool chemicals or salt water.

Aside from a swimsuit, goggles, and a swim cap (if you prefer to use one), most other swim gear is optional. However, if youre swimming in a natural body of water, its a good idea to get a safety buoy to increase your visibility and give you something to hang onto if you get tired, Koleber says.

Optional gear includes:

While swimming is low-impact, the repetitive motions can still cause pain and injuries, if youre not careful. The most common swimming-related issues include swimmers shoulder, lower back pain, breaststroke knee, and foot and ankle tendonitis, according to the Hospital for Special Surgery(HSS).The best way to avoid all of these injuries is to use proper swimming technique, build strength in the muscles that support your stroke, include a warm-up and cooldown in every workout, and progress your routine gradually, per the HSS.

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Swimming: What It Is, Health Benefits, and Getting Started - Everyday Health

The National Weather Service is warning about a dangerous and record-breaking heat wave that will impact most parts of the Great Plains and Mississippi Valley, as high temperatures continue across many areas of the southwestern U.S. Nearly 35 million people are under excessive heat warnings or heat advisories, the agency says, noting that the oppressive heat is expected to continue.

There are also high temperatures expected in many parts of the east coast this week. The National Weather Service shared on Twitter that heat-related advisories and warnings are likely throughout the week.

Temperatures are currently soaring in Europe, too, including in the U.K., where the thermostat is predicted to reach 104 degrees on Monday.

If you live in an area thats under a heat warning or facing high temperatures, its understandable to have questions about why whats been dubbed the Historic Heat Wave of 2022 is such a big deal and how to stay safe. Heres what you need to know.

A heat wave is a period of unusually hot weather that usually lasts two or more days, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In order for something to be considered a heat wave, temperatures need to be outside the historical averages for an area.

Heat waves usually happen because of trapped air that gets warmed like air inside an oven, NOAA explains. High-pressure systems force air downward, preventing air near the ground from rising and hot air just gets hotter.

Heat waves can cause heat illnesses, which include heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Symptoms of those illnesses can include:

Heat illness can be incredibly serious, says Lewis Nelson, M.D., chair of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. As our body temperature rises due to persistence in a hot environment, our vital body functions, such as enzymes and organs, begin to malfunction, he says. This leads to organ failure, and if untreated, can be lethal.

While everyone is at risk for heat illness, some are more vulnerable than others, says Nicholas Kman, M.D., emergency medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. "Those at greatest risk for heat-related illness include infants and children up to four years of age, people 65 years of age and older, people who are overweight, and people who are ill or on certain medications." Theres also greater risk with greater exposure, he says. Meaning, if you're going to be outside in high heatand especially if you're going to be active while doing ityou're more likely to get sick.

If you have time to prepare for a heat wave, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recommends taking a few steps to minimize the odds youll have issues when temperatures soar:

And, if the heat has already hit, the Red Cross has a laundry list of suggestions for how to stay cool. Those include:

Dr. Nelson also recommends carrying water with you. Maintaining adequate hydration is important, but it is equally important not to overdo it, he says. When we sweat, we lose salt and water, and if we only drink water without electrolytes, we run the risk of lowering our body sodium to concerning levels. Thats why he suggests eating regularly, along with drinking water or drinking electrolyte-containing beverages like sports drinks.

Overall, Dr. Nelson says keeping cool and safely hydrated is most important. And, if you need to be outside in high heat, he recommends keeping tabs on how you feel and heading into cooler temperatures if you start to feel off.

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What We Know About the Historic Heat Wave in 2022 - Stay Safe in Extreme Heat - Prevention Magazine

A plant-based diet could be helpful if you want to lose weight, avoid diabetes, or reduce your risk of Alzheimers.

According to a recent commentary in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, all doctors should be aware of the advantages of a plant-based diet for six different health conditions, including COVID-19, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and weight loss.

The field of medicine, despite its prominent influence in society, has invested little to promote healthy lifestyle choices, says the commentary co-authored by Saray Stancic, MD, FACLM, director of medical education for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The consequence of this is reflected in our ever-rising chronic disease statistics, most notably obesity and diabetes rates.

The authors claim that medical schools only provide a meager level of nutrition education throughout the course of four years and that this situation is not improved during postgraduate study. They point out that 90 percent of cardiologists who participated in a recent study of over 600 cardiologists said they had not obtained the necessary nutrition education during training.

The commentary accepts that not all doctors need to be nutrition specialists, but asserts that they should at the very least have a basic understanding of the advantages of a plant-based diet for these six conditions, for which they present detailed evidence, including the following:

It is time for all physicians across the globe to speak to the importance of diet and lifestyle in health, concludes the commentary, which recommends that physicians do this by counseling patients, assuring hospitals provide healthy menus, lecturing in the community, writing articles, using social media, and providing commentary to media.

Reference: Six Applications of Plant Based Diets for Health Promotion by Saray Stancic, MD, Josh Cullimore, MD and Neal Barnard, MD, 26 May 2022, American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.DOI: 10.1177/15598276221104023

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6 Scientifically Proven Health Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet - SciTechDaily

Decoding the Indian DASH diet and its benefits

Jul 24, 2022, 07:15 am 2 min read

Indians are prone to developing high blood pressure by the time they hit 40. This could be due to stress, pollution, or even genetics. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, diet attempts to prevent hypertension and is followed all over the world. The Indian DASH diet uses the same principles but with an Indian twist, making it a more easy approach.

Hypertension or high blood pressure occurs when the force exerted by the blood while pushing against the walls of arteries is too high. It can damage the walls of arteries and increase the risk of heart and kidney diseases. The normal blood pressure is below 120/80 mm Hg. When systolic pressure is over 130 and diastolic is over 80, it's the first stage of hypertension.

Foods involved in Indian DASH diet

The Indian DASH diet encourages the intake of methi water, fruits and vegetables, dal paratha without oil, grilled paneer, moong sprouts, palak paneer, oats upma, green salad, curd, low-fat chapati, and brown rice. These are beneficial for reducing blood pressure levels and must be eaten in moderation. You can also add pork, beef, or bacon in controlled portions to your diet.

Remove these foods from your diet

Salt must be completely eliminated from your diet. Along with this, sugary snacks like cookies, pastries, and sodas should be avoided. Alcohol, caffeine, processed foods, and dairy products, along with some types of meats, should also be removed from your diet. Usage of oils must be minimal to none, as excessive oil can ruin the diet plan and affect your health.

Additional habits and precautions

It is vital to maintain regular physical exercise alongside the DASH diet. Forms of intoxication like smoking and alcohol consumption must be stopped entirely as they pose a threat to heart health and cause blood pressure levels to fluctuate. Reducing stress is essential to reducing hypertension, which can be done through hobbies, sports, or mindfulness and meditation.

Other benefits of DASH diet

There are many more benefits of the Indian DASH diet apart from maintaining blood pressure levels as this diet greatly promotes your overall health. This diet strengthens your bones, reduces uric acid levels in the body, prevents metabolic disorders, reduces bad cholesterol levels, and is also said to lower the risk of cancer. The DASH diet also promotes healthy weight loss.

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Decoding the Indian DASH diet and its benefits - NewsBytes