“When did Dunkin’ Donuts go full orange?”
I wondered this out loud the other day, while driving past the infamous fast food sugar joint. This place has been up in my hometown since I was a kid, and its design’s always been an even mix of pink and orange – not this new sunset colored theme. “It looks like Auto Parts store. Or a biohazard bin,” I thought. And it wasn’t until today that I’d learn there was some coincidental (or maybe a Freudian chromatic slip on their part) truth to my latter analogy.
Ya know, considering the fact that DD is now under fire for putting titanium dioxide in their donuts.
Now, I’ve tried looking up this stuff (to see just how dangerous it is – versus being akin to that whole “dihydrogen monoxide” meme). And it seems like we end up exposed to the stuff no matter what we eat or how we try to avoid it. It ends up in the atmosphere, we get it in our toothpastes, and even some’a our vitamins have it in ‘em. Which kinda makes me rethink that whole documentary on vitamins vs. big pharma. *insert Keanu voice* like what if they’re working with them by poisoning allegedly holistic over the counter pills? So that you get sick and end up turning to prescription life support? Eh… Another article; another day. Today we’ll focus on double death instead’a Trojan horses – by asking why these already fatty and heart clogging confectionary rings – also have extra junk in ‘em? Apparently it’s just to make the powder look whiter.
And what does titanium dioxide do exactly? I mean – when we add more of it than we’re already exposed to?
That’s where the disagreement seems to be.
For instance, some studies show that it can disrupt respiratory function.
Others show that it can cause disorders of the brain via interruption of the hippocampus.
Then, still others show that “it’s fiiiine; it’s good for you, even. Trust us we’re professionals.”
As much as I wanna believe that and hope it means I’ll become bulletproof like the John Heder-esque kid from that David Guetta music video, I also kinda wanna know who footed the bill for this high level research. And how far they were dunkin’ their finger piggies in the piggy bank of Dunkin’. Or whoever owns ’em. In this case, though, it may not be that they’re lying – so much as misleading. That is to say, titanium dioxide is said to be not so bad itself. But the actual problem arises when it’s in nano form. What’s the BFD? Well, the smaller it gets (that’s what nano refers to), the more detrimental on the body it can be – it’s more easily absorbed when it’s shrunk-isized.
Depending on what they are made of and what shape they are, research has shown that some nanoparticles are capable of getting to parts of the body that are inaccessible to larger particles. And some particles are more chemically reactive because of their small size. Some may cause unexpected harm simply because they are small enough to throw a nano-wrench into the nano-workings of your cells.
Once in your cells, the stuff can cause DNA damage.
But at the day’s end, Dunkin’s definitely not doing this for your benefit.
They just don’t wanna lose money cuzza a not-necessarily-unfounded public fear.
While non-nano food grade titanium is common and allegedly safe (and while Dunkin’s meant to be on this list), some of those nano particles do indeed get into your noms too. And regardless of what that percentage is, it’s still info I’d wanna know (kinda like each year when they tell me the E.coli count in the public lake, squashing my plans to cannonball off the dock like a free spirit). And you deserve to know it too.
So here’s a buncha other TDO’s (is that a thing? “TDO”? Is now…) that you’re prolly eating.
Just another reason I eat plants instead’a stuff manufactured in plants.
#survivalofthecleanest