新研究發現：牙膏增白劑或引發糖尿病

增白劑在我們的日常生活中應用廣泛，牙膏、化妝品、藥品、防曬霜、牆漆、紙張……到處都有它的蹤跡。近日新研究發現，我們離不開的增白劑可能是2型糖尿病的罪魁禍首之一。以後還能安心地刷牙嗎？

A common chemical which turns things like food, medicines, toothpastes and paper white could cause Type 2 diabetes, a study has found. Titanium dioxide is widely used in food and cosmetics for its brilliant white properties, but scientists found it crystallises in the pancreas of diabetics. The small study by the University of Texas suggests people without diabetes do not have the chemical in the body, which could point to a groundbreaking link between the condition and everyday objects.

一項研究發現，食品、藥品、牙膏和紙張生產中常見的增白劑可能是2型糖尿病的元兇之一。二氧化鈦因其增白特性被廣泛應用於食品和化妝品中，但科學家在糖尿病患者的胰腺中發現了二氧化鈦的結晶。得克薩斯大學的這項小型研究指出，沒有糖尿病的人體內沒有這種化學物質，這一突破性發現可能意味着糖尿病和增白劑之間有聯繫。

WHAT IS TITANIUM DIOXIDE?

什麼是二氧化鈦？

Titanium dioxide is a fine white powdered form of the metal element titanium. The chemical is not thought to occur naturally inside the human body. It is commonly used around the world because it is brilliant white and can be used to colour a huge range of objects. Everyday items which are likely to contain titanium dioxide as a colourant include toothpaste, suncream, makeup – in which it is used to brighten the skin, plastics, paper, wall paint, ink and white medicine pills. Researchers say the chemical may enter the human bloodstream if it is inhaled or eaten.

二氧化鈦是白色細粉末狀的鈦金屬。據稱，人體不會自然生成這種化學物質。二氧化鈦因其亮白特性可以用於給多種物品着色而在全世界被普遍使用。含有二氧化鈦增白劑的日常用品包括牙膏、防曬霜、美白化妝品、塑料、紙張、牆漆、墨水和白藥丸。研究人員稱，這種化學物質在被吸入或食入後會進入人體血液。

Titanium dioxide began to be widely used in the mid-1900s to replace toxic lead-based colourings in household items like paint and plastics. Scientists say since the 1960s, around four million tonnes of the chemical have been produced each year and, since the 1970s, cases of type 2 diabetes have quadrupled.

上世紀中葉，二氧化鈦取代有毒含鉛染色劑在油漆和塑料等家居用品中被廣泛使用。科學家指出，自上世紀60年代以來，每年生產出約400萬噸二氧化鈦，而從上世紀70年代至今，患2型糖尿病的病例數量翻了兩番。

One expert said the use of the white colouring 'could be a factor in the type 2 diabetes epidemic.'

一位專家表示，增白劑的使用“可能是導致2型糖尿病流行的因素之一”。

Now, the scientists in Austin, Texas, suggest the particles may damage the pancreas by provoking an immune response from white blood cells, causing inflammation and which kills healthy cells in the organ.

得州奧斯汀市的科學家指出，二氧化鈦可能會引發白血球的免疫反應，導致炎症，殺死胰腺中的健康細胞，從而損害胰腺。

Type 2 diabetes is described as an 'epidemic' by one of the researchers. More than 3.5 million people in the UK, and over 422 million worldwide, have diabetes, and 90 percent of them have type 2.

一位研究人員將2型糖尿病稱爲“流行病”。英國超350萬人、全球超4.22億人有糖尿病，90%的患者得的是2型糖尿病。

The condition is caused by insulin – a hormone which is made by the pancreas – either not being used properly by the body or not being made in large enough quantities. This means the body cannot regulate blood sugar levels properly, which increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes, blindness and kidney failure.

糖尿病的病因是人體無法正常使用胰島素或胰島素分泌不足（胰島素是胰腺分泌的一種激素）。這意味着人體無法正常調節血糖水平，從而會增加心臟病、中風、失明和腎衰竭的風險。

The buildup of titanium dioxide exclusively in the pancreases of people with type 2 diabetes suggests a link between the two. To discover this link researchers studied pancreas specimens from 11 people to look for evidence of titanium dioxide.

二氧化鈦僅在2型糖尿病患者體內積聚，意味着這兩者之間有聯繫。科學家研究了11個人的胰腺樣本，尋找二氧化鈦的蹤跡，結果發現了這一聯繫。

Eight of the pancreases were from people who had type 2 diabetes and three were from those who did not. All eight of the diabetic pancreases contained crystallised particles of titanium dioxide, but none of the non-diabetic ones did.

8份胰腺樣本來自2型糖尿病的患者，3份胰腺樣本來自沒有患2型糖尿病的人。8份糖尿病患者胰腺樣本中都含有二氧化鈦的結晶微粒，而沒有糖尿病的人的胰腺樣本中都沒有發現二氧化鈦。

The research was led by Dr Adam Heller, a diabetes expert, who suggests titanium dioxide particles could cause diabetes in a similar way to how asbestos particles cause lung disease – by damaging healthy body tissue.

該研究的領頭人、糖尿病專家亞當•海勒醫生指出，二氧化鈦微粒導致糖尿病的方式可能和石棉微粒導致肺病的方式相似，都是通過破壞健康的人體組織。

As titanium dioxide production has boomed since the 1960s, the percentage of the world's population with type 2 diabetes nearly doubled from 4.7 percent in 1980 to 8.5 percent in 2014, according to the World Health Organisation.

世界衛生組織的數據顯示，自從上世紀60年代二氧化鈦開始大量生產以來，全世界的2型糖尿病患者比例從1980年的4.7%上升到了2014年的8.5%，幾乎翻倍。

'The increased use of titanium dioxide over the last five decades could be a factor in the type 2 diabetes epidemic,' Dr Heller said.

海勒醫生說：“過去50年二氧化鈦使用的增加可能是導致2型糖尿病高發的因素之一。”