Plastics Could Be Causing Serious Health Concerns

We know that reducing plastic use is good for the environment, but new research points to its potential health concerns. A recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that tiny micro or nanoplastics are being found in all parts of the human body including breast milk, the placenta, lungs, brains, hearts, liver and kidneys, stomach, and the testicles.

The tiny shards of plastic when found in the blood vessels in the neck which pump blood from the heart to the head and brain, can double the risk of heart attack or stroke, and can increase the risk of cardiovascular complications among those already diagnosed with heart disease.

Plastic production is a booming industry that has doubled in the last few decades and as convenient as they can make our daily lives, they don’t decompose like food or paper. Instead, plastic breaks down into tinier and tinier pieces known as microplastics once they reach less than five millimeters in size, about the size of a pencil point or a grain of rice. Nanoplastics are an even smaller type of microplastic that can break through cell barriers in the body. Micro or nanoplastics are polymer fragments that are found everywhere and come from plastic products in our environment. They are found in the oceans and consumed by the fish we eat, detected in fruits and vegetables, plastic water bottles and cosmetics just to name a few.

Depending on the source of the plastic, microplastics can be tainted with toxic chemical additives used during the manufacturing process. The chemical additives bond to the plastic and the micro particles can enter the body and pose health risks like how pollutants or harmful pesticides enter the body and harm the reproductive system and brain development. Polyethylene that is used in making of plastic bags and water bottles has long been linked to cancer and is the predominant plastic found in tissue samples of the brain, liver, and kidneys. Studies on mice found that microplastics can impair learning and memory, disrupt the gut microbiome that helps regulate all aspects of the body and can lower sperm quality and testosterone.

While some plastics are unavoidable, there are ways to reduce the risk of exposure:

• Use glass food storage containers. Storing and heating food in plastic accelerates the microplastic contamination into your food. Remove food from plastic takeout containers and try to limit frozen foods that come in microwavable packaging.
• Stop using disposable plastic water bottles or cups. Use glass or metal water bottles and use real drinking glasses to avoid using plastic drinking cups. If plastic water bottles are unavoidable, keep them out of direct sunlight and in a cool, dry environment as heat speeds up the breakdown of the plastic particles.
• Remove plastic wrap from food. Make sure to remove plastic wrap before you heat or cook food as heat accelerates the movement of microplastics into the food.

There is more work to be done and more research to be conducted before we fully understand what the use of plastics is doing to our bodies. And while we can’t completely avoid plastics just yet, we can reduce our reliance on and our risk of exposure to microplastics.