Plastics are beneficial to many aspects in life. From tires for vehicles to home insulation to surgical equipment. Made primarily from fossil fuels, plastics can be shaped and are made to last. This, however, can be a problem. As plastics increase so do microplastics, which are found in the food we eat, water we drink and air we breathe. So studies are starting to look at whether microplastics are harmful to your health.
Contents
What are microplastics?
Microplastics are just as the name describes—small particles of plastics. And as with plastics, they’re everywhere. The National Ocean Service in the US defines microplastics as less than 5 mm long. But they can be much smaller, to the extent we can’t even see them.
Primary microplastics are plastics created for commercial purposes to ship and build into other types of plastic. There are two main types: nurdles, which are plastic pellets about the size of a lentil, used as building blocks for plastic products, and microbeads, which are used in skin products, soaps and toothpaste. Both nurdles and microbeads can find their way into the environment. For that reason, a number of countries have varying bans on microbeads.
But not all microplastics start out that small. Secondary microplastics are particles that come from ‘shedding’ off of larger plastics. This can occur during the manufacturing process as well as material breakdown. For example, microplastics can shed off of clothing when washed. And water bottles and packaging materials also shed microplastics.
![microplastics in food](https://svmeditrans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Are-microplastics-bad-for-your-health.gif)
Where do we find microplastics?
Microplastics can be found in oceans, soil and in the air. For example, microplastics from tires are the largest source of microplastics in the ocean. They’re even in our drinking water and food. And once they’re in the environment, microplastics don’t breakdown.
Microplastics get into water through rain run-off, winds and even absorbed into water from certain containers. Standard treatment facilities can’t remove all microplastics, and this has been behind the ban of microbeads in some countries. While both tap and bottled water contain microplastics, it’s believed bottled water carries more. And it’s estimated bottled water may have hundreds of thousands of these tiny particles coming from the bottle itself and the filtration process.
In food, microplastics have been found in fish, meat and fruits/vegetables. Once thought to be mainly in seafood, microplastics are present in other protein sources such as meat and plant-based proteins. The same study also found processed foods to have more microplastics. Microplastics get into foods through water, soil and when animals we eat ingest microplastics, as well as during food processing.
![scientist microplastics](https://svmeditrans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/1715205787_757_Are-microplastics-bad-for-your-health.jpg)
Are microplastics bad for your health?
It’s estimated the average American consumes 39 000 to 52 000 microplastic particles per year through food and drink. This number doubles when taking into account how many microplastics we might inhale. To prove this, a number of studies have found microplastics in the upper airways of the lungs, liver, placenta, blood, and the heart.
Despite microplastics being all around us, and even inside us, we don’t know with certainty whether they’re harmful. Studies in animals provide some suggestions. Marine life can suffer toxic effects such as growth retardation, alteration of gene expression and disturbances in metabolism. In seabirds, the microbiome appears to be altered by intake of microplastics. Studies in mice have also shown microplastic consumption can lead to hormone disruption, inflammation and greater chance for disease. But microplastics consumed by animals may be on a much larger scale than for us.
With the realization microplastics are present in humans, studies are beginning to look at health effects. But challenges remain such as accurate measuring of microplastics in people. Therefore, early studies have focused on research in cells in the laboratory. One such study found microplastics promoted metastasis in breast cancer cells. And people with inflammatory bowel disease had 50% higher amount of microplastics in their stool than healthy people.
More recently, a study measured microplastics in people who had surgical removal of plaques in their carotid (neck) arteries. Out of 257 people, 150 had microplastics in their plaque. And these people had a 4.5 times greater chance of having a heart attack, stroke of dying over a three year period.
![](https://svmeditrans.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Are-microplastics-bad-for-your-health.png)
Ways to Reduce Your Intake of Microplastics
While it’s still not clear if microplastics are harmful to your health, there are several ways in which you can reduce your exposure:
- Choose tap water over bottled water, and particularly avoid disposable water bottles. If you do use them, protect them from the sunlight and high temperatures. Also, minimize opening and closing them, as the friction from the bottle cap produces microplastics. Reusable plastic water bottles, or using glass or steel are better choices.
- Minimize use of other plastics to store food. And only microwave foods and drinks in glass or ceramic containers as the heat can wear down plastic releasing into the food.
- Switch to non-plastic cutting boards. Chopping food on plastic cutting boards can release microplastics, which may then be consumed with the food.
- Vacuum and dust regularly. Household dust is known to contain microplastics, and the vacuum (or wet mop/cloth) is a good way to pick them up.
- Choose natural fibres for clothes and furniture. Synthetic fabrics shed microplastics. You can also reduce the shedding by wearing clothes with greater durability and using the washing machine and dryer less. The heat and friction of washing clothes causes microplastics to be released into wastewater and air.
If you like this post, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog by clicking the FOLLOW button at the top of the right panel.
Enjoy listening to podcasts? Check out my show How to Health. A podcast about you and your health.
The post Are microplastics bad for your health? appeared first on Become your healthiest you.