Reducing Your Exposure to Microplastics

There’s been quite a bit of media coverage lately on microplastics, both in the environment and in our bodies. One recent story claims that, on average, we have about a teaspoon of microplastics in our brains.

While there’s been some association between microplastics and a wide variety of health problems, causation has still not been established. In other words, we don’t really know what harm they’re doing to us, and we probably won’t know for sure for years to come.

That said, I think a safe assumption is that having a teaspoon of microplastics in your brain probably isn’t going to give you superpowers nor enhance your health. They probably do have some harmful effects, but time will tell how much.

That said, I do want to point out that although the recognition that microplastics are accumulating in our bodies is relatively recent, the problem has been around for many years and multiple generations, yet we’re only now becoming aware of the potential problems. Because of that, even though the risks are still mostly unknown, in comparison to poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, etc., it seems to me that microplastics are probably not at the top of the health concerns list. But as with other healthy lifestyle choices, it’s a good idea to take control of the things we can.

So, the question becomes how do we eliminate microplastics from our bodies? Unfortunately, there’s currently no way to remove what has already accumulated. There’s also no way to completely prevent microplastics from entering your body.

We take in microplastics in the food and beverages we ingest and through the air we breathe. They are so prevalent in our world that you simply cannot avoid them, but you can greatly reduce your exposure.

Now, there are some in-depth and usually expensive ways to reduce certain types of exposure. For example, to reduce breathing in microplastics in your home you could use filters in your AC system that would remove most of them from the air. The problem is, not only do you have to use very high grade filters, but most standard AC units can’t move air efficiently through such fine filters, so you have to install booster fan units to move the air – at a cost of several thousand dollars.

Likewise, you can remove microplastics from your home’s water supply with a reverse osmosis system, which again costs quite a bit of money and is only an option if you own your home.

But there are some lower cost options to greatly reduce your microplastic exposure. By far the biggest exposure most of us have to microplastics comes from plastic that’s in contact with foods and drinks that is heated. Now, it doesn’t have to be heated at the time of consumption, and the higher the heat and the duration of being heated, the more microplastics tend to be transferred into the food and drinks we consume.

One of the biggest offenders is single-use plastic water, soda, and other beverage bottles. Now, we may not think of those as being heated, especially if we are grabbing one out of a refrigerator at home or at a store. But those bottles are not usually stored and transported in refrigerated environments. Especially in warm climates, they can spend days, weeks, months, even years in pretty high temperatures. Reducing your use of such bottles is probably the single biggest thing you can do to reduce your microplastic intake.

Purchasing products in glass or metal containers, or getting refillable containers you fill at home whenever possible is recommended. Now, your home water supply probably gets to your home at least partially via PVC (plastic) pipes, but they leach microplastics much less than reusable bottles do, and you can get water filters of various complexities and costs to further reduce the microplastic content.

I mentioned an in-home reverse osmosis system previously as an expensive options, but reverse osmosis water is often available at “fill your own bottle” facilities like they have at many grocery stores and free-standing kiosks. If you do use a “fill your own,” you might want to consider glass bottles, or at least use heavy-grade plastic (which tends to leach less microplastic) bottles that are intended for multiple refills. Also, if using plastic bottles, store them in a cool spot out of direct sunlight (keeping glass water bottles out of sunlight is a good idea too – it helps reduce the potential for algae growth).

Another common source of microplastics is coffee made in a drip coffee maker with lots of plastic components. There are a few drip coffee makers out there made with all or mostly metal components, but they are pretty pricey. A less-expensive alternative is a metal or glass French press with no to minimal plastic that comes in contact with the coffee.

Similarly, going with glass, ceramic, or metal food containers for storage and especially re-heating is another relatively economical way to reduce microplastic ingestion. The main issue is contact of food with plastic while it’s hot or being heated, so you can still get containers that may have plastic covers or seals without having a lot of transfer.

To sum things up, we don’t really know what the risks are to our bodies from microplastics, but I think it’s advisable to take at least some basic steps to minimize our exposure to them.

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.