Microplastics are in many of your body’s organs and tissues. Why they’re so bad and what you can do to stay healthier
By Andrea Kane, CNN
Editor’s note: The podcast Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the medical science behind some of life’s mysteries big and small. You can listen to episodes here.
(CNN) — We are very much living in the Plastic Age.
Whether it’s our food supply and how it’s packaged, our dwellings, furnishings and clothing or even our environment, there is almost no avoiding plastic in some way, shape or form.
While plastic makes our lives easier in countless ways — can you imagine life without shoes, computers or cars? — there’s also no denying that plastics are choking our environment. And leaders can’t agree on how to tame this monster we have created.
Plastics also affect our health in ways we are only just beginning to understand.
Microplastics and nanoplastics — incredibly tiny bits of plastic that break off and shed from larger products — have made their way into many of the tissues of our bodies , including our brain, reproductive organs (both male and female), and cardiovascular system.
“It’s much more pervasive than meets the eye,” Dr. Leonardo Trasande, the director of environmental pediatrics and the vice chair for pediatric research at NYU School of Medicine, recently told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta on his podcast Chasing Life. Trasande has spent the last two decades studying how environmental exposures, including to microplastics, affect our health.
“We eat a lot of plastic. We inhale a lot of plastic” in the form of dust, Trasande said. “We literally use cosmetics that resorb in our body… We’ve just come to accept plastic as normal. And it’s not normal.”
You can listen to the full episode here.
Chemicals that leach from plastics
It’s not just the plastic itself that is wreaking havoc on the human body, which Trasande said causes irritation and inflammation. He also worries about what’s in the plastic, too.
“There are additives that are intentionally added,” Trasande explained. “We think of the crinkly polyvinyl chloride plastic that we’re so used to in food packaging, as coming that way just on its own, but phthalates are added to polyvinyl chloride to make it softer.”
The additives that Trasande is worried about include phthalates (used in personal care products and food packaging), bisphenols (used in aluminum can linings and thermal paper receipts) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), so-called forever chemicals because they don’t break down easily in the environment.
“Then there are non-intentionally added substances. So there are things that are impurities or other materials that get into the mix,” he said.
As it turns out, many of these added chemicals (not to mention the unintentional impurities) are not good for our bodies. The main concern: disruption of the endocrine system.
The endocrine system is a complex network of glands and organs that produce and release hormones which control many of our body’s basic functions, such as metabolism, growth and reproduction.
“The endocrine system isn’t everything, it’s the only thing,” said Trasande. “And that’s because endocrine is hormone. Hormones are our signaling molecules, our master conductors of body communication… from gonads to heart to brain.”
The connections are “diverse and many” he said, regulating “everything from temperature, metabolism, salt, sugar, and even sex.”
CNN reached out to the American Chemistry Council for comment and received a statement via email, which read in part: “Companies that make chemicals and plastics are focused on producing chemistries that offer important safety, product performance and durability benefits and that can be used safely. Our members undertake extensive scientific analyses to evaluate potential risk of their chemicals, from development through use and safe disposal.”
The US Food and Drug Administration webpage on Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Food notes there is some evidence that “microplastics and nanoplastics are entering the food supply.” But the agency states current scientific evidence “does not demonstrate that levels of microplastics or nanoplastics detected in foods pose a risk to human health.”
What can you do to reduce your exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics? Trasande has these five tips.
Avoid canned foods
While bisphenol A (BPA) — a chemical that was commonly used in the lining of many metal food and drink cans, lids and caps — is no longer present in the packaging for most products (think: canned tuna, soda and tomatoes), industry data show it is still used about 5% of the time, possibly more.
Plus, it is not clear if what has taken BPA’s place is any safer; by many accounts, one common substitute, bisphenol S, is as toxic to our health as BPA, and it has seeped into our environment as well.
“There are some cans that are that are bisphenol-free, but it’s very hard for a consumer to figure that out,” Trasande said, noting that some cans are now lined with naturally-derived resins, like oleoresin, a mixture of oil and resin extracted from plants such as pine or balsam fir.
“Can I say that they’re definitively safe? No,” he said. “But if I had two cans as my options — one was a BPA can and one was an oleoresin can — I’m going to pick the oleoresin can. But if I could avoid cans in the first place, that’s what I would do and I would go with glass or stainless steel or fresh.”
Keep plastic containers away from heat, harsh cleaners
Heat and harsh cleansers are not good for plastic for a couple of reasons.
“We’ve been lulled into this notion of microwave (and dishwasher) safe plastic,” said Trasande. “Microwave (and dishwasher) safe plastic is only for gross misshaping or warping of the plastic container.”
However if you look at the plastic container on a microscopic level, you can see the damage, he said.
“There’s two things going on here. One is that there are additives that are not (strongly) bound to the plastic, so those will come off under normal conditions,” Trasande explained.
“And then you also have the polymers that are the plastic. They break down… whether it’s to microplastics, nanoplastics or the chemicals themselves,” he said.
Trasande noted that those microscopic bits of chemical additives and/or plastic get absorbed into food, which you then ingest.
If the plastic is etched — a well-used plastic cutting board or a cracked lid, for example — definitely toss it because etching increases the odds of chemicals leaching into your food, too, he added.
Avoid plastics stamped with 3, 6 and 7
Check the little recycling number on your bottle or container to find out what kind of plastic you’re dealing with.
“Three is for polyvinyl chloride plastic; that’s the plastic that typically has phthalate added to it to soften it,” explained Trasande. Phthalates have been linked to a host of health problems, including preterm birth and early death and many other conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular issues, asthma, reproductive challenges and childhood obesity.
“Six is for polystyrene. It’s not the polystyrene per se, it’s that… styrene can break off from polystyrene and styrene is a very potent carcinogen,” he said.
“Seven is a catch-all; seven says ‘Other’” he said, noting that a consumer can’t know what’s in it. “That’s where I say, ‘If I don’t know, I don’t want to bother and take on that risk.’”
One more note regarding plastic bottles: if they are intended for single-use, recycle them after a single use, Trasande said. Not only are single-use plastics not designed for the level of wear-and-tear of studier plastics —which can increase the risk of chemical contamination — but unless you wash them carefully with soap and warm water, you could be introducing bacterial contamination, to boot.
Pick the right cookware
Use stainless steel or cast iron instead of non-stick pots and pans, Trasande suggested.
“That coating is a plastic coating,” he said, specifically PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Trasande said those so-called forever chemicals have gotten a lot of attention lately because they contaminate the water supply, too.
“If there is a theme… (it) is ‘What you think is not plastic may actually be plastic,’” he said.
Keep those dust bunnies from multiplying
Vacuum regularly with a HEPA filter and use a wet mop to keep dust bunnies from overrunning your living space. “The dust is a vector for these chemicals,” said Trasande.
Tiny micro and nanoplastics — broken off from many sources, including textiles used in clothing, furniture and carpets, as well as the water repellants, stain resisters and flame retardants applied to them — all float around and can accumulate into dust, Trasande said. “There’s plastic in so many parts of human society, and we track dust from lots of places.”
Air filtration can help too, he said, plus it has the added benefit of reducing the amount of bacteria and viruses (like those that cause colds, the flu and Covid) in addition to these chemicals.
Optimism for the future
Trasande freely admitted that when it comes to his own habits, he’s “not pitching a no hitter.” For example, sometimes he forgets his stainless steel mug and is “desperate for (his) caffeine hit” so he has to buy his coffee in a paper cup, which is — you guessed it — lined with plastic.
Trasande tries hard to use less plastic but is realistic. “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good here,” he said.
He’s also optimistic for the future. “You’re not going to change the universe overnight. You’re not going to change companies’ behavior overnight, but it’s building that consumer demand and momentum,” he said, adding that, in his experience, industry wants rules too.
“They know consumers want safe materials, and they are innovating away from plastic already… This system built itself up over 60, 70 years. It’s going to take time to undo it, but it’s worth undoing. An ounce of common sense goes a long way.”
We hope these five tips help you cut back on your exposure to microplastics. Listen to the full episode here. And join us next week on the Chasing Life podcast when we talk to an expert on alcohol and drinking.
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CNN Audio’s Jennifer Lai contributed to this report.
