It may be time to find America’s next bottle.
Microplastics are everywhere – in the beauty products we wear, the cleaning supplies we use and even in the food we eat. Research suggests that these particles, smaller than a grain of rice, can damage reproductive, digestive and respiratory health, potentially leading to colon and lung cancer.
In a new scientific work, three doctors report that transition from bottle to filtered tap water can shorten your microplastic intake by about 90% – from 90,000 to 4,000 particles each year.
“Given the widespread presence of microplastics in the environment, the elimination of exposure is completely unrealistic. A more practical approach is to reduce the most important sources of getting microplastics, ”researchers write this week at the Genomic Press.
This advice can be difficult to swallow. Bottled water was America’s favorite beverage last year, according to industry data, with consuming 16.2 billion gallons, a 2% increase from 2023.
If you are not willing to throw your plastic bottles or do not have a filter for your faucet, there are other ways to reduce microplasty intake.
“Beyond bottle water, important dietary sources of microplastics are alcohol and seafood,” the researchers writes. “Prohibiting the practice of heating food in plastic can be one of the most effective ways to reduce microplastic consumption.”
Microwave food in plastic containers can release up to 4.22 million microplastic particles per square centimeter in just a few minutes. Instead, place for glass or stainless steel containers.
Other recommendations include not storing food in plastic and restricting canned leg consumption and processed ultra foods.
“Very processed foods, such as chicken nugges, contain 30 times more gram microplastics than chicken breasts, emphasizing the impact of industrial processing, which often uses plastic at one point,” researchers said.
World companies are believed to generate 460 million tons of plastic metrics per year – this figure is projected to grow to 1.1 billion tons of metric by 2050.
Americans absorb and consume about 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles a year, a study found.
Microplasty is detected in human placenties, kidneys, lungs, liver, testicles and blood, between organs and other tissues.
The startling research published last month revealed that the human brain contains approximately a spoon of small plastic value.
These particles can damage the intestinal cells, cause inflammation and disturb the balance of bacteria in the intestine.
In the new paper, research requires more studies on long -term health effects of microplastics and “clear” boundaries in their exposure.
But while “Reduction of intake is a logical approach”, researchers write “, it remains unclear if this translates into a measurable reduction of microplastic accumulation within human tissue.”
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