Images: food pyramid: colematt; plastics: cgdeaw - Getty Images
Food pyramid with plastics
At the party in the film The Graduate, Mr. McGuire pulls Dustin Hoffman’s character, Ben, aside saying he has one word of advice, “just one word—plastics. There’s a great future in plastics.” That was 1967. Unfortunately, the future in plastics is here and isn’t great after all. While Benjamin didn’t bite on plastics, it turns out the rest of us are eating a whole bunch.
The threat of microplastics has been gaining attention in the media, and believe it or not, even with heads of state in some nations. Yet the problem is distressingly huge. Microplastics are everywhere—from the snowcapped Alps to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and even in Arctic ice. Plastic is also ubiquitous in our food chain. One study found microplastics in 16/16 sources of protein including plant-based proteins. It is estimated that on average, we individually consume about a credit card worth of plastic a week. It gets worse when we consider nanoplastics—they are smaller and thought to have greater cellular toxicity than microplastics. (Microplastics measure <5 microns, nanoplastics < 1 micron) A recent study demonstrated a one-liter plastic bottle of water contained around 240,000 plastic pieces, 90% nanoplastics, 10% microplastics.
Why does it matter? Microplastics have been found in every organ of the human body including the brain and human placenta. Moreover, plastics enter in with a host of chemicals (up to 6,000 different chemicals used in plastic manufacturing). Many of the plastics and associated chemicals behave as endocrine disrupters (mess with hormones) and have been found to be directly linked to common modern day maladies such as obesity and diabetes. But in truth, there are studies linking plastic associated toxicity to nearly every organ system and they are neurotoxic. In the United States, plastic exposure-related diseases are estimated to cost us $249 billion annually, according to a study authored by Dr. Leonardo Trasande. The situation is harrowing!
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Limit Exposure
So, what’s a person to do? First and foremost—wherever possible limit exposure. This is hard because much is out of our control and once you start looking, you realize plastic has an overwhelming presence in our lives. But let’s whittle it down to a few areas of greatest exposure based on studies looking at particle numbers.
- Water—biggest source for most people especially bottled but also tap water—consider a high-quality water filter or probably even better, reverse osmosis.
- Coffee in paper cups and tea bags (yep—even paper ones contain plastics) —heat releases more plastics—so use a glass mug and loose leaf tea (but not a plastic infuser!) and never microwave food in plastic.
- Food containers and plastic lined food packaging especially canned foods—much harder to limit since this is often how food comes—try to eat more fresh and store your food in glass.
- Personal care products—yes plastics can absorb through our skin. Especially watch for the presence of phthalates.
- Air—yes it is there too—that is how it got to the Alps. Consider at least filtering the air in your home. You need a high-quality HEPA filter and consider particle size.
How about elimination from our body? There is some evidence that a detox pathway known as glucuronidation can help. This can be supported by food: High protein low carb diet, Brassica family veggies— broccoli, cauliflower, watercress and green tea. The supplements calcium D glucurate, dandelion root, pterostibene, ellagic acid, rosemary extract and astaxanthin may also support glucuronidation. Also, it helps to get plenty of fiber and don’t let yourself become constipated.
Now that I may have thoroughly depressed you with this bleak topic, I offer a small glimmer of hope. Australian scientists have found the Zophobas morio—commonly known as the Superworm—can survive eating only plastic. Could these Superworms eat their way through our plastic strewn environment and possibly help save us from ourselves?
