Microplastics May Not Be Harmless After All
A new study discovered microplastics can block blood vessels in the brains of mice, which doesn't bode well for humans
Hiya!
You’ve likely seen the terms “microplastics” or “nanoplastics” floating around online, referring to the teeny-tiny bits of plastic originating from the wrappings of consumer goods and the result of large plastic items breaking down. Heck, I’ve already written about them at least twice.
Even still, microplastics aren’t high on most people’s list of things to worry about considering everything going on right now. This attitude is strengthened by the fact that scientists, while showing the concerning spread of microplastics, have been unsure whether they’re causing us harm.
But that doubt is shifting now due to recent research. For instance, a new study discovered that microplastics can block bloodflow in the brains of mice, while another suggests humans have enough microplastics in our brains alone to form a plastic spoon.
Microplastics
Microplastics are tiny, about the size of a grain of rice, or about 5 millimeters in diameter. Meanwhile, nanoplastics are even smaller, at between 1 and 1,000 nanometers across, so teeny we can’t even see them with our naked eyes. For comparison, an average human hair is roughly 80,000 - 100,000 nanometers wide.
Their small stature makes it easy to disregard these plastic particles — out of sight, out of mind, right? Except that microplastics contain any of, and up to, 20,000 possible chemicals, thousands of which, including PFAS, phthalates, and BPA, are linked to serious health risks.
A few microplastics in our bodies are likely harmless due to the low quantity and tiny size. However, the risk increases as the number grows — and scientists estimate that the average person consumes between 78,000 and 211,000 microplastic particles each year.
Microplastics are in our air, water (including the oceans, rivers, rain, and drinking water whether tap or bottled), and food so it’s unsurprising they’re in our bodies too. Still, it’s shocking how widely spread they are within us.
So far, microplastics have been found in our blood and all our organs. They can also cross the placental barrier and even enter our bone marrow. Disturbingly, researchers also discovered that baby poo has ten times more microplastics than adult poo, which is probably because microplastics are also found in breast milk.
However, what researchers are discovering about microplastics in our brains is the most alarming.