Does the avalanche of distressing news about microplastics have you down? Do you, like me, hate yourself for having accumulated a house full of synthetic leggings, non-stick pans, pot scrubbers, and every exfoliating face scrub known to Sephora?
Dr. Tracey Woodruff, a professor and director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California, San Francisco, has a message for us: “First, it’s not your fault,” she says. “Plastic production has doubled since 2008. We really have to roll it back, and people are working on that.”
But meanwhile, these polymers are everywhere, and they’re increasingly problematic. Woodruff’s research suggests that microplastic exposure increases the risk of colon and lung cancer, and it’s also suspected to harm respiratory and reproductive health, especially sperm count and quality.
Dozens of studies have identified microplastics in every organ in our bodies, and while some are excreted in urine, feces, and sweat, others tend to stick around, glomming onto fatty tissues, including in the brain. They’re impossible to avoid; a major review in the Journal of Hazardous Materials found that adults may consume up to 41,000 particles annually just from drinking water, and another 5,100 from table salt.
Cheerful stuff, right? Anyone faintly health-conscious with an Instagram algorithm is served all sorts of ways to avoid them, from choosing cast-iron instead of non-stick pans and a filtered water flosser instead of dental floss, which can be coated with PFAS, a group of chemicals linked to health risks. (The Plastic Soup Foundation’s research analysis found that approximately 87 percent of beauty products also contain plastic.)
For some wellness influencers, those measures are only the beginning. The Clarify Clinics, in London, use a dialysis-like procedure to filter the blood, claiming it can remove up to 99 percent of forever chemicals and microplastics from its plasma for the low, low price of $13,000.
But you might want to hold onto your crypto. “That is not a medically tested or approved intervention,” says Dr. Woodruff. “Chelation therapy is an [approved] medical intervention for people who have very high lead exposures, and there are still a lot of health risks from that. I just do not recommend it. And also, what happens afterwards? You go outside and sit in traffic, and it just builds right back up.”
Traffic? Seriously? Unfortunately, gridlock’s ability to elevate cortisol is only the beginning of what it may do to the body. In addition to generating fine particulate matter pollution, the roadways are also pumping our air full of tire wear particles, or TRPs. According to research by Imperial College London, an estimated six million tons of them are expelled into our environment each year. (They’re a main area of focus for the European Union’s latest vehicle emission standards and regulations, known as Euro 7. Manufacturers of vehicles, tires, and brake systems are on notice.)
But still, don’t despair. While it’s impossible to avoid plastics entirely, every attempt at removing them from your life counts, says Dr. Woodruff. “Even with chemicals that like to hang around in the body, like PFAS, we know that if you stop those exposures over time, they will leave your body.” No dubious procedures required.
Ashley Baker is the Executive Editor at AIR MAIL LOOK
