The human body ingests 5 grams of 'microplastics' every week. Reminder: These 4 items are the culprits, and it is better to use them less

How much impact do microplastics have on the environment? Even the cleanest place on earth is "polluted".

A paper published in the journal "Cryosphere" stated that plastics have spread all over the world, and even Antarctica has not been spared - more than 20 kinds of common fish, 90% contain microplastics, 80% of birds stomach Microplastics were also found.

Some researchers estimate that the global average per capita may ingest 107 microplastics per year. What harm will these microplastics pose to the body?

1. The latest research: Microplastics may be related to thrombosis

With the progress of modern research, more and more scientists have discovered that there are "microplastics" in the human body. It is estimated that a person consumes about 5g of microplastics per week, which is equivalent to eating the next credit card .

Microplastics refer to microplastics of 5mm and below, some even reach the micron level , which cannot be observed by the naked eye. Microplastics, like plastic products, are difficult to degrade. Over time, they will only accumulate more and more, causing headaches.

Recently, a paper published in the "Journal of Advanced Research", from the team of Professor Xia Yankai of Nanjing Medical University and the team of Professor Luo Yongming of the Nanjing Institute of Soil Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, discovered for the first time different types of microplastics and dye particles in human thrombus samples.

In order to verify the relationship between thrombus and microplastics, the research team spent a year collecting 24 samples of human aortic dissection thrombus and 2 samples of human acute arterial embolism. The analysis found that there were 87 particles in the samples.

After further analysis, the researchers found that the detected amount of particulate matter (microplastics, dye particles) in the patient's body was associated with the increase in platelets. It is speculated that the blood will form a small thrombus with microplastic particles as the core, and continuously absorb other particles in the blood, thereby Enlarge thrombus and accelerate thrombus formation.

Previously, many studies have found that microplastics exist in the human body——

The latest research, published in the journal Polymers, shows that microplastic particles are also present in human breast milk.

The research team said that there is not yet more data to determine whether microplastics affect babies. However, infants are weak in constitution, and exposure to chemical reading can easily disrupt the endocrine system, which may lead to symptoms such as diabetes and obesity, and even cause nervous system damage to fetuses and infants .

2. What are the effects of "microplastics" in the body on the human body?

Microplastics are everywhere, how is it produced? Where do they exist? What effect does it have on the human body?

Microplastics can generally be divided into primary microplastics and secondary microplastics.

Nascent microplastics refer to small-particle plastics when they are produced, such as scrubs and whitening toothpastes commonly used in households;

Secondary microplastics are "wind and rain", continuously corroded, aged, oxidized and degraded into small plastic fragments, such as agricultural insulation film, industrial compost, etc.

Will the human body inhale microplastics, will it cause any harm?

Microplastics can enter the human body through food, breathing or skin contact. Most of the microplastics can be digested in the gastrointestinal tract and excreted in the stool . But some of it will stay on the mucous membrane or cilia of the respiratory tract, or be adsorbed to the damaged skin and deposited in the human body.

The plastic itself can filter out toxic chemicals. The long-term accumulation of microplastics in the human body travels throughout the body, which can cause skin allergies, headaches, dizziness, vision loss, gastrointestinal discomfort, vomiting , and even infertility, liver dysfunction, and respiratory failure.

3. Among the 4 items you commonly use, there are hidden risks

Our lives are inseparable from plastic, especially these items, which will let us "eat" plastic into our stomachs unconsciously.

1. Bottled water

A paper published in "Environmental Science and Technology" in 2019 speculated that bottled water, which humans love to drink, may lead to the annual intake of 211,000 microplastics .

2. Tea bags

The tea bag is convenient for tea and water to be separated, but the tea bag itself is a plastic product. Canadian researchers found that tea bags soaked in hot water at 95°C released 11.6 billion microplastic particles.

3. Washing beads

Laundry detergent, disinfectant, etc. will contain microplastics such as polyethylene or polypropylene. These plastics, which are invisible to the naked eye, will be eaten into the human body along with breathing.

4. Clothes containing polyester fibers

In clothing fabrics, the most common "polyester fiber" is actually plastic. Every time clothes are washed, about 700,000 plastic microfibers are shed .

The scope of plastics covers clothing, food, housing, and transportation, so how to reduce the harm of microplastics in daily life?

First of all, you can start with your diet and reduce the use of disposable items such as plastic boxes and bags; properly sort garbage and don’t throw it away at will; when buying clothes, it’s best to choose cotton clothes; and try to avoid buying toiletries that contain microbeads of.

Reducing the use of plastics is the best way to control microplastic pollution. If you want to change the environment, you need to start from you and me, and everyone has their own heart, so that it is possible to truly alleviate the plastic pollution crisis.

References:

[1] "The Cleanest Place on Earth is Dirty". Popular Science China. 2022-11-15

[2] "The first discovery of microplastics in human blood clots! ". Science and Technology Daily. 2022-11-03

[3] "Spectrum Tracking: Microplastics Found in the Human Body?" ". China Optics. 2022-11-06

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