The nanoplastics we ingest are wreaking havoc on our gut but there’s no way to avoid them

By Brooke Cato

Recent research suggests that humans consume about five grams of small plastic particles every week, which is about the weight of a credit card.

The plastic particles make their way into the human food chain from packaging waste, entering the body through sea salt, seafood and even drinking water, scientists at the Medical University of Vienna explained.

The nanoplastics — which are less than 0.001 millimeters in size — and microplastics — which span 0.0001 to 5 millimeters — have the ability to change the gut microbiome composition, according to the study published in the journal Exposure & Health.

Basically, these tiny plastics are wreaking havoc on your gut.

The changes in the gastrointestinal tract from plastic are linked to metabolic diseases like obesity, diabetes and chronic liver disease.

The average human ingests a credit card’s worth of plastic per week.

While Medical University of Vienna researchers are studying the impacts that nano- and microplastics have on the body, they also discovered how these tiny plastics weasel their way into our gut tissue.

When in the gut, the plastic particles trigger an immune response and activate inflammation, with mounting evidence suggesting that nanoplastics specifically “trigger chemical pathways involved in the formation of cancer.”

Drinking the recommended amount of water — 1.5 to 2 liters daily — through plastic bottles alone will introduce 90,000 plastic particles per year into your body, according to a study referenced in the review.

But not so fast — drinking tap water doesn’t solve the problem, either: Those who drank the same amount of water from the tap ingested about 40,000 plastic particles each year.

According to the study, the health effects of plastic “may be irreversible” and that this is a risk future generations must brace for. Yet, the authors conceded, plastics are “irreplaceable” in daily life.

So, while it’s seemingly impossible to escape ingesting nano- and microplastics, Lukas Kenner, one of the study’s co-authors, explained to Gut Health News that it’s more harmful to people with chronic illness.

“A healthy gut is more likely to ward off the health risk,” he said, adding that, “But local changes in the gastrointestinal tract, such as those present in chronic disease or even negative stress, could make them susceptible to the harmful effects of MNPs,” he added.
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Credit: New York Post