#095 What Microplastics Are Doing to Your Brain, Body, and Reproductive Systems

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Found My Fitness - Rhonda Patrick

Key Takeaways

• Microplastics don’t just vanish in our bodies, they accumulate; by understanding the sources, we can take preventive measures to avoid or minimize the use of harmful products
• Once microplastics enter our bodies, they can circulate in our bloodstream and deposit in various tissues and the bloodstream
  • As our environmental plastic pollution increases, so does the accumulation in human tissue
  • While the body does have mechanisms to clear toxins, we’re in an almost constant cycle of consuming and clearing microplastics and associated chemicals (BPA, BPS, phthalates)
• Top sources of microplastic and chemical exposure: Water (both tap and bottled), air, synthetic clothing, food packaging, cookware
• Microplastics play an active role in damaging our organs, disrupting our hormones, impacting fertility, causing cancer, and possibly increasing the risk of neurodegenerative disease
• Strategies to reduce exposure to microplastics and associated chemicals: (1) Try to avoid packaged food, and especially heating food in plastic; (2) Consider setting up reverse osmosis filtration at home; (3) Reduce consumption of canned foods; (4) Use a mug or bring your own to a coffee shop; (5) Opt for cookware made of titanium, ceramic, cast iron; (6) Drink from glass bottles instead of plastic or cans; (7) Use a HEPA filter at home; (8) Try to wear clothing made of natural fibers like cotton, bamboo, linen, silk
• Be a savvy consumer: Many products labeled as BPA free still contain BPS (which is equally harmful) or phthalates (arguably more harmful)

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Every week, the average person ingests the equivalent weight of a credit card in plastic.* While certain preventive measures can significantly reduce your intake of these harmful substances, it’s crucial to acknowledge a more daunting concern: the bioaccumulation of microplastics in the brain, potentially at ten times the rate of other organs. Microplastics and their associated chemicals are alarmingly ubiquitous — they permeate breast milk, sperm, the hippocampus, the prefrontal cortex, the air we breathe, medications, the water supply, and our bloodstream, accumulating in most major organ systems. During this episode, we’ll explore the unsettling realities of microplastics and their associated chemicals, diving into how they infiltrate nearly every facet of our environment and body, and discuss actionable strategies to reduce exposure.

Timestamps:

• (00:00) The extent of the problem
• (02:12) Top sources of exposure
• (04:00) Contamination of our water
• (05:04) BPA, phthalates, & PFAS (forever chemicals)
• (07:06) How heating plastic affects BPA exposure
• (09:21) Our unfortunate habit of eating credit cards
• (11:33) Microplastics in major organs
• (14:05) Crossing the blood-brain barrier
• (15:01) How microplastics affect a developing fetus
• (15:55) The bloodstream is a highway for microplastics
• (18:12) Endocrine and hormonal effects
• (23:09) Consequences in pregnant women
• (25:35) How phthalates affect reproductive health
• (26:36) BPA's involvement in autism spectrum disorder
• (29:58) Side effects of prenatal BPA exposure
• (32:18) The brain may be a super-accumulator of plastic
• (34:50) Human brain microplastic levels are rising
• (36:06) Lost fertility in women
• (38:07) Changes in sperm quality
• (39:23) Microplastics in sperm
• (40:59) Why the heart suffers
• (42:51) Microplastics in arterial plaque
• (43:56) How BPA affects blood pressure
• (45:58) Risk of cancer
• (50:31) Topo Chico sparkling water
• (53:02) Reverse osmosis filtration
• (54:56) Food-based strategies for limiting microplastics
• (56:32) The "myth" of BPA-free plastics
• (58:14) Is salt a source of microplastics?
• (59:18) HEPA filters
• (1:00:52) Choose your clothing wisely
• (1:01:47) How to prevent release of microplastics (from laundry)
• (1:02:32) Receipts and thermal paper
• (1:04:17) Microplastic excretion and breakdown
• (1:06:28) Sulforaphane for detoxifying
• (1:08:38) Can dietary fiber increase microplastic excretion?
• (1:10:15) Are plastic chemicals excreted through sweat?
• (1:11:21) Do excretion strategies work for "forever chemicals"?

Show notes are available by clicking here

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* Some sources suggesting this figure may need to be revised downward as a result of some disagreement on the math used. However, in spite of this lack of consensus, the human and animal intake of microplastics is substantial and pervasive.