Most people know by now that microplastics are building up in our environment and within our bodies. However, according to Dr. Leonarde Transande, director of environmental pediatrics at NYU School of Medicine, there are ways to reduce the influx of plastics into our bodies. It starts with avoiding canned foods.
Plastic is everywhere. It’s in our food packaging, our homes, and our clothing. You can’t avoid it completely. Much of it serves important purposes in everything from computers to cars, but it’s also overwhelming our environment.
It affects our health. Minute bits of plastic, called microplastics or nanoplastics, are shed from larger products. These particles have invaded our brains, glands, reproductive organs, and cardiovascular systems.
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta discussed with Transande his last two decades studying environmental effects on our health. Transande said that we eat a lot of plastic and also inhale it as dust. It’s even in cosmetics we absorb into our skin.
This contamination also concerns what’s in the plastic as well; chemicals causing inflammation and irritation. Polyvinyl chloride, a plastic in food packaging, has added chemicals called phthalates which make it softer.
Dr. Transande worries about phthalates (an ingredient in personal care items and food packaging), bisphenols (lining aluminum cans and thermal paper receipts), and perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – called “forever chemicals” because they last for centuries in the environment.
Many of these added chemicals are especially concerning due to their effects on the endocrine system – glands and the hormones they secrete. The endocrine system controls many of our bodies’ functions, such as metabolism and reproduction. Hormones are signaling molecules, acting as expert conductors of the body’s communication within itself.
5 things you can do to avoid exposure
Avoid canned foods
While bisphenol A (BPA) — a chemical that was commonly used in the lining of many metal food and drink cans, lids, and caps — is no longer present in the packaging for most products (canned tuna, soda, and tomatoes), industry data shows that it is still used about 5% of the time, possibly more.
Also, it is unclear if BPA’s replacement is safer. One of the common substitutes, bisphenol S, is as toxic as BPA. It has seeped into our environment as well.
Keep plastic containers away from heat and harsh cleaners
The “microwave and dishwasher-safe” labeling on some plastics refers only to the warping or gross misshaping of a plastic container. If, however, you examine the container microscopically, you can see damage. Bits of chemical additives and/or plastic are shed and absorbed into the food, which you then ingest.
If the plastic is etched, like a well-used plastic cutting board, it should be discarded. Etching increases the leaching of chemicals into your food.
Source : https://studyfinds.org/microplastics-5-ways-to-keep-them-out/