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

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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

Watch this episode on YouTube

* 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.