Microplastics and Your Health Part 1
Mineral Balancing can go a long way to helping you and your family learn how to manage and detox from exposure to microplastics. This is part 1 of dissecting the danger or microplastics to our health. Part 2 will dive into reducing microplastic exposure and detoxing from microplastics.
Microplastics Rank Among Top Predictors of Chronic Disease
A study by the American College of Cardiology found that microplastics, found in seafloor sediment across 555 US coastal and lakeside census tracts between 2015 and 2019, were among the top predictors of chronic disease. The researchers used data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to examine the prevalence of high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, and cancer in these communities. They found that people living near high-microplastic zones had more chronic illness, with higher microplastic levels resulting in higher rates of noncommunicable diseases such as stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes. The study also found that microplastics were among the top risk factors for chronic illness, with a strong correlation with stroke. The study also revealed a dose-response pattern, with regions with very high microplastic levels experiencing the worst disease outcomes, while areas with under 200 particles had the lowest.
Plastics Create Long-Term Biological Stress
Researchers have discovered that microplastics, which are fragments between 1 nanometer and 5 millimeters across, are a significant driver of modern diseases. These particles, found in common products like food packaging, building materials, clothing, and cosmetics, stay in the body and can trigger immune responses, hormone disruption, and low-grade inflammation, which are linked to heart disease and insulin resistance. Microplastics are not biodegradable but can lodge in tissues or circulate in the blood, triggering conditions like heart disease and insulin resistance.
Plastics Buried in Your Arteries Silently Raise Your Heart Risks
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that microplastics were lodged in human artery plaque, with over half of the participants having detectable levels of these plastics embedded in their plaque. Patients with plastic-laden plaque had worse health outcomes, with over four times the risk of experiencing a heart attack, stroke, or death within a three-year follow-up period than those without detectable plastics.
The researchers also found jagged, foreign plastic fragments inside immune cells, suggesting they were nano plastics, which are even more dangerous due to their ability to penetrate cells. The study urged immediate steps to reduce environmental plastic load and minimize personal exposure.
Plastics Quietly Inflame Your Arteries
Researchers have discovered that plastics can cause vascular inflammation and increase the risk of sudden plaque rupture, which is responsible for heart attacks and strokes. The presence of plastics also correlates with greater immune cell presence, indicating the body is responding to the foreign material like a chronic infection. Plastic particles were confirmed using chemical fingerprinting, with some particles emitting distinct chlorine signatures, confirming the presence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), found in various products such as plumbing pipes and credit cards. Even with no conventional risk factors, plastics still raised disease and risk, even after accounting for cholesterol, age diabetes, body mass index, and blood pressure. The plastics detected in the study were the same types found in water bottles, food containers and household products, appearing across multiple areas, indicating that plastic pollution is a widespread problem with personal health consequences.
Stay tuned for part 2 for more on how to decrease exposure to microplastics and detox from microplastic toxicity.