A DOCTOR has shared three easy ways to avoid microplastic consumption – after studies linked a buildup of toxic particles in the brain to dementia.
Harvard graduate Dr Saurabh Sethi warned that plastic is increasingly showing up in people's brains, which could be “extremely dangerous”; to our health.
Research published last month found – up to 7g for some.
Study authors said these tiny plastic particles – shed by everyday items like cutting boards, non-stick cookware, food packaging and even clothes – could potentially be linked to , as people with the brain robbing disease seemed to have greater concentrations of microplastics in their brains.
Previous studies have also linked the plastic shreds to and.
Dr Sethi said: “These particles can cross the blood brain barrier, potentially causing inflammation and damage.”;
The gastroenterologist, flagged everyday habits and items to his 501,000 followers that could be driving up microplastic consumption.
“Water bottles –not just bad for the planet, it could be in your brain,”; he noted in a clip, which has racked up 23,000 views.
He said , which shed plastic particles into water particularly if exposed to heat, are a major culprit.
Microwaving plastic containers can also release microplastics into food, he added.
can leak “millions”; of microplastics into your hot drink too, the doctor went on.
Dr Sethi shared easy ways to avoid ingesting plastic fragments where you can.
“You cannot avoid microplastics completely, but can certainly limit exposure,” the doctor said.
“Your brain will thank you.”;
One easy switch is to stop drinking out of plastic water bottles, the doctor said.
Instead, he advised: “Use glass or metal water bottles.
He also advised filtering your water at home and even installing a “reverse osmosis filter” to dredge out microplastics.
“Never microwave plastic,” the doctor went on.
Try using ceramic or plastic containers instead if you want to heat your food up.
And – as convenient as they are – you may want to considering ditching plastic tea bags and brewing your tea differently.
“Switch to loose leaf tea,” Dr Sethi suggested.
The doctor's warnings echo those made by Dr Brandon Luu, an internal resident at the University of Toronto, last month who said: “Bottled water alone can expose people to nearly as many microplastic particles annually as all ingested and inhaled sources combined.
“Switching to tap water could reduce this exposure by almost 90 per cent, making it one of the simplest ways to cut down on microplastic intake.”
Research published last month also added to the growing list of items that may be putting ourat risk.
Sanjay Mohanty, the study’s principal investigator and an engineering professor at the University of , (UCLA), said: “Our goal is not to alarm anybody.
“Scientists don’t know if microplastics are unsafe to us or not. There are no human trials.
“But we know we are exposed to plastics in everyday life, and that’s what we wanted to examine here.”;
If the average person chews 160 to 180 small sticks of gum per year, the researchers estimated that they could be swallowing around 30,000 microplastics.
