From news reports to social media blurbs to medical studies, they’ve been in the public eye a lot lately. And experts say that likely won’t change.
We’re talking about microplastics or nanoplastics, incredibly small pieces of plastic that can get into our body.
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So, how concerned should we be? Philip Ovadia, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon at OSF HealthCare, says this issue will continue to be studied for years. But there are things you can do now to optimize your health and reduce your risk of problems.
“We’re increasing our understanding of the toxins in our env ironment. Our environment has become more toxic, and that’s a challenge to our health,” Dr. Ovadia says. “The best thing for people to do is to control what you can control. What are you eating? What are you using on your body? What is your lifestyle like? How active are you?”
“We’re increasing our understanding of the toxins in our environment. Our environment has become more toxic, and that’s a challenge to our health. The best thing for people to do is to control what you can control. What are you eating? What are you using on your body? What is your lifestyle like? How active are you?"
- Dr. Philip Ovadia, OSF HealthCare cardiothoracic surgeon.
Where do microplastics come from? What harm can they do?
Dr. Ovadia says microplastics can be purposefully manufactured as part of a product. Toothpaste and skin exfoliants are examples. Or, microplastics can occur when larger plastic products, like water bottles, break down. The microplastics can then get into our environment, such as ocean water or our foods and drinks.
“There’s even some evidence that these things can spread in the air, and we can breathe them in,” Dr. Ovadia adds.
Dr. Ovadia points to three areas where ingesting microplastics could be cause for concern.
- Intestines: Dr. Ovadia says microplastics can irritate our intestines, leading to inflammation of tissue and a condition called leaky gut.
“That’s when we get a breakdown of the barrier that lines our intestines. That allows some things in our food that aren’t supposed to get across into our bloodstream to get into the bloodstream. Many of these things set off inflammation in the body,” Dr. Ovadia says.
- Endocrine system: Dr. Ovadia says microplastics may have negative effects on testosterone in men and estrogen and progesterone in women. This could mean reduced muscle mass and libido for men. For women, it could mean changes in the menstrual cycle, an increased infertility risk and, for young women, earlier start of puberty.
- Blood vessels: Dr. Ovadia points to a 2024 study where experts looked at plaque removed from the carotid artery (located in the neck) of study participants.
“For over half of the people, there was evidence of microplastics in those plaques. Furthermore for the people who had those microplastics, over the next three years they had a four-and-a-half times increased risk for a heart attack, a stroke or dying,” Dr. Ovadia says.
“It doesn’t prove that the plastics are causing the problems,” Dr. Ovadia adds. “But it’s certainly concerning data. And I, as a heart surgeon, start to worry. If we see these in plaques in arteries in the neck, are they also in the plaques in arteries of the heart patients I operate on?”
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