Experts Reveal How to Actually Limit Your Exposure to Microplastics
While it might be impossible to avoid microplastics entirely, experts shared several practical steps you can take to reduce your exposure
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- A growing body of research has found microplastics—tiny plastic particles—in nearly every organ in the human body.
- When plastic breaks down, the microplastics end up in our food, water, and air, eventually entering and potentially harming the body.
- It’s likely impossible to avoid microplastics entirely, but experts recommended several ways to reduce your exposure, like ditching your plastic toothbrush and using a refillable water bottle.
Microplastics have infiltrated virtually every corner of Earth, from the Arctic permafrost to inside marine animals. They’ve also turned up in human bodies.
Researchers have discovered tiny bits of plastic in nearly every organ, as well as in arterial plaque, human bloodstreams, and placentas.
Most recently, researchers at the University of New Mexico estimated that the number of plastic particles accumulating in human brains has increased by 50% in the last eight years. The researchers credited the increase to the staggering rise in plastic on our planet.
Scientists are still learning about the health impacts of microplastics, but studies have linked chemicals added during plastic production with conditions such as endocrine system disruption and heart disease. The new study also found that people with dementia had up to 10 times as much plastic in their brains as everyone else.
“Microplastics are ubiquitous; they are everywhere,” said Thais Mauad, MD, PhD, an associate professor of pathology at the University of São Paulo Medical School, who studies microplastics in the brain. “We cannot avoid microplastics in us, I fear.”
Two other researchers Health spoke with echoed the same stark statement—but they said that, fortunately, reducing your exposure is still possible.
How Do Microplastics Get Inside of Us, Anyway?
Unlike natural materials like wood and paper, plastic never breaks down into soil. Instead, when plastic ends up in a landfill or as a piece of litter, it breaks apart into trillions of microscopic pieces that get swept up by wind and water and carried essentially everywhere.
Microplastics in the ocean may get into much of our seafood. Others become part of our drinking water, soil, and air. From there, microplastics enter our bodies.
“All of it is concerning. We are finding it in pretty much every tissue that we have investigated to that point,” Marcus Garcia, PharmD, RPh, a fellow at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, who co-authored the new study on microplastic accumulation in the brain, told Health.
Microplastics can infiltrate your body through your nose and mouth when you breathe in microscopic airborne pieces. But most of all, they enter by eating food and drinking water contaminated with them.
Scientists don’t think microplastics can leach through the skin, so items like lotion and shampoo aren’t likely causes. However, any plastic item you purchase has a good chance of eventually breaking down into these particles and entering the environment.
Avoiding Microplastics
You risk ingesting microplastics whenever you consume something that has touched plastic. If that isn’t bad enough, a recent report from the organization PlastChem found that at least 16,000 chemicals are present in different plastics worldwide. More than 4,200 are hazardous to human health or the environment.
Here's how experts say you can limit your contact with microplastics daily and in the long term.
Ditch Plastic in Food Prep
One way to reduce exposure to microplastics is to prevent plastic from coming into contact with the food you’re preparing.
Avoiding plastic cutting boards, which can easily shed microplastics into the food you’re cutting, is a good place to start when de-plasticizing your kitchen.
Also, take stock of your cookware and utensils. A study published in 2024 by researchers in Europe and the United Kingdom found that nonstick pans, especially older ones with worn or pealing coatings, and plastic kitchen utensils used to flip eggs or stir pots of soup are likely big sources of microplastics.
Not to mention, both of these materials can introduce potentially toxic chemicals to your food, including flame retardants that the U.S. has banned in recent years.
Instead, opt for cast iron, metal, or ceramic cookware and wooden, silicone, or metal utensils (don’t use metal on ceramic, as it will scratch the ceramic coating).
Say Goodbye to Plastic Food Containers
Trying to avoid buying or storing food in plastic could help you evade some exposure to microplastics.
“The most obvious one is not using plastic containers that touch your food, particularly if they’re heated, because microplastic likely breaks off,” Katrina Korfmacher, PhD, co-director of the Lake Ontario Center for Microplastics and Human Health at the University of Rochester Medical Center, told Health.
Instead of using plastic food storage, try glass or metal containers, and bring those with you when you eat out in case you have leftovers. Instead of plastic wrap, store your food in your glass or metal containers, or look into non-plastic alternatives such as beeswax wraps or reusable bowl covers.
You can take this same mentality with you to the grocery store. As a rule of thumb, buy non-packaged foods as much as possible, Mauad advised. Not only are they much less likely to be ultra-processed, but they also don’t come into contact with extra sources of microplastic. If you do buy packaged foods, look for non-plastic options like mustard in glass jars or loose leaf tea with a stainless steel infuser.
Or, if you're feeling extra motivated, go DIY. “I try to make my own stuff as much as I can so I don’t have to consume plastic,” Maud said. “I make my own cosmetics, my own vinegar, sauces, catchup. It’s more time-consuming and difficult, and I don’t know if everyone is prepared to do this, but it is a way you can have less plastic in your life.”
Consider a Bamboo Toothbrush and Silk Floss
Most people don’t usually swallow toothpaste during or after brushing their teeth, so it’s unclear how much of a risk plastic toothbrushes are for microplastic exposure.
A 2024 study by researchers in India found that both plastic toothbrushes and plastic floss shed microplastics. Of the oral hygiene products they analyzed, toothbrushes had the highest number of microplastics, at 30 to 120 particles per brush.
What concerned the researchers most was that they saw many particles measuring less than 0.1 millimeters, small enough to be considered nanoplastics. Scientists believe that the smaller a particle is, the easier it is to become lodged in tissues.
Plastic isn’t the only choice for oral hygiene products. The next time you need a new toothbrush, it’s worth looking into bamboo options. The same is true for floss, which is often made of or coated with plastic. Some alternatives include bamboo, silk, and wax blends.
Get a Non-Plastic Reusable Water Bottle
Bottled water is a key contributor to microplastic exposure; a study published in 2024 estimated that a human may consume more than 200,000 nanoplastic particles in one liter of bottled water.
While the landmark study found that many of the nanoplastics in bottled water were there before the bottling process, the plastic packaging adds even more.
If you’re already drinking from a reusable water bottle, there are some additional steps you can take to remove some of the microplastics already present in drinking water.
Studies have shown that a point-of-use water filter installed under the sink can remove some microplastics. If you can afford them—they can be pretty pricey—choose a filter with the smallest pore size possible and follow the manufacturer’s instructions on when to replace it.
Pay Attention to Your Clothing Material
Polyester, nylon, acrylic, and spandex are all plastic-based fabrics. These plastics likely won’t rub off and infiltrate your body through your skin, but they do break down and get released into the air. These fibers also break off in the wash, entering water systems.
Mauad said buying only natural fibers like cotton when possible—and reducing the amount of clothing you consume overall—is an often overlooked way to reduce the number of microplastics entering the environment.
If you already own a lot of plastic clothing, you may want to purchase a microplastic-catching filter or laundry ball for your washer and dryer.
Do Your Part
The type of plastic you use makes a difference in whether it ends up in a landfill or as litter, where it can break down and become microplastic.
Hard thermoplastics used to make coolers, car parts, and electronics are chemically set in their shape and cannot be recycled. Other plastic items—notably thin plastic films like cellophane and plastic bags—are rarely recycled because they require special recycling systems. The same goes for styrofoam. Most municipal recycling centers just don’t have the ability to recycle these things.
If you can, research what recycling options may be available in your area for these hard-to-recycle items.
Better yet, avoid them if you can. Find reusable alternatives, and keep items like laptops, phones, TVs, and cars for as long as possible—fixing rather than replacing them—to keep more plastic from having the chance to turn into microplastics.
Additionally, Garcia, Mauad, and Korfmacher all agreed that pushing for change on a public level is the most significant thing anyone can do to reduce microplastic exposure in the long term.
Half of all plastic on Earth has been created in the last 25 years. In the next 25, the amount of plastic we’re making is projected to double, according to the European Environment Agency.
“If people only think about avoiding specific things like black plastic spatulas, we won’t be able to address the larger problem,” Korfmacher said.
Instead, people should get active in legislation aimed at reducing the amount of plastic. You can also push your local government to implement a recycling program if your town does not have one (many in the U.S. do not).
“We have to stop producing plastic—it’s important in healthcare and planes, but non-essential plastics, which are 40% of the litter you find in the sea, are not needed,” Mauad said.
Jani Hall
Jani Hall is a news editor for Health with a background in health, science, and investigative reporting. Previously, she wrote full time about parenting issues for the app Parent Lab. Before that, she worked as a reporter for National Geographic covering wildlife crime and exploitation.
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This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Kaitlin Sullivan
