Although plastics bring convenience to life, microplastics and nano-plastics have invaded the human body, and the harm to health can not be ignored. The recent rumor that every bite of takeout food contains plastic is an alarmist, or is it true? Sadly, it's true, and if you ingest a bit of plastic every day, in 10 years you could have eaten a standard life preserver.

How does plastic invade the body?

There is no denying that the invention of plastic has brought great convenience to life. Not only the disposable takeaway food box, but also the mobile phone you are holding, the outer packaging of the items you are buying, children's toys, medical supplies (such as intravenous tubes, artificial valves, etc.), and even aerospace equipment, plastic can be found. Plastic is everywhere. It's even invading our bodies.

Here, you need to understand two concepts, one is microplastics, which refers to plastic fragments and particles less than 5 mm in diameter; And nanoplastics, which are currently the smallest known microplastics, measuring less than 1 micron (0.001 mm) in size and small enough to pass through cell membranes.

Therefore, there is no way to avoid them at all. When we use plastic, plastic particles are released into the environment and enter the human body through breathing, eating, etc. In addition, microplastics can also be ingested by animals, such as Marine animals, where microplastics can travel up the food chain and end up in humans.

Where does all the plastic go when you eat it?

You might not guess. According to the World Wildlife Fund, if we consume an average of 5 grams of microplastic per week, which is about the weight of a credit card, according to this data calculation, we will eat 5 kilograms of microplastic in 10 years, which is equivalent to gnawing off a standard life buoy.

Guess, which organs and tissues can plastic reach the human body? Is it the lungs, liver? Is it also in the blood?

In all the organs and tissues above! Researchers have detected microplastics not only in people's lungs, livers and blood, but also in the lining of their intestines, feces, spleens, placentas, and even the brain.

Plastic particles in the human body can be a major health concern. Previous studies have found that plastic can affect endocrine function and increase the risk of premature birth, neurodevelopmental disorders, male reproductive defects, obesity, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, cancer and other diseases. Recent studies have also found that nanoplastics can damage the protein fibers in neurons in the brain, which can increase the risk of Parkinson's disease.

What can we do about plastic reduction?

Plastic will not only affect human health, but also seriously damage the ecological environment. Statistics show that about 8 million to 10 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, and the life of plastics is much longer than humans, they may have to float in the sea for 500 years or even thousands of years to degrade. Therefore, we must take measures to reduce the use and waste of plastics to protect health and the environment. For individuals, we can start from the following four points:

Try to use less disposable plastic products with glass or stainless steel products instead of plastic products, usually go out to prepare shopping bags, portable water cups, eat less take-out, do not use plastic straws and so on.

Choose degradable plastic Although there is a "plastic limit order", but can not completely eliminate the use of plastic, if you can choose degradable plastic, you can reduce the pollution to the environment.

Support environmental protection If you live near a river or beach, you can participate in volunteer work to clean up plastic waste in the river or beach, and do your part for the cause of environmental protection.

Reduce the harm of plastic to the human body Do not use plastic bags for cooked food, especially hot cooked food; Do not heat plastic containers; No plastic bottles for cooking oil; Avoid synthetic fabrics. And regularly vacuum the room to reduce the level of plastic particles in the room.

Wen/LIU Jian (Peking University People's Hospital)

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