Chances are.  You took a bite of plastic today!

Understanding Microplastics in Your
Food, Water, and Body

We encounter toxic materials every single day.  If you or your family were tested, plasticizers such as phthalates, microplastics, bisphenols, and others would show up in your body.   Unfortunately, plastics are added to products that you would not expect to find them in.   We really can’t completely avoid them.  

What are Plastics?

Plastics are synthetic chemicals, and they are everywhere.  They are among the leading pollutants entering the human body.  You are exposed to plastic particles daily through inhalation, ingestion, skin contact, and even the dust on your floor.  Estimates suggest that the average person ingests approximately 5 grams of plastic each week.

How Are Phthalates and Microplastics Different?

For most of us, the plastics we hear about are Phthalates and Microplastics.  There is a difference between chemical plastics and their use.  I have listed a few for each chemical group.  There are definitely more, but this will help you understand the difference.

Phthalates

Phthalates make products more flexible, softer, and more durable.  These are a group of chemicals added to hundreds of products and used as plasticizers.  This group is not found in microplastics but could adhere to them.  Here are some:

• Medical Tubing helps protect personnel and you from contamination.
• Shower Curtains
• Disposable Diapers, check out Phthalates in Disposable Diapers. 
• Personal Care.  Some of these products are necessary, and pure ones are not always affordable.  They include soap, shampoo, hair spray, and other products, such as nail polish.  This chemical makes nail polish stronger, soaps lather more readily, and is used as a solvent or stabilizer in fragrances.
• Vinyl Flooring
• Lubricating Oils
• Your Garden Hose or Containers you use to water the plants.
• Garbage Bags that line your garbage can. 

Some Phthalates are no longer allowed in children's toys, pacifiers, baby bottles, and other items that come into contact with food. 

That said, some commercially approved phthalates are still authorized for food contact.  In 2020, an assessment done by Health Canada determined that 14 phthalates, when used individually, did not pose a risk.  The US FDA authorizes 9 for contact with food.

Microplastics 

Microplastics help to make products more rigid, flexible and durable.  They can be used to make the product more resistant to water and grease, or some other quality.  These are not intentionally added to products.  We ingest them because they break off something as they wear out.  These can be used:

• Artificial Turf
• Cosmetics
• Fertilizers
• Detergents
• Synthetic Rubber Tires
• Clothing or Textiles made with Synthetic material
• Plastic Containers and Bags

Biphenols and BPA's

These are a group of chemicals used for harder plastics.  Some products that use these chemicals:

• Eyeglass Lenses
• Computers
• Sports Safety Equipment
• Water Bottles
• Storage Totes or Containers
• Epoxy Resins lining the inside of water pipes.
• Bottle Tops
• Food and Drink Cans

PFAS - Forever Chemicals

They are found in products made of plastic, paper, cardboard, cloth, or metal.  Some examples:

• Easy Glide Dental Floss
• Grease-Proof Food Packaging
• Firefighting Foam
• Furniture
• Nonstick Pans
• Water Resistant Clothing
• Sports Equipment Protection

You know you will ingest toxins.  

The Invisible Plastics in Your Daily Life

Calling them microplastics is a broad term because they are that small.  Microplastics are widespread and frequently found alongside other major pollutants.  Some studies show 98.5% of people carry microplastics.  

Yes, some of the plastics have been approved, but they may still affect your health.

Why Plastics Are a Top Contaminant

• Pervasivity:  You are exposed to plastic particles every day through inhalation, ingestion (food/water), and skin contact. 
• Accumulate Deep in Organ Tissue:  One study found plastic in brain samples, with levels 50% higher in 2024 than in 2016.
• Chemical Carriers:  It is not just the physical particles.  It's the chemicals that are a concern, and there are over 2,400 of them, including plasticizers and PFAS ("forever chemicals").
• Accelerating Presence: Plastic in human brains has increased rapidly over the last 75 years, with some studies showing brain samples having 10 to 20 times more plastic than other organs. 

Plastics in Your Body:  The Daily Exposure You Don't See

Do you have a bank card, credit card, or member card?  

• Your bank or credit card is made from Polyvinyl Chloride Acetate (PVCA or PVC).
• It has a very toxic lifecycle.

Do you use a cell phone?

• One suggestion is to use the speaker to avoid holding the phone against your ear and head.
• If you use your speakerphone.  Then you are responsible for creating hearing toxicity for those around you.  It is unwanted noise for those around you.  Besides, I doubt others want to hear your conversations.
• There is a lot written about cell phone pollutants, so enough said for this post.

Does your ride in a car, bus, or bike have plastic or fabric seats?

• Part of your seat is foam.  They definitely have fire-retardant chemicals.
• The vinyl seat is plastic and must meet fire safety regulations.  Flame-retardant chemicals would be applied.  Durability comes from Phthalates.  
• Cloth seats can harbor bacteria, mould, and mildew from spillage.
• Fabric is especially hard to disinfect and clean.
• Leather seats will have foam inside and a protective covering.
• All have plastic parts.

How is the Food You Purchase Packaged?

• Yes, even canned food or drink contains phthalates.  
  Iced Tea, Baked Beans, Chilli, canned salmon or peaches have tested positive for phthalates.
• Why do organic foods test positive?  They may be packaged on an assembly line.
• Fast food can vary in phthalate levels, with some better than others.
• Beverages in plastic containers, such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, water, and juices.
• Those hard plastic twist-off bottle tops.
• Ice Cream and Juices are stored in cardboard containers.  They also test positive for phthalates.
• Fast food.  It just doesn't matter if wrapped in paper, plastic, or even aluminum foil.

Your task is to figure out how to manage your lifestyle, as best you can.

Was your food packaged on an assembly line?

• Conveyor belts are made of durable plastic and are oil-resistant.
• Some products require assembly-line tubing and may be stored in plastic containers, depending on the packaging.  Milk can be packaged in plastic containers, and ice cream is packaged in cardboard containers.
• Employees are probably wearing gloves.

What Are Your Daily Family Activities?

• Infant foods, including those stored in glass, can have a plastic-lined lid, cans, and pouches.
• The disposable diapers we use for kids have chemicals to improve flexibility, durability, and waterproofing. 
• Do you use a car seat?
• Gym equipment and mats contain plastic.
• Bikes have plastic parts.
• As you ride your bike, you are inhaling fumes from vehicles, construction, and the air in your local area.
• Swimming Pools have chlorine.
• Protective sports equipment, such as gloves, pads, helmets, and other equipment, must be durable and flexible.

What Household Products Do You Use?

• Dryer Sheets have a fragrance or additives to reduce static and contain phthalates.
• Those room deodorizers, whether they are spray or gel.
• Vinegar contains phthalates.  It is packaged in plastic on an assembly line with a hard plastic twist-top.

Do You Wear Synthetic Clothing?

• Rain Clothing
• Sun Protective Clothing
• Tutu Skirts, activewear, flip-flops, jelly shoes, purses, tote bags, plastic silk-screened t-shirts, synthetic clothing, and other clothing.
• Even your socks may be a cotton, polyester blend.

You may decide...  

I will make my own cleansers.  I will just avoid using plastic containers, straws, and other plastic items.  It may interest you to know that metal, cardboard, paper, and plastic packaging for your food can contain phthalates.  They may have been deliberately added or are part of the assembly-line process.  Even the clothes you wear contain phthalates.  Take a look at the list of examples below; some will be unexpected.

Other Top Human Pollutants

While plastic pollution is a crisis, it competes with or acts alongside other major contaminants in the human body.

Fine Particulate Air Pollution

• Secondhand smoke from smokers, including cigarettes, vaping, joints, cigars, pipes, etc.
• Wildfire smoke.
• Barbecues, Campfires
• Burning Fuels
• Asphalt Fumes
• Dust

Heavy Metals

• Lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and other heavy metals, are significant, persistent, and highly toxic contaminants.
• Some household items, building materials, and fuel combustion can be considered heavy metals.
• Others are paints, cleaners, furnishings, and pesticides.

It is naïve to think you can totally avoid toxins in today's world.

Research Notes

• Consumer Reports
• World Health Organization
• Functional Medicine University
• Geneva Environment Network
• Environmental Working Group
• Association of American Medical Colleges
• Endocrine Society
• National Library of Medicine
• Dr. Wendie Trubow MD, MBA IFM Practitioner