[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DJato7gzKE]
Did you know, for instance, that in every liter of bottled water, there’s about a quarter million bits of plastic?
Microplastics are consumed frequently and they can harm human health. “Scientists have estimated that adults ingest the equivalent of one credit card per week in microplastics.
Autopsy studies are showing an increasing body burden of plastics accumulating in us, with a study published earlier this year by showing that the average person now has a credit card and a half’s worth of plastic…in their brains. The same study found a high correlation between dementia levels and the amount of plastic in the brains of the deceased. While proving A causes B is very difficult from a scientific perspective in human health studies, we probably don’t need to go further than the high correlation analysis to simply say — hm, probably plastic in our brain is not a good thing.
In late 2024, Chinese researchers discovered microplastics within samples of bone and skeletal muscle from a group of patients who had undergone joint replacement surgery, either on their elbows, hip or shoulders. In the study, the scientists expressed concern at this finding, speculating that the presence of microplastics within bone or muscle could impact an individual’s ability to exercise, with other studies showing that certain types of microplastics can impede the growth of bone or muscle cells.
This followed another paper in early 2024, where a group of Italian researchers identified microplastics in plaques found in the carotid arteries – a pair of major vessels which deliver blood to the brain – of people with early-stage cardiovascular disease. This linked their presence to worsening disease progression. Over the following three years, individuals carrying these microplastics in their plaques had a 4.5-fold greater risk of stroke, heart attack or sudden death.
Then in February 2025, another group of scientists identified microplastics in the brains of human cadavers. Most notably, those who had been diagnosed with dementia prior to their death had up to 10 times as much plastic in their brains compared to those without the condition. “We were shocked,” says Matthew Campen, a University of New Mexico toxicology professor who led this study.
The other challenge for researchers like Pichler is that in different people, various microplastics may be doing very different things. She points out that research has suggested certain plastic particles can absorb environmental toxins and carry heavy metals, while various chemicals added to plastic may interact with the network of hormones in the body. Nanoplastics (plastic particles which are less than one micrometre ins size), much smaller than microplastics which are five millimetres or less in length, may be even more damaging as they are small enough to be able to cross cellular membranes and gather within cells.
Hmm.
I beginning to think I might not get out of this world alive.