Microplastics. They are everywhere! And there is only so much that we can do about it.
Our incoming club president, Jim Ingraham, gave a succinct, informative, and well researched presentation about the ubiquitous nature of microplastics in our environment. Microplastics are "little, itty bitty pieces of plastic" less than 5 microns in diameter. They are so small that we cannot see, taste, feel, or smell them, but they are in almost everything we use, ingest, breathe, and inhabit. The bioaccumulation of microplastics is a bit staggering. Researchers have found microplastics in all areas of our bodies: tissues, organs, brain, blood, endocrine system, gastrointestinal system, lungs, even the placenta and blood of unborn fetuses. One study estimated that 0.5% of the weight of the average adult brain consists of microplastics.
It's hard to know how bad and what kind of bad the biological effects are. Further research is ongoing to find out whether the biological effects of microplastics on our health are causal or correlational. Causation = When one variable directly causes another variable to change. For example, warmer temperatures in summer cause both ice cream sales and pool drownings to increase. Correlation = A statistical measure that describes how two or more variables change together. For example, ice cream sales and pool drowning are correlated because they both increase in the summer.
At this point they are impossible to avoid. We cannot completely eliminate them, but we can make choices to limit their impact and our exposure.
- Stop using plastic water bottles, both single-use and refillable. Opt for metal or glass.
- Install reverse osmosis water filter in your home.
- Limit consumption of sea salt; heavy concentration of microplastics in sea water.
- Limit use of canned goods (they are lined with microplastic).
- Don't microwave food in plastic containers.
- Don't use single-use drink cups (Starbucks, etc.).
- Don't cook with nonstick pans.
- Avoid carbonated water and sodas (they are in plastic-lined cans).
- Limit purchasing food in plastic packaging.
- Eat foods and supplements that enhance the body's natural protection (in liver and immune system).