A new study has found that more of us may have microplastics inside our bodies than we realize, according to researchers from the University of Mexico.
The study, published this week in the journal Environment Health Perspectives, shared that tiny pieces of plastics are finding their way into the human brain through the things we consume.
According to a press release from the researchers, microplastics are in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink, and once ingested, they make their way through our guts to our kidneys, liver, and even brain.
Eliseo Castillo, an associate professor in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology in the University of New Mexico School of Medicine’s Department of Internal Medicine, shared in the release that the contamination of microplastics is growing, as “they appear to be everywhere.”
“Over the past few decades, microplastics have been found in the ocean, in animals and plants, in tap water and bottled water,” Castillo said in the release.
The expert in mucosal immunology went on to say that his team of researchers spent a month giving mice drinking water with the amount of microplastics that they estimated humans are ingesting every week — five grams, which is about the weight of a credit card.
The researchers said the results were alarming, with the microplastics moving from the mice’s gut to other tissues in their bodies.
“These mice were exposed for four weeks. Now, think about how that equates to humans if we’re exposed from birth to old age,” Castillo said.
He added that if healthy mice saw changes after just four weeks, Humans who have been consuming them since birth could see detrimental impacts on their health, especially if they have preexisting conditions.
“Now, imagine if someone has an underlying condition, and these changes occur, could microplastic exposure exacerbate an underlying condition?” Castillo said.
Castillo said that his next study will be into how the diet impacts microplastics and their absorption into the body, noting that “everyone’s diet is different.”
“So, what we’re going to do is give these laboratory animals a high-cholesterol/high-fat diet, or high-fiber diet, and they will be either exposed or not exposed to microplastics,” Castillo said. “The goal is to try to understand if diet affects the uptake of microplastics into our body.”