Microplastics in our environment, food, water, and placenta?!

The year is 1862, and with a glimmer in his eyes, Alexander Parkes is excitedly entering the doors of the Great International Exhibition located in London.   This year is different for Alexander, as this year he won't be attending the exhibition as a spectator, but instead as a presenter.  His demonstration is on how the material called Parkesine (named modestly after himself), an organic material derived from cellulose that, once heated, could be molded and retained its shape when cooled.

This was the introduction of plastic into the world as we know it.  And although plastic is one of the many tools that we've utilized to help build the astonishing cities  that we stand on today, nothing was ever the same.  

Flash forward to December 13th, 2020.   The world is suffering from pollution, people are seemingly sicker than ever, and both are only worsening.   Although many factors play a role on the decline of the environment and human health, one of those likely factors that are only in the beginning stages of study are microplastics - defined as plastic particles smaller than five millimetres and created by the degradation of larger plastic items that have been abandoned into the environment.

Plastic pollution is not only an issue for us humans, but for each and every animal on the planet, as well as cities, forests and oceans that they live in.    In recent years we've even been seeing companies taking a large stances against plastic pollution (An example, Adidas is a great example with the eco-innovation Parley collaboration that will make their shoes 100% recycled plastic by 2024, check it out HERE)  and technologies that are coming into play to help disrupt the disgusting amount of waste that is seeping into...well...everything, including the female placenta.  

Only 4 days after we made a post talking about the common contaminants⁣
found in pre-packaged tea products, an article published CTV News⁣ alerted us to a study that shows that for the first time in history, microplastics have been found in the placenta of 6 women.  

The study can be found HERE, and will be later found in the January edition of Environment International.

“This study sheds new light on the level of human exposure to [microplastics] and microparticles in general,” the research states. “Due to the crucial role of placenta in supporting the foetus development and in acting as an interface between the latter and the external environment, the presence of exogenous and potentially harmful (plastic) particles is a matter of great concern.”

In the four placentas, researchers found 12 particles, all of which had distinctive pigments. Three were able to be identified as coloured polypropylene -- a common type of plastic found in things such as packaging, tote bags, carpets, luggage and car interiors, among countless other products. The type of plastic for the other nine particles were not able to be identified, but the pigment on them was recognized as pigments used in “man-made coatings, paints and dyes.”

As we've mentioned, the research of microplastics is still in its adolescence and in truth is still quite unclear as to what their effects on human health are or could become.  This study was performed in order to first confirm and identify the presence of microplastics, rather pinpoint their effect.

Some evidence does exist that microplastics can absorb toxic chemicals and then release them in animal’s digestive systems. Other evidence also exists that show that potentially-toxic plastic nanoparticles may be able to move through the intestinal wall during digestion.  The mechanism for this migration is not yet clear. 

But although the true effects on human health are not yet know, we do how crucial of a role that the placenta plays in fetus development, regulating how the fetal and maternal environments interact, and it isn't hard to believe that under the right conditions these chemical laden microplastics will leach into the human body.  It's important to note that the Italian researchers speculate that the microplastics may have reached the placenta through the parents’ respiratory system or gastrointestinal tract.  

So how can you avoid microplastics in your diet?!

1. Eliminate bottled water.  Don't even look at it.

The water you drink is actually a top culprit of the Microplastics particles you ingest.  Both tap water and bottles water are repeat offenders of this biological crime, however bottled water has been shown to have 22X the amount of particles then found in tap water (article here).  

So your #1 defence against drinking microplastic particles is likely to drink FILTERED tap water. Even just using a plastic bottle contributes to the creation of new microplastics in our environment, so ditch the plastic bottle for a metal bottle at all times. 

2. Minimize your consumption of shellfish.

Shellfish are like sponges on the ocean floor.  On one hand, a sponge can be very helpful and allows us to contain mess or spills that we didn't want, but on the other hand they can also soak up all of the things we don't want either.  Shellfish absorb a considerable amounts of microplastics.    The unfortunate part is that once the plastic particles have entered into the ocean from all the pollution and waste, they are virtually impossible to remove.    The mistakes we've made as humans are mistakes that we'll have to live with for generations moving forwards.  

3. In general, avoid the use of plastics. 

In general if you can choose to focus on storing your food in glass containers, and not buy plastic products, then you can limit your own exposure to microplastics and also limit the microplastics resulting from the degradation of plastic waste.

Here are a few great articles that give you some tools to help you reduce the use of plastic in every day items from laundry soap and deodorants to tampons and micro-bead products (another culprit of microplastics!)

• 26 Simple Ways to Use Less Plastic Everyday

• Stop using these 27 plastic things (use these instead)

• 7 types of plastic wreaking havoc on our health

So head on over to Amazon (or better yet your local health food store!) and invest in your health by picking up a brand new metal water bottle for you and your family members.  Sarah and I will also be doing our due diligence to be better at this, as we have a habit of using plastic shaker bottles at the gym, and instead will be investing in a few metal shaker bottles for when we're on the go.

Maybe one day we'll have to make our own Embodied Wellness or #wellnessgang bottles?!

CHAT SOON WELLNESS GANG!