Vol 33–The Unknown Dangers of Microplastics: How This Invisible Threat Could be Impacting Our Health and The Health of Our Planet - and What We Can do to Protect Ourselves

Quick Look 👀

1 oz of water to garden your health

1 Budding Tweet

2 Weeds to avoid

2 Websites to cultivate your garden

Random Musings

Reading Time: 5 minutes and 38 seconds

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by human consumption of microplastics.

I don’t need some eye-catching figure about microplastics to understand that the world uses an insane amount of them.

But I’ve never really dug into the science behind it.

What effects does it have on the human body?

And in what ways are we consuming it without knowing about it?

How do we reduce our consumption of microplastics?

Action to water your health

11 billion metric tons of plastic are expected to accumulate in the environment by 2025. Over time these fragment into microplastics, how does this affect you? let’s find out.

Annual microplastic consumption ranges from 39,000 to 52,000 particles.

These estimates increase to 74,000 and 121,000 when inhalation is considered. These numbers increase to an additional 90,000 people who consume bottled water only.

What are microplastics?[1] Microplastics are small pieces of plastic that are 5mm or smaller. They can be found everywhere including cosmetics, clothing, and packaging materials, and can also be generated through the breakdown of larger plastic items.

There are several ways in which humans and animals can ingest microplastics:

• Direct ingestion: Humans and animals can directly ingest microplastics through contaminated food and water. For example, microplastics have been found in seafood, table salt, and drinking water.

• Indirect ingestion: Humans and animals can also indirectly ingest microplastics by consuming other animals that have already ingested microplastics. This can occur at various levels of the food chain.

• Inhalation: Humans and animals can inhale microplastics, particularly in environments where the air is contaminated with microplastics, such as near sources of plastic pollution or during certain activities like showering.

Here’s an example of the average microplastic concentrations in various foods and beverages:

MPs = Microplastics

• Seafood: 1.48 MPs/g

• Sugar: 0.44 MPs/g

• Honey: 0.10 MPs/g

• Salt: 0.11 MPs/g

• Alcohol: 32.27 MPs/L

• Bottled water: 94.37 MPs/L

• Tap water: 4.23 MPs/L

• Air: 9.80 MPs/m3

Ok, so what happens once I ingest or breathe in these microplastics (MPs)?

The human body can filter some MPs depending on the size and type of plastic but less than 130 μm (micrometers) in diameter has the potential to move into human tissues.

When absorbed into the body, MPs can be metabolized, absorbed, or transported to different parts of the body.

There is also evidence to suggest that MPs may interact with other substances in the body, such as hormones and neurotransmitters, and may cause disruptions in the normal functioning of these substances.

Major health concerns of ingesting MPs include:

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: MPs can release chemicals that disrupt the normal function of the endocrine system, resulting in developmental, reproductive, neurological and immune system damage

Carcinogenic effects: MPs have been shown to increase the risk of developing certain types of cancer in animal studies.

Inflammation: MPs can cause inflammation in organs and tissues, which can lead to the development of various chronic diseases

Toxicity: MPs can damage the tissues of the lungs, liver, and other organs. Additionally,

MPs act as a medium for other chemical pollutants and can cause organ damage when they accumulate in the body

How can I reduce the consumption of microplastics?

1. Use a water filter: Install a water filter on your tap to remove microplastics from your drinking water.

2. Choose sustainable seafood: Avoid consuming seafood that may have been contaminated with microplastics, such as farmed fish.

3. Use a reusable coffee cup: Many disposable coffee cups are lined with plastic, which can release microplastics when the cups are heated. Using a reusable coffee cup can help reduce your consumption of microplastics

4. Use a reusable water bottle: Many disposable water bottles are made from plastic, which can release microplastics when they are recycled or disposed of in the environment. Using a reusable water bottle can help reduce your consumption of microplastics

5. Choose natural cosmetics: It is possible to ingest microplastics through cosmetics, as some cosmetics contain microbeads, which are small plastic particles that are added to the product for exfoliation or other purposes.

TL;DR

• Plastics fragment into microplastics and can be found everywhere. 11 billion metric tons of plastic are expected to accumulate in the environment by 2025.

• We can direct or indirectly ingest them or inhale them.

• There are health concerns associated with ingesting or breathing in microplastics, such as endocrine disruptors, carcinogenic effects, and inflammation.

• To reduce the consumption of microplastics, install a water filter, choose sustainable seafood, use a reusable coffee cup and water bottle (glass), and choose natural cosmetics.

This field is still in its infancy. We know so little. But without knowing anything, ingesting/inhaling tiny microscopic microplastics in your lungs and other tissues is “not good'.” We can say that much, without knowing anything.

And what if you have asthma, COPD, or other lung disorders? Having foreign microplastics in your lung is not helping the cause.

Budding Tweet

Microplastics can become nano-plastics (after further fragmentation), tiny so they do no harm, right?

Well… phytoplankton is a vital component of marine ecosystems and forms the base of the food chain. If plankton is affected by the ingestion of microplastics, this could potentially have cascading effects on the entire ecosystem.

Weeds to avoid

1️⃣ Not having some kind of skin routine. At least wash your face once a day. The oil, dirt, etc.. can lead to a breakout and ruin your day.

Around 50-100 million cells are shed from the surface of the skin each day.

2️⃣ Not having a system to capture your fleeting thoughts. It can be a pencil and paper or a notetaking app. I use Capture, I can text my information to this app and triage it later.

Websites to cultivate your garden

Notos: Wow, this is awesome. An AI-powered transcription application based on using OpenAI’s whisper technology.

The dictation is crazy accurate. Try it out and LMK what you think. It’s new, so still has plenty of bugs.

Bleep: Another notetaking app? kinda. You can insert images, text, links, etc.. but the interface is beautiful. It’s a visual representation of your thoughts.

I believe that each person has a note-taking app made specifically for them. That is the way their mind thinks and processes information. This may be yours.

Random Musings

1. The amount of information at our disposal is insane! The limiting factor? time. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman was a great resource framing productivity and time.

2. New year, new me! what was wrong with the old you?

3. Foam rollers, if you don’t have one you’re missing out. Everyone should have one, everyone.

4. I plan to expand my supplement review section on my website. You can take a look at my previous ones here. I have a backlog of >20 supplements. These reviews are as objective as I can make them. But let me tell you what…the amount of trash supplements is insane and dangerous. Not everything is regulated by the FDA.

You're an awesome human

Martin, CEO of braincrumbss

Stuff I created, that you might find helpful.

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2. This product is free. It is the most comprehensive tool for digital nomads who end up with diarrhea 💩. How to treat it, when to worry, and what to pack. Everything. I spend an embarrassing amount of time writing this. Yes, this was created from personal experience on an overseas trip 😮