Plastic as a Detrimental Culprit to an Unhealthy Gut?

Plastic water bottles, plastic take-out containers, plastic utensils and more are all common plastic essentials many of us implement in our everyday lives. It does not take a well-seasoned, educated scientist to tell us that plastics are affecting the environment poorly, at a large scale. Realistically, the convenience and affordability make these plastics so appealing. But aside from harsh damage to the environment, how do these plastics that are so deeply intertwined in our everyday lives negatively impact our gut?

What are microplastics?

Microplastics are small plastic particles that come from the slow breakdown of macroplastics overtime. Surprisingly, microplastics are found in cosmetics, clothing and tea bags in addition to the expected places we can find them like food-packaging and the ocean. Hence, there is no plausible way to escape the dangers of plastic on the body, instead it is worth being informed and reducing the instances of plastic use in your day-to-day routine. Now back to the real question being, why are the bad and how this impacts our gut-microbiome?

How do microplastics impact us?

Previous research done on mice has shown that microplastics point towards an increase in immune and inflammatory response and the interference and reconstruction of gut microvilli, when healthy, aid in proper absorption in the digestive system. Inflammation alone is the precursor to trigger immune responses and when chronic, may lead to a plethora of diseases. A common one being gut-dysbiosis, the imbalance and shift of bacterial communities in the gut. This symptoms may lead to constipation, gas and diarrhea as there is a influx of bad bacteria in the gut, but later on would lead to diseases such as colorectal cancer, Crohn’s disease and diabetes.

You have heard of BPA, but what is it? BPA is Bisphenol A which is a component that used to be widely found in plastic products but has now been phased out. BPA is detrimental as it is an endocrine disruptor. The central nervous system (CNS) is likely to be negatively impacted from BPA. Why should this matter now since most products no longer contain BPA? Plastic takes a long time to break down. In the process of these plastics breaking down overtime, BPA is in the environment and being eaten by animals we eat. Terrifyingly enough, these microplastics accumulate and magnify as they go up the food chain. So if we eat the fish from the ocean which contain microplastics, those we eat the fish will more than likely have an even greater concentration of these microplastics in our body, leaving at least 90% of all people have microplastics in their bodies.

With all this said, it is best to limit your exposure as much as you can by avoiding the use of single-use plastics. This way, by limiting your exposure, means limiting your likelihood of an upset gut which can help in disease prevention down the line. Do yourself a favor and continue or begin supplementing your diet with probiotics, in addition to fiber and reduce refined sugar to best lead your gut to health.