Scientists discover an alarming potential impact of microplastics on the human brain

“Hearst Magazines and Yahoo can earn a committee or income on certain articles via these links.”

• Research has detected a “spoonful” of microplastics in the average brain.

• The impact of these is still being studied.

• Experts decompose how microplastics could have an impact on mood disorders, the risk of dementia, etc.

Research has detected microplastics in a range of vital body parts, including heart And brain. Now, researchers decompose how these nanoparticles enter the human brain and the potential impact they can have on our overall health.

Microplastics are plastic particles of less than five millimeters, according to The Oceanic and Atmospheric National Administration (Noaa). Four articles published in the May issue of the journal Brain medicine Explain how research suggests that microplastics of ultra-transformed foods can accumulate in the brain. These microplastics could be a factor in rising depression, dementia and other mental health disorders around the world, according to researchers.

Meet the experts:: Clifford Segil, dois a neurologist at the Providence Center in Providence Saint John in Santa Monica, California; Kelly Johnson-Arbor, MDis toxicologist at Medstar Health; Jamie Alan, Ph.D.is an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University; Jo Ellen Wilson, MD, Ph.D., MPHis an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center

This is considered to be the most complete analysis so far on how microplastics may have an impact on brain health. Considering that a recent study published in the journal Nature Medicine Determined that there is about a plastic spoon of microplastics in the average human brain, all these papers are worth ready to pay attention.

Here is what the study has revealed, as well as what doctors want you to keep in mind in the future T0 protects against microplastics.

What has research found?

Scientific articles plunge into recent research surrounding microplastics in the brain, as well as the potential impact on mental health. A paper Hypothesis that microplastic exposure from ultra-adjustment food contributes to the growth of a range of mental health problems. He points out that ultra-transformed foods represent more than 50% of the calories than people in countries like the United States eat, noting that these foods contain much higher microplastic concentrations than whole foods.

The articles indicate research which links ultra-transformed food to poor mental health results, as a journal published in BMJ This revealed that people who ate ultra-transformed foods presented a risk of depression of 22% higher, a risk of 48% higher of anxiety and 41% risk of poor sleep. The researchers suggest that microplastics could be the missing link between these two factors, citing the example of foods such as chicken chips, which contain 30 times more microplastics per gram than chicken breasts.

Another scientific journal Decomposes recent research on microplastics accumulating in the brain, noting that studies have revealed that the levels were up to five times higher in people diagnosed with dementia.

In one paperMa-Li Wong, Ph.D., MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral services at Medical University University, stresses that finding such a spoonful of microplastics in the brain is an “account” on environmental contaminants and brain health. “The border between internal and external failed,” she wrote. “If the microplastics cross the blood-brain barrier, what do we think, who are still sacred?”

Another The paper has examined the preliminary evidence suggesting that something known as the extracorporeal therapeutic apheses, which filters blood outside the body, can have the potential to eliminate microplastic particles from the blood.

How do microplastics enter our brain?

It is not entirely known how microplastics are making their way in your brain, says Jamie Alan, Ph.D.Associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University. However, she points to Previous research This suggests that these tiny particles penetrate your blood once you are exposed to the environment or your food, then cross the blood-brain barrier because they are so small.

What is the potential impact to have microplastics in the brain?

It is not entirely clear at the moment. “We do not know the long-term consequences of exposure to them,” explains Alan. However, links are formed, especially with regard to the health of the brain.

“Some studies have found an association between higher levels of microplastics in the brain and certain brain disorders such as dementia, depression and anxiety,” said Jo Ellen Wilson, MD, Ph.D., MPHAssociate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “The management of the association of this effect remains clear.”

It underlines this debate that scientists currently have on the impact of microplastics on dementia levels: higher levels of microplastics in the brain cause brain disorders such as dementia, or people who have conditions such as dementia, who already have a more permeable blood-brain barrier? “This causal question is important and has not yet received an answer,” said Dr. Wilson.

But the potential impact of microplastics in the brain probably depends on where microplastics are found, says Clifford Segil, doNeurologist at the Providence Health Center Saint John in Santa Monica, California.

“If microplastics really enter the brain and affecting the function of cerebral neurotransmitters, the effects were in correlation for part where in the brain accumulate these microplastics,” he said. “If the front of the brain collects microplastics, they could cause behavioral problems, compared to temporal lobes or the side of the brain collects microplastics, they could cause cognitive problems.”

Is there a way to get rid of microplastics in your brain?

From that moment, no. “The idea that microplastics can penetrate inside the brain is new, and if it is true, the next step would be to determine where in the brain they accumulate, then the reverse engineer whatever the method they use to find their path in the brain to help find a way to get them out of our brain,” said Dr. Segil.

Dr. Wilson says that doing your best to reduce your exposure to microplastics can help you. “We know that by reducing your exposure to plastics, over time, you may be able to reduce the microplastic burden in your body,” she said.

There are research To suggest that eating a lot of fibers could help reduce the impact of microplastics on your body, but more work is necessary, said Kelly Johnson-Arbor, MDToxicologist at Medstar Health.

How to reduce your microplastic exposure

Microplastics are practically everywhere, which makes them difficult to avoid. But there are a few things you can do to try to reduce your exposure to these tiny particles. “Some water filters, in particular those with smaller filter pore sizes, may be able to reduce human exposure to microplastics by eliminating drinking water particles,” said Dr. Johnson-Arbor.

Avoid the use of plastic in general – including plastic food containers and water bottles – can be useful, but Dr. Johnson -Arbor stresses that this can be a “challenge” because plastic products are so common in daily life. “Even if many grocery stores do not use plastic bags at the checkout, plastic products can always be found in the bags in which we put fresh fruits and vegetables with grocery store and plastic film that covers meat and pre-cut production,” she says.

She suggests using bamboo or wood cutting boards, as plastic boards can be damaged over time and transfer microplastics to the cut food.

Finally, Dr. Johnson-Arbor recommends using bamboo storage containers, metal or glass instead of plastic, and to avoid reheating food in plastic containers.

Again, microplastics are everywhere, which makes them difficult to cut them completely from your life. But doing what you can reduce your exposure can help protect your overall health and brain.

You might also love