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Hmm. I'd be more curious about the mechanisms of how it's consumed and whether there's anything I could do to avoid it. Or changes in production that could be m
by wyldfire 6y ago
Hmm. I'd be more curious about the mechanisms of how it's consumed and whether there's anything I could do to avoid it. Or changes in production that could be made to avoid it.
Since there were big headlines ~2010 about food in plastic heated in microwaves, I've switched to using glass containers for leftovers. Does that decrease the amount described in this article? Or is this some other mechanism of plastic consumption?
- jacob019 6y agoOr why we should be concerned.
- wyldfire 6y agoWe should be concerned because the plastic acts like xenoestrogens in the body. Hormone disruption is bad.
- KMag 6y agoIs that also the case for BPA-free plastics? "Plastics" covers a wide range of chemicals, and I'm not up to date on the latest health information in this area.
- gruez 6y ago>Is that also the case for BPA-free plastics be careful, the "BPA free" plastic products on the market might have just replaced BPA with BPS (or other plasticizers), which might be as bad as BPA when it comes to your health. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_S#Health_Effects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_S#Health_Effects
- jim-jim-jim 6y agoI'm using a wooden toothbrush handle with "BPA free" bristles and this potential switcheroo has me worried. Are there toothbrushes out there that avoid plastic entirely?
- ppseafield 6y agohttps://www.brushwithbamboo.com https://www.brushwithbamboo.com
- adrr 6y agoLot of natural foods do the exact same thing. Soy isoflavones have a very strong estrogen effect.
- alexmingoia 6y agoThere is no strong evidence of any link between phytoestrogen consumption and adverse health effects, as shown by a cursory look at the Wikipedia page for phytoestrogens, and the literature. I’ve consumed minimum 1 cup soy milk almost my entire life. No man boobs and my sperm works just fine. What’s funny is people usually warn me that eating soy will somehow harm my masculinity, yet they aren’t aware milk, eggs, and meat also contain phytoestrogens https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf801344x https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf801344x
- goldenkey 6y agoSo does wheat, coffee, sesame seeds - in fact: most grains. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoestrogen#Food_sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoestrogen#Food_sources But soy gets all the press. People believe what they desire to believe... And good on you. I too drink 1/2 Liter of Westsoy Unsweetened Soymilk daily. Silk just came out with an unsweetened variety too! :-)
- newen 6y agoThis is like saying both water and botulinum are technically toxins, so it’s okay to drink liters of botulinum a day. What matters is the quantity of phytoestrogens in foods, and soy products happens to have significantly higher phytoestrogens than other foods.
- goldenkey 6y agoI am not making a two wrongs make a right argument. I argue that grains are pervasive in our society and have no noticable ill effects. You strawmanned by claiming soy has way higher phytoestrogens than other foods. It's not true. It is just more studied due to its increasing popularity. Lignan forms of phytoestrogens are in potent concentrations in common cereal grains. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24284429_Phytoestrogen_Content_of_Cereals_and_Cereal-Based_Foods_Consumed_in_the_UK https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24284429_Phytoestro... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5302234/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5302234/
- ashtonkem 6y agoAs a general rule, one should be cautious about adding new substances into the human body, especially if you’re doing it accidentally and without prior planning or study.
- PurpleFoxy 6y agoThese aren’t “new” substances. We have been using plastic for decades now and there isn’t clear knowledge that it is very bad to ingest. If it was super bad we would have seen the effects by now.
- PKop 6y agoTestosterone decline in men during that period (and yes, decades is a very short period of time in the context of health effects over time) would seem to corellate with phytoestrogen increase
- 867-5309 6y agodecades is new in the span of evolutionary history
- blix 6y agoIf you change enough variables at once, it's pretty hard to get clear knowledge of harm. We're not out there running controlled experiments on every new substance, or collecting robust data. The rapid rise of unexplained autoimmune disease over the past few decades (one of quite a few negative health trends) indicates that our knowledge of what is harmful is incomplete.
- sdenton4 6y agoLook up the history of leaded gasoline sometime... There were studies asserting a certain 'natural' level of lead in the bloodstream which we now consider quite toxic. But everyone was poisoned together, due to ubiquity, so it took a massive effort to get people to understand that something was wrong.
- amanaplanacanal 6y ago
- gruez 6y ago>Since there were big headlines ~2010 about food in plastic heated in microwaves, I've switched to using glass containers for leftovers. Does that decrease the amount described in this article? AFAIK that's for BPA? I don't think microplastics are generated just by having the food being in contact with the plastic, so I doubt that makes a difference. If you read the study[1], it looks like most of the plastic comes from the drinking water, not through food. [1] https://www.dropbox.com/s/nxvyl3v5s9d0a1v/PLASTIC%20INGESTION%20Web%20spreads.pdf?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/nxvyl3v5s9d0a1v/PLASTIC%20INGESTIO...
- gmac 6y agoI wouldn’t be too sure of that: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-00171-y https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-00171-y
- accountofme 6y agoOne way that surprised me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kttVyakHN4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kttVyakHN4 Chewing gum / Bubble gum uses a mix of synthetic rubber and plastic as its base.
- hypertele-Xii 6y agoWhich is why I was delighted to discover True Gum [1] at my local organic food market. It's plastic-free chewing gum. [1] https://truegum.com/ https://truegum.com/
- purplecats 6y ago> I'd be more curious about the mechanisms of how it's consumed and whether there's anything I could do to avoid it. Same > Or changes in production that could be made to avoid it. Not as interested in this, as its a moot point. Corporations that make things have my worst incentives as their goals, so if they found out, they might learn to make it even worse for me. God forbid the health care industry find out (I'm sure they have and we'll find out the effects decades down the road, similar to cigarettes).
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- Puts 6y agoOne thing you can do is stop buying clothes with nylon and polyester (which is hard to find but not impossible) since these release plastic particles when you wash them which eventually enters the sea and the food chain.
- Fezzik 6y agoThis is a big one. I have been making diligent efforts to buy everything cotton and wool I possibly can, and telling retailers why I want cotton and wool products. Wool is an especially good alternative for active wear given its natural anti-odor properties.
- mstade 6y agoDitto, and I'd like to throw a punch for linen too – perfect material on hot summer days!
- specialist 6y agoHemp is like linen without the wrinkles. (I have both.)
- atVelocet 6y agoHemp is even better. Try it and you will never go back to cotton.
- brnt 6y agoHard to find though. You basically can't shop on mainstreet (which you can't right now anyway, but you get the point).
- KozmoNau7 6y agoThat last part is a big plus. Most of us are so used to cotton shirts and synthetics that pick up odors and need to have the funk washed out all the time. A wool shirt can be aired out overnight, given a quick shake and be completely odor-free the next morning. I've worn merino wool underpants on trips where - for various reasons - I took barely anything except the clothes I wore. Hanging the underpants in the steamy bathroom while taking a shower will almost completely refresh them. Heck, even keeping them on in circumstances where showers weren't available didn't seem to pick up any odors, at least for a couple of days. Not that I would normally recommend regularly wearing underwear for several days or even a week, but wool is clearly superior to cotton or synthetic fabrics.
- qwertox 6y agoAmong other sources, microplastics are often used in toothpaste. Quoted from Colgate's site [1]: > Because microbeads aren't biodegradable, they pose a significant environmental concern. Research from the New York State Office of the Attorney General shows that microbeads can escape undetected into rivers and oceans after being washed down the drain, since their small size means they often aren't captured by regular sewage treatment systems. The report found that approximately 19 tons of microbeads are washed down New York drains each year! > The beads can be mistaken as food by fish, birds and other wildlife. When animals fill their stomachs with microbeads, they may spread the plastic up the food chain. This can lead to contamination of the fish we eat, since microplastics soak up pollutants in waterways, according to the Australian Department of Environment and Energy. Once in the environment, microbeads are almost impossible to remove. [1] https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/brushing-and-flossing/what-are-microbeads-in-toothpaste https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/brushing-and-floss...