Microplastics: 6 Ways to Reduce Your Exposure

Before your cortisol levels get out of control, I have some solutions for you.

Sometimes the news is scary, especially when it comes to toxins (and during an election year, sigh). Recent studies on the prevalence of microplastics are making headlines and they’re understandably alarming, but there are things we can do to decrease our exposure.

** Disclosure: Before we go any further I just want to put it out there that this is a little overwhelming. To be frank, I felt overwhelmed writing it and contemplated not posting this because I want this space to be positive and actionable. But I think it’s important for us to be informed and do what we can to protect our health. So here we are! I can’t cover all the information on toxins and microplastics in one post, but I am committed to providing easy tips, solutions, and alternative products/brands, as well as information on how to help your body detox through nutrition and lifestyle. There’s a lot we can do without upending our lives. **

First off, what are microplastics anyway? They’re defined as plastic particles measuring less than 5mm across and can be formed by larger pieces of plastic that have broken down and pollute our air and water or intentionally made plastics for commercial products—think those exfoliating beads in a facial scrub, laundry detergent, or even diapers (gasp!). Whatever the source, microplastics are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, our beauty products, our clothes, and more.

Microplastics often carry other toxic chemicals, like heavy metals, phthalates, BPA and other pollutants. When it comes to human health, ingestion of these plastics from breathing, eating, drinking, or skin contact (remember, our skin is semipermeable) can cause inflammation, oxidative stress, gut dysbiosis, neurotoxicity, and more. Plastic is also an obesogen, meaning it can cause weight gain by affecting metabolism and the way our fat cells work (ek!).

A certain level of toxic exposure is frankly unavoidable in today’s world, but there are things we can do to reduce that exposure. Here are six actionable tips to help you avoid microplastics.

1. Stop drinking out of plastic bottles. Immediately. And get a good water filter. If you do one thing from reading this, please please stop drinking out of plastic bottles. Especially those with the recycling code 3, 6, and 7 (they are the most toxic). Not only are you consuming microplastics from the bottles, but these bottles are being discarded and creating more microplastics in our environment that get into our air, water supply, and food. Make sure you have a good glass or stainless steel water bottle (I love a Hydroflask) and fill it with filtered water (that isn’t sitting in plastic like a Brita). I like Berkey and Aarke.

2. Limit intake of processed foods. Microplastics are sadly almost ubiquitous in our food because they have reached the water supply. Not even organic foods are spared. Everything from apples and broccoli to wild trout and grass-fed burger patties have microplastics, but a recent study found that highly processed proteins, like chicken nuggets and fake meat, had much higher concentrations than minimally processed proteins like raw fish or chicken, which led researchers to believe that food processing is a source of contamination. Not to mention processed foods are more likely to be packaged in plastic.

3. Ditch plastic food containers and food storage. Invest in glass or stainless steel Tupperware (like these), stasher bags, and other alternatives to avoid single-use plastic bags, plastic Tupperware, and saran wrap. Cook more than you take out, if it arrives in plastic. And never *ever* microwave food in plastic.

4. Edit your beauty and personal care products. Microplastics are commonly used in exfoliating products, as a whitening agent in toothpastes, makeup products like mascara and foundation, and more. Not only are you putting these things in and on your body, but they also wash off and get into the water supply. Find companies and products you can trust, like LINNÉ Botanicals and Saie Beauty. You can also use the Beat the Microbead app to test your beauty products.

5. Dust and vacuum regularly, and find nontoxic/non-plastic alternatives to everyday products like textiles, cleaning products. I personally love Parachute Home linens and towels, Avocado Green Mattreses, Blueland laundry detergent and dishwasher soap, and Branch Basics cleaning products.

6. Be mindful of foods and drinks that are particularly high in microplastics. We don’t need to stop consuming these completely, but it’s important to be aware and know the alternatives.

   1. Rice. Rice is grown in a lot of water and can hold microplastics and other toxins. Make sure to wash it thoroughly before cooking.

   2. Tea. Drink loose-leaf tea. Those tea bags have plastic in them and they seep out when heated.

   3. Salt. Table salt tends to have a lot of microplastics. I like Redmond Real Salt.

   4. Beer. Beer has high levels of microplastics from the water used and processing. Sorry to burst your hop bubble.

   5. Honey. Honey from urban bees breathing all that city air has more microplastics than honey from rural bees.

   6. Shellfish. There is a lot of plastic waste in the ocean that ocean life ingests (SAD!). Seafood in which we consume the entire body (and stomach) of like shrimp, mussels, oysters, etc, have much higher levels of microplastics than fish where the stomach is removed.

There’s no way to avoid microplastics, but eating a balanced diet with a variety of antioxidant-rich plants, reducing your stress levels, exercise, sweat, and sleep can help your body’s natural detox mechanisms work more efficiently (will expand on this in a future post). And while there are a lot crap products out there contributing to microplastic accumulation, there are also so many companies working hard to bring us cleaner products with less of an environmental impact.

I personally am really excited to see what innovations this next generation will bring, and feel confident that this is a problem we can solve. I know some of these products and alternatives are expensive as well. We vote with our wallet, so when we show that we care about these things with our purchasing power the more accessible they will become to the masses.