Minimizing the impact of plastic products on the body

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – New research is sounding the alarm about what happens when plastic breaks down over time and where it ends up in our bodies.

The plastic forms smaller particles called microplastics and nanoplastics which you can’t see, but they can enter the body’s cells and may be harming you.

“I think it doesn’t really make a difference of what you actually drink out of, you know, as long as you stay hydrated. That’s what’s most important,” said UC student Alex Pinella.

Doctors are urging people like Pinella to reconsider using plastic drinking bottles.

“If it was like recent studies showed real differences, of course, I would stop using plastics,” said UC student Emily Fisher.

Doctor Hong-Sheng Wang is a cardiologist toxicologist and professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

“There is a fair amount of microplastics in bottled water. 240,000 particles per liter,” said Dr. Wang.

He has been studying the heart for more than 20 years and more recently has taken an interest in how microplastics can impact the human body.

“This is crazy stuff, in the past eight years, the amount of microplastics in the human brain increased by 50% – that kind of coincides with the widespread use of plastics,” he said.

Dr. Wang’s laboratory is currently working with a local chemist to create mock microplastics to see how the particles affect the heart specifically.

Though his research is in its early stages, Dr. Wang says he’s confident microplastics are having lasting and negative effects on the heart.

“There was a recent study that shows in those patients where microplastics were found in the arterial plaques, they have a substantially higher chance, I think it’s about four-fold higher chance, of having heart attack, having heart stroke, having stroke and death,” he said.

Dr. Wang says he expects his study to take a few years.

He says we gain the most exposure to microplastics in our consumption of food, beverages, and sometimes through the air we breathe.

While you can’t always control your environment, you can take steps to minimize your exposure, especially when it comes to water.

“Drink tap water whenever you can. It’s not to say that tap water is microplastic free, and also it depends on the municipality, depends on the exact brand of bottled water that you drink, but in general, there is a lot more microplastic in bottled water than in tap water,” Dr. Wang said.

He says the medical field has rapidly become aware of microplastics and expect more information to come out in the near future.

Dr. Wang also says other ways to avoid microplastics are using loose leaf tea instead of teabags, using glass containers instead of plastic – especially in the microwave, and if your plastic cutting board is worn out – replace it with a wooden or bamboo board.

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