How To Eat Less Microplastics?
Nano and microplastics are attracting more and more attention from the scientific community for good reason. They are everywhere, from clouds to soil to our plates. A famous study even claims that we ingest about five grams per week, the equivalent of a credit card! Although this idea is thought-provoking, fortunately, there are concrete ways to limit our plastic ingestion.
Before going into the subject, let’s look at what microplastics are and how they end up on our plates.
What Are Nano And Microplastics? Where Do They Come From?
Nano and microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic, smaller than a grain of sand or even a virus.
These tiny industrial polymers come from the degradation of larger plastic objects because a particularity of plastic is that it does not decompose; it only breaks into smaller pieces. Subsequently, these particles accumulate in the environment (water, air, etc.) as well as in living organisms (animals and humans).
Microplastics Have Various Names and Origins, For Example:
1- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Found mainly in water bottles.
2- Polyethylene (PE). Normally used in food packaging and plastic bags.
3- Polystyrene (PS). Used in some fast food packaging and foam cups.
4- Apart from food, several objects and materials also release plastic fragments, such as tires and synthetic textiles (polyester, nylon, etc.).
Where is Plastic Found in Our Bodies? What Are Its Impacts on Health?
Since plastic has been produced for decades, its presence in the environment is only increasing. Today, scientists are discovering that plastic particles are sneaking into our bodies, including the brain, blood, breast milk, lungs, and placenta.
The effects of microplastics on the human body are still largely unknown, but early animal studies suggest risks to fertility and the nervous system, among other things.
As for the chemicals released by plastic, such as phthalates and bisphenol A, their impacts are already better documented (more on that below).
So, What Can We Do About Microplastics?
When we become aware of the presence of plastic in our food, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. However, it is important not to panic; after all, no one on this planet can escape microplastics 100%.
The key is to control what we can according to the resources we have access to. The good news is that it is possible to reduce our daily dose of microplastics by changing a few dietary habits.
Here are eight practical, simple and effective actions to eat (and drink) less plastic. You can go with accessible alternatives to adapt to these changes at your own pace. Discover what actions you can take to protect your health and that of the planet, one meal at a time.
1- Do Not Mix Heat and Plastic
Heat increases the degradation of plastic. In other words, plastic must be kept away from high temperatures to minimize the migration of microplastics from a container to its contents.
© Freepik – Variety of organic food in boxes
If you’re using reusable plastic dishes, don’t microwave them, no matter what the packaging says. A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska showed that a plastic bowl heated for three minutes in the microwave can release millions of microplastics and billions of nanoplastics into its contents.
Solution: Transfer your meal to a plate or bowl (ceramic, glass, etc.) before reheating it in the microwave.
Similarly, if the food is still hot, wait until it cools before storing it in plastic containers.
Solution: If you’re making a large recipe, like a batch of spaghetti sauce, soup, or something else, don’t transfer it to plastic dishes until it’s cooled.
Finally, the hot water in the dishwasher contributes to the degradation of plastic.
Solution: Wash plastic dishes by hand, with warm water.
Or, to avoid racking your brain, you can simply opt for the following tip.
2- Choose Other Materials in The Kitchen
Have you ever noticed how much plastic is creeping into our kitchen? Reusable containers, children’s dishes, spatulas, cutting board. A 2023 study showed that the latter are particularly responsible for releasing plastic fragments with each use. Understandably, the situation gets worse if the board is already well-worn and scratched.
So, if your cutting board looks like this, it’s time to get rid of it!
Solutions: In the kitchen, opt for glass, ceramic, wood or stainless steel. In the case of plastic wrap, other options for wrapping and covering your dishes include aluminum foil and reusable packaging wax.
Of course, these alternative materials are often more expensive to buy but they are also generally more durable, not to mention that they are less harmful to our health.
Similarly, replacing your plastic kitchen tools does not have to be very expensive: thrift stores and virtual second-hand sales platforms are resources to consider before shelling out for new ones.
Lightweight solutions: Do you have a collection of plastic containers that you do not want to get rid of? Here are a few tips:
1- Choose containers made of number 5 plastic (polypropylene-PP) to store meals and avoid plastics 3, 6 and 7, especially for heating food.
2- Keep the most worn and scratched dishes for storing dry food.
3- Are your kitchen utensils (spatula, ladle, etc.) made of plastic? Do not let them sit in the pan filled with hot food.
3- Avoid Plastic Bottles
Disposable bottles release plastic particles into the water over time. On average, 240,000 nano and microplastic particles are available in a liter of bottled water, according to a 2024 study from Columbia University in New York.
Of course, this advice doesn’t stop with water: only. It is for any beverage available in plastic is subject to the same problem (carbonated drinks, juices, vitamin waters)
So, the solution is to carry your water in a reusable bottle. Yes, but there is a but. In 2022, chemists at the University of Copenhagen discovered that reusable plastic bottles release hundreds of chemicals into the water they contain, including DEET (yes, the same thing that makes mosquito repellent effective).
After a dishwasher cycle, the number of substances in the water jumped from 400 to over 3,500, including endocrine disruptors, which are compounds that alter hormonal activity. And this was true even after additional rinses. To reiterate a point mentioned earlier, plastic should not be mixed with heat (from the dishwasher, for example).
BPA-free, is that correct?
Okay, okay, but if my water bottle says it’s BPA-free, is that correct? Again, it’s not so obvious.
Following dozens of studies showing that BPA (or bisphenol A, a chemical compound used to harden certain plastics) could disrupt hormones and increase the risk of infertility, chronic inflammation and heart disease, widespread fear has set in among the public. In response, manufacturers have released products proudly labeled “BPA-free” to reassure consumers.
However, it is important to remember that you cannot simply remove a component from a product; you must replace it with something else.
Enter BPS (mostly), BPZ, BPF, BPP, BPAF and BHPF. These substances have chemical structures similar to BPA, which amounts to trading one problem for another; their health effects are similar, if not worse.
All this is to say that the famous “BPA-free” is a false solution and that it is better to simply consider plastic-free options.
Solutions: Opt for a reusable stainless steel or glass bottle, to fill with tap water, ideally filtered if possible.
Lighter solutions: If you must drink bottled water, limit its exposure to heat (for example, by not leaving it in the car in the summer) and do not reuse the bottle after drinking its contents.
If you’re using a reusable plastic water bottle, hand wash it in warm, not hot or boiling water. Avoid exposing it to high temperatures by only pouring cold or room-temperature liquids into it.
Stainless steel and glass are good material choices for reusable bottles.
4- Avoid Disposable Cups Too
Using a reusable cup to carry a coffee to go isn’t just good for the environment.
While this argument is very valid (imagine how many cups, complete with plastic lids, are thrown away every day), there’s another benefit of reusable cups: they’re better for our health.
Indeed, despite their appearance, single-use coffee cups aren’t made entirely of cardboard. Their interior is coated with a thin layer of plastic, such as polyethylene (PET) or polylactic acid (PLA), which prevents their contents from leaking.
When they come into contact with a hot liquid, such as coffee or tea, some of this plastic coating escapes, you guessed it, into the beverage that is then ingested.
This is not just speculation; this effect has been demonstrated in recent studies, highlighting once again that plastic is making its way into our bodies in many unsuspected ways.
PS: to stir milk, cream or sugar into coffee, use a metal spoon or wooden stick rather than a plastic spoon.
Solution: As mentioned above, bring a reusable thermos cup (not plastic) with you to drink your coffee when you travel.
Lighter Solutions: If you don’t have a reusable cup, consider these two options:
Do you have time to sit down at the coffee shop to drink your beverage from a ceramic cup? If so, get it there.
If not, at least remove the plastic lid from the cup, which comes into contact with the hot liquid just before drinking the drink.
5- Favor Fresh Foods
Unsurprisingly, whole foods, which are an ingredient, are widely recognized as being better for your health than ultra-processed products. Not only are the latter low in nutrients and pro-inflammatory, but they also contain more traces of plastic!
In fact, two studies (one from 2014 and the other from 2024) have highlighted that the consumption of ultra-processed products is associated with higher levels of phthalates in urine. Phthalates are chemicals used to soften plastic.
According to the Heart Institute of Canada, there is strong evidence that exposure to phthalates is associated with negative effects on neurodevelopment, particularly in children. Moderate evidence suggests that phthalates may be linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, endometriosis, and low testosterone levels.
These ultra-processed products in question include all products created in a factory, sold in a package and usually displaying a long list of ingredients with additives. They are habitually high in fat, salt or sugar, they are like:
Ultra-Processed Products in Question
1- Salty snacks (crackers, chips, etc.)
2- Sugary breakfast cereals
3- Candies
4- Processed meats (sausages, pepperoni, bologna, etc.)
5- Frozen meals
6- Fast food
7- Frozen desserts
8- Instant soups
9- Sugary drinks (energy drinks, soda, etc.)
Solution: It’s nothing new, a diet composed mainly of fresh foods is preferable. The good news is that many common foods, like popsicles or granola, are surprisingly easy to make at home.
Lighter Solutions:
If processed foods are a problem for you due to a lack of resources (time, storage space for ingredients, adapted kitchen, etc.), try to buy products with a shorter and/or less mysterious list of ingredients.
Identify which processed products are most common in your diet and try to find realistic solutions to reduce your consumption.
For example, if frozen pizza is a quick dinner three times a week. Try to opt for an easy homemade version one night a week. With flatbread (naan or pita) and grated cheese stored in the freezer, you can add leftovers of your choice (white or tomato sauce, pesto, vegetables, chicken, etc.) before putting everything in the oven for about ten minutes.
6- Buy in Bulk
As mentioned above, part of our exposure to microplastics comes from packaging that comes into contact with food, such as single-use plastic bags used to wrap fruits and vegetables.
We must pay particular attention to fatty foods that are in plastic containers (peanut butter, oil, milk, yogurt, cheese, etc.) because various studies show that phthalates escape even more into lipids.
Part of our exposure to microplastics comes from packaging that comes into contact with food.
The same goes for tea and herbal tea: Despite offering medicinal benefits, the bags in which they are sold often result in an infusion of plastic. It carries approximately 14.7 billion particles per cup, according to a McGill University study. We therefore prefer loose-leaf tea and herbal tea that we brew in a press or a metal tea infuser.
Solutions: At the grocery store, bring your own bags and containers for fruits, vegetables and meat as well as for dry bulk goods (nuts, seeds, legumes, etc.).
Whenever possible, try to avoid fruits and vegetables with stickers on them, such as apples.
7- Rinse Your Rice Well
Simply rinsing rice thoroughly before cooking can reduce its microplastic content by 20 to 40%, according to a study from the University of Queensland in Australia. This research indicates that a single serving of rice can contain 3 to 4 mg of plastic. This intake can increase by 400% in instant (pre-cooked) rice.
Solution: Choose regular rice over instant rice, and rinse it thoroughly before cooking.
8- Reassess Your Pots and Pans
Non-stick pans, especially if they are damaged or heated to high temperatures, can release microplastics into food.
An Australian study found that a single small crack in a pan coated with Teflon (a popular non-stick coating) can release about 9,100 plastic particles on its own. That’s not all; the same coating also releases PFAS, “forever chemicals” that have less than stellar health risks, and disruption of the immune, nervous and reproductive systems, among other things.
Solution: Use pots and pans made of steel or cast iron. Search thrift stores, garage sales and second-hand marketplaces for more affordable used products.
Lighter Solution: If you don’t have an alternative to non-stick pans, avoid heating them at high temperatures (use medium heat) and watch for signs of wear. To avoid scratching them, wash them gently and don’t use metal utensils to stir or serve food from the pan.
Change Without Feeling Guilty: Let’s Not Forget Our Privileges
This is a lot of content to digest, I agree. I especially want to end with a reminder of our privileges. Changing your habits to reduce your consumption of microplastics is a good intention, but let’s keep in mind that these tips are not accessible to everyone.
For example, access to drinking water remains a luxury for many, relegating bottled water to the status of a necessity. This sad situation is not confined to remote countries only.
Similarly, in a situation of food insecurity, buying in bulk is not a priority. The most important thing is to eat, regardless of the packaging the food comes in.
In short, the idea is not to achieve perfection, but to do what is within our reach, according to our means and our reality.
Let’s remember that no one can completely avoid microplastics: it is, therefore, better to adopt actions adapted to our individual circumstances, without preventing ourselves from sleeping either. Every effort counts and it can’t hurt to start where we can.
Other Tips To Reduce Your Exposure To Microplastics
Finally, to go beyond food, here are some additional tips to limit your exposure to microplastics.
1- Avoid touching bills, made of thermal paper rich in BPA (refuse the bill if it is not necessary or take it in electronic version if possible).
2- Open the windows periodically, even if only a little, to air the house; opt for unscented products (fragrances are often sources of phthalates).
3- Sweep or vacuum regularly, because plastic is also found in dust.
4- Favor natural fibers (like cotton) for clothing, sheets, towels, etc.
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