Lifestyle+ — 29

In an important study of more than three hundred patients who underwent carotid artery surgery and had their atherosclerotic plaque analyzed for microplastics, the majority had evidence of polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene in their arteries. Not only was the presence of the microplastic correlated with marked inflammation of the arteries compared with the patients not harboring plastics but there was more than fourfold heightened risk of heart attack, stroke, or death during three years of follow-up. In a study of microplastics in the testes, all twenty-three men had these detected, at a level threefold compared with canine testes, and their presence was associated with less weight of the testes and lower sperm count. In people with the autoimmune condition of inflammatory bowel disease, fecal microplastics were significantly elevated compared with healthy controls, and their level correlated with the disease severity. In the blood clots from patients with a heart attack, stroke, or deep vein thrombosis, microplastics were detected in 80 percent. Microplastics have been detected within human brain cells, including patients with brain tumors. In response to exposure to microplastics, cancer cells spread at an accelerated rate and transfer the particles to daughter cells when they divide. Association with increased risk of asthma, various cancers, interstitial lung disease, cognitive decline, cardiometabolic disease, neurodevelopmental delay, premature births, and infertility have been described.

In 2024, Consumer Reports’ cover article “How to Eat Less Plastic” ranked eighty-five specific food products (Annie’s organic cheesy ravioli came out on top with 53,579 ng total phthalates per serving, followed by Wendy’s crispy chicken nuggets at 33,980 ng). Strategies suggested to limit exposure included avoiding plastic food storage containers, fast foods, and high-fat foods (higher level of plasticizers that are fat soluble); using water bottles made of glass or steel and kitchen tools made of wood or steel; and limiting use of vinyl. Despite the urgent need to address the ever-growing plastic crisis, little has been done.

Like forever plastics, the man-made perfluorinated or polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) have such strong chemical fluoride to carbon bonds (F to C, the key feature of forever chemicals) that they don’t break down. Of more than forty-five thousand water samples the Environmental Protection Agency tested for PFAS, 31 percent were considered harmful and were not located near any incriminating source for contamination. High exposure to these compounds has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, obesity, increased blood pressure and preeclampsia during pregnancy, high cholesterol, inflammatory bowel disease, and thyroid, liver, brain, and immune system damage. Global studies indicate that the United States and Australia have the highest concentration of PFAS in their water. Just about all Americans have measurable PFAS in their blood.