WEBVTT - Cutting Through The Microplastics Panic with Dr. Heather Leslie 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:06.960 Hey fam, Hello sunshine. Today on the bright side, it's 0:00:07.000 --> 0:00:10.200 Wellness Wednesday. And if you've seen the headlines on microplastics 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:12.240 and wondered should I be freaking out? 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:14.800 Are they the silent polluters in our homes? 0:00:15.080 --> 0:00:17.919 Well, we're cutting through the panic with doctor Heather Leslie. 0:00:18.079 --> 0:00:19.279 She's here to tell us what. 0:00:19.320 --> 0:00:24.000 Actually matters, where microplastics are hiding, how they're affecting our health, 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:27.120 and what we can do about it all. It's Wednesday, 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:28.120 February nineteenth. 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:31.000 I'm Danielle Robe and I'm Simone Boye and this is 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:33.360 the bright side from Hello Sunshine. 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:35.960 Danielle. 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:37.360 I don't know about you, but I feel like I 0:00:37.400 --> 0:00:41.520 am constantly bombarded with headlines about the dangers of microplastics, 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:42.680 and it's hard not to panic. 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:47.880 Well, first of all, yes, and second of all, that's 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:51.280 sort of the problem is that they're everywhere, Like they're 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:55.040 in our water, our food, our clothes, even our air. 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:58.920 And so for most of us who are thinking about 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:01.600 our health, or our caid's health, or our parents' health 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:04.360 on a daily basis, those headlines are really scary. 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:08.880 Do you remember that movie Dark Waters from twenty nineteen, Yes, yes, 0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:12.840 absolutely so. Darkwaters is a film that's based on a 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:16.479 true story about a lawsuit against the chemical company DuPont 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:21.119 for polluting a town with unregulated chemicals, and it chronicles 0:01:21.160 --> 0:01:25.000 the mysterious deaths that followed Mark Ruffalo's in the film 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:27.280 and Hathaways in the film. And for me, it was 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:31.640 really eye opening about the dangerous consequences of these chemicals. 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:34.399 And after I watched that movie, I made a lot 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:38.120 of changes. I like throughout all of my teflon cookware 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:40.840 that I got when I got married, and we switched 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:43.600 to all non toxic stuff, And so I was feeling 0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:47.920 really energized about taking control over this issue. But then, 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:50.680 like you were saying, when I started to realize how 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:54.920 prevalent these microplastics are, I just feel defeated. 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:55.240 Now. 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:58.000 I feel like, how can I possibly even make a 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:01.200 dent in removing these these toxins for my life. 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:03.880 So I do a lot of work with the Environmental 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:06.480 Working Group, which is known as the EWG, and they 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:09.080 talk about this a lot. And the reason I started 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:13.080 working with them is because I felt so overwhelmed. I 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:16.640 was so freaked out because these microplastics, they say they're 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:20.200 messing with our hormones, our immune systems, some studies even 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:24.880 say our fertility and so that panic is definitely real, 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:28.920 but organizations like the EWG break it down, and so 0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:32.400 I think our guest today is also somebody who is 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:35.239 going to break down this information in a way that 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:38.760 feels like we're a little bit more in control and 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:41.040 we can try and avoid some of these things and 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:42.760 lessen our panic. Yeah. 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:46.160 Doctor Heather Leslie is a scientist and truly a leading 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:48.880 expert in the realm of microplastics. She was actually part 0:02:48.919 --> 0:02:52.239 of the team that first detected microplastics and human blood. 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:56.320 If you can imagine how monumental that knowledge would have 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.760 been at that time. I obviously have tons of questions. 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:01.519 I want to get to the truth, I want to 0:03:01.560 --> 0:03:04.040 get past the panic, and I want to understand how 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:07.520 these plastics are really affecting us. So let's bring her 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:09.600 in joining us all the way from Amsterdam. 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:11.560 It's doctor Heather Leslie. 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:13.680 Doctor Leslie, welcome to the right side. 0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:14.680 Thank you very much. 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:16.880 So we're going to get into all of the science 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:18.000 and all the important stuff. 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:19.880 But I have to ask you right off the bat, 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:22.600 am I actually eating a credit cards worth of plastic 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:23.200 every week? 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:24.720 That's kind of fake news. 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:28.320 I think we are eating something, but it's not exactly 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:30.519 the same thing as a credit card a plastic. 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:32.720 I feel so relieved hearing that. 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:34.040 Yeah, I'm glad. 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:37.800 What exactly falls under the microplastics umbrella? 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:38.720 What are we eating? 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:39.200 Yeah? 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:43.360 Well, microplastics are a really complicated kind of toxicant because 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:46.320 they're made up of so many different chemicals. You have 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:49.120 the polymers, which I sometimes refer to as as spaghetti, 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:51.920 but then you have additives, which I call the sauce. 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:55.200 So it's a sort of a cocktail of chemicals that 0:03:55.240 --> 0:03:58.200 are in a microplastic. So one piece of plastic you 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:00.640 can have four hundred different chemicals in there. 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:04.400 What are the primary sources of microplastics? Are they solely 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:07.800 the result of larger plastics breaking down or are there 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:09.520 other ways that they enter the environment. 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:11.680 Well, most of them are just shreds that are just 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:14.640 eroding off of our plastic stuff. But you do have 0:04:14.720 --> 0:04:19.040 some microplastics that are we call them primary microplastics, and 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:22.760 they're manufactured to be microplastics. You see that sometimes in 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:27.160 cosmetics or personal care product they make microbeads put in there, 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:31.800 and that's an example of intentionally made plastic that are 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:33.320 micro sized. 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:37.279 And is there a breakdown primarily a result of time, heat, 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:38.520 physical wear, and tear. 0:04:38.680 --> 0:04:40.440 What are the key processes at play? 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:42.680 Those are good key processes. 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:46.360 So when you have a UV light like sunshine on plastic, 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:48.960 it breaks it down a little bit faster. But nothing's 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:52.240 linear with breakdown of plastics. Sometimes you know something will 0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:55.919 crack and it will break. But then to really break down, 0:04:56.800 --> 0:04:59.279 to completely mineralize, to go back to the earth, let's 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:03.080 say it takes hundreds of years, if not longer. 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:07.200 Doctor Leslie Danielle threw out that headline at you at 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:10.400 the top of this conversation, and you responded saying it's 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:14.440 fake news. And for me, that's what I really want 0:05:14.560 --> 0:05:17.440 to get out of this conversation, not just for me 0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:20.880 and my family, but also for our listeners. I really 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:23.000 want to cut through the panic here and try to 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:26.039 understand what is a healthy amount of awareness about this 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:33.040 issue and what is an unhealthy amount of fear around microplastics. 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:35.840 What is a healthy perspective on this, What is a 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:40.080 healthy way to view how these toxins are impacting us? 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:43.719 Yeah, well, I think no amount of fear is healthy. 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:47.560 So fear is just bad for us, bad for your health. Basically, 0:05:47.680 --> 0:05:51.440 so turn down the fear. It is a serious issue though, 0:05:52.040 --> 0:05:54.320 and I spent a lot of years my life working 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:56.680 on this, and I hope I didn't waste that time. 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:01.200 I do think that our world, in our bodies with 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:04.800 the world, are getting polluted with a lot of different chemicals, 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:07.520 and this is you know, some people don't mind having 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:09.640 a lot of chemicals in their bodies. Some of us 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:13.000 still put chemicals in our body on purpose that aren't 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:15.280 good for us. And I think everybody should be free 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:18.240 to just choose, but when it comes to pollution, you 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:20.560 don't really have too much freedom to choose, or there's 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:23.240 limitations to that, and that's where it gets to be 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:25.920 a bit problematic, where you you know, you really want 0:06:25.960 --> 0:06:28.520 to be able to choose what goes into your body. 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:32.760 And microplastics are made up of many different components, so 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:36.680 polymers and a lot of chemicals, and some of them 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:40.680 are harmless, but some of them can cause toxic effects 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:45.400 like hormone disruption or neurotoxicity. And one of the ones 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:49.359 that the microplastics are getting known for is their ability 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:53.680 to cause inflammation. So it's an immune system response and 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:56.680 what we don't want in our bodies is inflammation, especially 0:06:56.720 --> 0:07:01.360 on the long term, because a long term inflammation is 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:04.240 like a prelude to a lot of chronic diseases. So 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:08.560 I think it's just prudent to when you signal something 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:12.360 on the horizon that there's some indications that there's a 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:15.680 problem with toxicity, that we just try to limit our 0:07:16.040 --> 0:07:19.720 exposure to these components, and we really have to keep 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:23.120 on doing the research to deliver the answers. Just that 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:25.920 science is a bit slow to deliver all the answers 0:07:25.920 --> 0:07:26.280 at once. 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:28.920 Well that's not always a bad thing. I'd rather slow 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:31.000 and accurate versus fast and untrue. 0:07:31.280 --> 0:07:31.840 Definitely. 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:34.760 So I want to underscore something that you just said. 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:37.600 You said that the priority is to limit exposure, because 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:41.960 at this point it feels like completely cutting off exposure 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:46.480 to microplastics just seems unrealistic. So what does it look 0:07:46.600 --> 0:07:49.760 like to limit our exposure to these microplastics. 0:07:50.000 --> 0:07:52.800 Yeah, so I think it's what you said. It's impossible 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:56.040 to fully limit your exposure to microplastics on the planet Earth. 0:07:56.600 --> 0:07:57.720 So what I do. 0:07:57.640 --> 0:08:00.880 Also is to take small steps to where it's living 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:03.760 more aligned with what I really want my body to 0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:06.680 be in contact with. So you can think about it 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:09.040 in your home. Next time you buy a blanket, you 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:13.640 don't have to buy a polyester blanket or nylon clothing, 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:19.760 or any kind of interior carpets or curtains, anything that 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:23.200 you're bringing into your home furniture. If it's not plastic, 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:26.679 it's not going to shed plastic. And if it's not plastic, 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:30.400 it won't be carrying plastic additives in it. And sometimes 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:33.480 the solution to a problem can also bring other problems 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:35.439 with it, so you have to pay attention. 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:40.240 But yeah, how close are we to understanding the long 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:42.960 term health effects of microplastics? 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:46.760 I think the long term health effects are a long 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:50.679 way away in our understanding. What we will first find 0:08:50.679 --> 0:08:54.520 out is what happens at a cellular level, because toxicity 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:57.640 testing in a laboratory will look at, you know, really 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:01.480 zoom in on something very molecular level. But then how 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:05.480 that all pans out for the individual body or a 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:08.360 whole population of people. That takes a lot of time 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:11.600 and a lot of resources, and it's just a question 0:09:11.640 --> 0:09:14.679 of whether we're going to be investing that. One thing 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:18.719 I can say is that if diseases pop up that 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:22.640 are from environmental factors, they often pop up in occupationally 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:26.200 exposed people. So people may be working in a workplace 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:29.720 where there's a lot of plastic dust that they're inhaling, 0:09:29.960 --> 0:09:33.719 or in another way, they're swallowing a lot of chemicals, 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:39.520 or they're breeding it in. And these populations are sometimes 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:43.959 the populations where we first see diseases arising. So that 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:47.000 could accelerate some of our understanding, but I hope it 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:49.600 doesn't get to that point that people are getting really acutely, 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:50.760 very sick from this stuff. 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:54.760 So would you explain what exactly is happening in our 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:59.240 bodies when microplastics invade our organs and our bloodstream. 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.160 So a few years ago, we published a paper that 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:06.640 showed plastics to be floating around in our bloodstream, and 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:08.880 of course your blood goes everywhere in your body, so 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:11.560 it will be present in all of your tissues and 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:14.880 organs as well. And we were a bit surprised how 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:17.520 much we did find. I mean, it's a preliminary study 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:22.720 that has since been redone and with similar results, so 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:25.800 it seems like we do have exposure in there. And 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:28.880 if a microplastic is in a bloodstream, and I've looked 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:33.319 at microplastics in blood samples under a microscope, and you 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:36.360 can see that your immune cells are really active, so 0:10:36.400 --> 0:10:40.960 they immediately sense there's an invader and they will go 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:44.960 and attack this piece of plastic. And these immune cells 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:48.680 have enzymes inside which they try to break down the 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:52.040 plastic because they're treating the plastic particle like a bacteria. 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:58.199 But the problem is that plastics, unlike bacteria, don't succumb 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:02.079 to an enzyme attack. So after a few days, the 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:05.320 cell gives up and the enzymes get released into whatever 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:09.800 tissue is nearby that can also cause an inflammation, and 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:12.920 then the plastic still remains there. And I don't know 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:15.960 how long it will take for a body to eliminate 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:20.440 the plastic that it receives today. Nobody, I think, knows 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:23.800 that yet, but we do know that the rate of 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:27.920 absorption of these plastics is certainly faster than the rate 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:30.320 that we are able to eliminate them. Otherwise we wouldn't 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:32.440 be finding them in our bodies, in all these organs 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:34.960 that you see in the news and also in our 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:36.000 study in the bloodstream. 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:40.520 When did this first pop up, and maybe even particularly 0:11:40.559 --> 0:11:46.000 in American culture, did something change in industry or was this. 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:47.160 Always the case? 0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:50.640 We were always ingesting a ton of microplastics, and only 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:54.760 in the last ten twenty years are we studying it. Yeah. 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:58.400 Well, the very first signals of microplastics was in the 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:01.199 Sergasso Sea and that was the end of the sixties. 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:06.640 But there were also patents for using pulverized plastic in 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:10.480 makeup like blush and things like that, those who go 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:13.439 back to the fifties. Even so, it's been on some 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:18.280 people's radars, but certainly hasn't been on mainstream radar until 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:21.440 fairly recently. And one of the people who was really 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:26.200 instrumental in bringing it to the public was Captain Charles Moore, 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:30.400 also from California, who went out sailing on the Pacific 0:12:30.440 --> 0:12:35.680 Ocean and stumbled across old toothbrushes and bottles and toys 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.520 that were floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:41.760 and he thought, that's crazy, what are these things doing here? 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:43.000 And he's been. 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:45.920 Also studying microplastics in the sea as well, so he 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:46.960 really put it on the map. 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:50.600 I would say, we have to take a quick break, 0:12:50.600 --> 0:13:03.240 but we'll be right back with doctor Heather Leslie. And 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:05.200 we're back with doctor Heather Leslie. 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:09.360 Well, doctor Leslie, we also have to give you your 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:13.280 flowers because you are a leading expert in this space, 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:17.640 and you're known for your pioneering research in identifying and 0:13:17.720 --> 0:13:21.600 quantifying microplastics in human bloodstream for the very first time, 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:24.040 which is huge. And you also led the EU's first 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:26.760 research project on marine plastic pollution, which you were just 0:13:26.760 --> 0:13:30.800 speaking about the prevalence of microplastics in marine pollution. How 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:34.640 much has changed from your vantage point? How has the 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:39.720 prevalence of microplastics in society evolved since you started doing 0:13:39.720 --> 0:13:40.199 this work. 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:44.160 Yeah, I really noticed a lot of more attention than 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:47.480 compared to the past. I mean sometimes I'm sitting on 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:50.640 the train and I hear some people talking about cleaning 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:54.840 products or microplastics in their toothpaste. And it's not just 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:57.200 because of my research, but also because of NGOs that 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:00.280 amplify the message and they take the research that they 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:02.400 put it out there in their platforms, and I think 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:04.120 there's a lot of awareness now. 0:14:04.720 --> 0:14:07.920 School kids seem to know just as much as I know. 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:11.600 If I speak to them, they're full of knowledge and 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:15.920 also solutions and they're very very concerned, so they're very 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:19.640 easy also to make their changes. You know, they love nature, 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:23.440 they love animals, and they're willing to do something for it. 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:25.840 Well, I have two kids, and I think about just 0:14:25.920 --> 0:14:29.400 how hard it is to limit their exposure to microplastics. 0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:33.600 I mean, plastic seems to be the prevailing material that 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:36.840 companies use to create products for children. It's in the toys, 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:40.360 it's in the sippy cups, it's in the plastic plates. 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:44.200 And I know that I should be reaching for stainless steel, 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:47.920 But I'd love to hear any alternatives that you might 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:51.800 have for parents out there who are looking to limit 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:52.920 exposure in their own home. 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:54.440 Yeah, that's a good point. 0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:57.480 Children are also, that's an early life stage, and they 0:14:57.520 --> 0:14:59.680 are more sensitive than adults to a lot of these 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:05.120 hormone disrupting chemicals and possibly also the microplastics itself. So 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:09.000 we've seen some studies coming out about baby bottles that 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:12.160 you know, especially when you heat up plastic or have 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:16.480 warm liquids or warm food in plastic containers, that's really 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:19.480 when processes go a little faster and you get even 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:22.960 more exposure. So, as I said, if there's no plastic 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:26.680 in the product, it won't come out into your food 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:29.160 or it won't be exposed to your child to plastic. 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:33.800 It's very difficult, but I think it's okay to start 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:36.800 with one thing and slowly work your way up to 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:39.880 seeing how far you can get, see how jazzed up 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:42.840 you can get. To reduce your plastic exposure. A lot 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:45.160 of kids will put things in their mouths. You have 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:48.840 the stuffed animals, and I think, you know, we can't 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:52.640 just reduce the amount of joy that kids get from 0:15:52.680 --> 0:15:56.600 having their toys, but we can start to, especially for 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:59.120 really young age groups that put a lot of things 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:02.360 into their mouths, try to reduce the amount of things 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:05.320 that are made of plastic and look for more natural 0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:08.240 materials than natural dyes and things like that. But I 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:11.160 feel sorry for parents because it seems like a big 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:14.160 mountain of work to do, just like for adults, but 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:16.160 for children it's a special case. 0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:17.880 Yes, it's very intimidating. 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:21.600 Yeah, and I'm here really to say not to be intimidated. 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:24.000 I think just to do the best you can to 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:28.440 set the intention. Whenever you make a choice, maybe it'll 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:30.880 enter your head and you'll be able to choose a 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:33.840 different option. And that's the way to go. Because we 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:37.360 can't change everything overnight. But there are so many things 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:39.640 that we can do, and I think a lot of 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:42.160 people look towards the government and waiting for them to 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:46.000 change things for us. And it's also an American style 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:49.440 of thinking to just think for yourself to get it 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:53.880 done without help, you know, And I really admire that. 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:56.920 I think that's the way to go because in my experience, 0:16:56.920 --> 0:16:59.480 I've talked a lot with governments, but I think they're 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:02.560 going to be the last ones. After all the companies 0:17:02.560 --> 0:17:05.959 have changed and all the people like us have changed 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:08.359 into a new way of living, then they're going to 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:10.800 catch up and they'll regulate it all for us. But 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:13.320 you know, I really think that we have to be 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:16.240 ahead of the game to draw us into the future 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:18.679 of living a less plasticized life. 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:21.239 It's a really important perspective shift. Thank you. 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:27.440 I am really into trying to reduce toxins in my life. 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:34.120 Cleaning products, makeup, even my mattress, bath towels. A few 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:37.560 years ago really tried to do an overhaul. And I 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:41.119 remember asking my physician when I was like at the 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:45.199 beginning stages of this, if I made one swap today, 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:47.560 what is the first thing that I should do? And 0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:51.320 this was just his personal perspective, but he said, deodorant 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:53.720 because it's going right into your lymph nodes. If you 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:56.840 could swap one thing, that would be my recommendation. So 0:17:57.560 --> 0:17:59.080 I say that all to say, I know this is 0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:02.280 a tough question, but if you could make the number 0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:06.440 one recommendation today, what is one way that we can 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:09.600 reduce our exposure to microplastics? 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:13.560 I would have to go with food. So processed food, 0:18:14.000 --> 0:18:16.800 like getting away from whole foods will get you into 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:19.639 more microplastics and also other chemicals. 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:21.439 I think it's for all around health. 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:25.000 It's a really very very strong way to make a 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:29.359 difference in your exposure. Of course, food is something is 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:32.400 going right into our bodies, just like a deodorant through 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:32.840 the skin. 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:33.879 But I mean. 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:37.399 Ingesting something is very direct way of getting it inside. 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:40.479 I mean, just about two generations, I think the world 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:43.679 has kind of switched to things that come in a package, 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:49.000 and the packaging releases a lot of chemicals and also microplastics. 0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:51.800 If you rip something open, of course, plastic is going 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:55.000 to get inside. Chewing gum is also made of plastic. 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:57.920 You don't swallow it normally, but you could also avoid that. 0:18:58.440 --> 0:18:59.399 So yeah, I would say. 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:02.160 Food is is a really big source of a lot 0:19:02.240 --> 0:19:03.240 of toxicity. 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:06.240 At the same time as being something that keeps us alive. 0:19:06.800 --> 0:19:09.640 But I think if you can improve your food quality, 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:12.000 I think it's the single most thing I would recommend. 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:14.359 That is huge. Thank you for sharing that. 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:18.680 It's time for another short break. We'll be right back 0:19:18.720 --> 0:19:29.639 with doctor Heather Leslie. And we're back with doctor Heather Leslie. 0:19:30.800 --> 0:19:33.560 Doctor Leslie, can we go through a few potential swaps 0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:34.520 for plastic with you? 0:19:34.840 --> 0:19:35.240 Sure? 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:38.679 All right, let's talk about tea bags, paper coffee cups, 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:40.360 you know the ones that you get at coffee shops. 0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:41.840 Are there any swaps for these? 0:19:42.520 --> 0:19:42.760 Oh? 0:19:42.800 --> 0:19:47.680 Sure yeah. Paper cups with the polyethylene lining, and the 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:51.240 polyethylene will start to melt even before one hundred degrees 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:55.360 celsius like boiling water temperature. So I would say if 0:19:55.359 --> 0:19:57.520 you don't need to buy a coffee in one of 0:19:57.520 --> 0:19:58.960 those cups, or if you can get it in a 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:01.720 real cup or bring your on cup, it's much better. 0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:07.200 Tea bags also give off a lot of microplastics, and 0:20:07.760 --> 0:20:10.480 loose tea is lovely to use. You have a little 0:20:10.480 --> 0:20:13.520 tea egg or in my teapot, a teapot with a 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:15.000 built in little filter. 0:20:15.400 --> 0:20:17.520 Last year we spoke with a doctor who told us 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:20.840 to never ever microwave or reheat anything that's in plastic. 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:26.080 What exactly happens when we microwave plastic? How bad is it? 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:28.440 Well, yeah, that's another heating process. 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:32.560 So the plastic gets warmed up, and that will encourage 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:35.480 the chemicals that are in the plastic to leave and 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:39.160 go in volatilized. They just evaporate and they go into 0:20:39.160 --> 0:20:42.480 your food. And then also the material is a little 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:46.760 bit structurally damaged by every heating episode, so a little 0:20:46.800 --> 0:20:50.680 bit of microplastic will will be released. Then using plastic 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:52.240 in a microwave is not a good idea. You can 0:20:52.320 --> 0:20:56.000 just put it in a glass container or ceramic container 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:57.480 and heat it up. 0:20:57.800 --> 0:20:59.760 I think that one of the biggest scams of the 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:05.280 twin first century was bottled water. Everybody thought that nodding 0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:07.920 your head, yes, we were doing a good thing by 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:12.600 or a healthy thing by drinking water. And there's a 0:21:12.640 --> 0:21:16.160 ton of reasons that bottled water is bad, but microplastics 0:21:16.200 --> 0:21:17.600 has to be at the top of that list. 0:21:17.600 --> 0:21:19.919 Are you able to explain why it's. 0:21:19.840 --> 0:21:21.920 Very difficult to measure microplastics in water? 0:21:22.160 --> 0:21:25.719 I can say, but there are studies that have found 0:21:26.040 --> 0:21:29.359 just millions of them, you know, or at least hundreds 0:21:29.400 --> 0:21:30.600 of thousands in one liter. 0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:31.840