1 00:00:01,360 --> 00:00:04,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Wellness En mass I'm doctor Nicole Saffire, and 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: today we're going to talk about a new study that 3 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: is just revealing again how many microplastics we are exposed 4 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: to every single day. Now, the conversation about microplastics, this 5 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:20,600 Speaker 1: is not a conspiracy theory. This isn't some crazy futuristic 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: conversation like, oh, one day maybe we'll learn about microplastics. No, 7 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 1: absolutely not. Our exposure to microplastics it's a real problem. 8 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: And I'll be honest, I'm a little bit disappointed because 9 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,279 Speaker 1: the updated MAJA report they'd mentioned it and all they 10 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: said was, you know what we're going to do. We're 11 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: going to put a lot of money into studying microplastics. 12 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: I don't need any more studies because I'm telling you 13 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:51,479 Speaker 1: it's a problem. I'll break down for you guys briefly 14 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: some of the studies that I'm talking about, and you 15 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: tell me, do you think we should spend millions of 16 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: dollars to study it more? Or should we spend millions 17 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: of dollars to try and decrease how much we consume. 18 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: So the study that just came out in the last week, Now, 19 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,839 Speaker 1: mind you, this isn't some groundbreaking study. It's not brand new, 20 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: but it's a new study and it's a study out 21 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: of the UK. And they decided to look at a 22 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: whole bunch of different beverages and they tested them. They 23 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,679 Speaker 1: wanted to see at the bottom of the beverages, so 24 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,320 Speaker 1: after they were consumed, you know, if it's tea or 25 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: if it's coffee, and there's still some grinds or whatever 26 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: is left at the bottom, they tested that little bit 27 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 1: of fluid left over. It was about one hundred and 28 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,400 Speaker 1: fifty five samples of various different beverages all throughout UK 29 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: supermarkets and coffee shops. They found microplastics inside every single 30 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: one and the contamination or the amount of microplastics in 31 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: each varied and so it actually does make a difference 32 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: in what you are consuming. You know, when most people 33 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: hear the term microplastics, they're thinking like soda bottles breaking 34 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: down in the ocean, or the garbage on the side 35 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: of the road, and somehow these particles are getting into everything. 36 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: But no, no, no, the reality is far more unsettling 37 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 1: than that. These studies are showing that tiny plastic particles, 38 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: tiny tiny, tiny plastic particles are entering our bodies through 39 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: what we eat, what we drink, and even the air 40 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: we breathe. They're showing up in places that really we 41 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: should all be flabbergasted at how many microplastics are in 42 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 1: what we're consuming. So the study out of Birmingham looked 43 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,960 Speaker 1: at just beverages and what they found was the highest 44 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: amount of microplastics were in hot tea. Now, if you 45 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: watch me on Fox and Friends, you follow me on 46 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 1: social media, this is not breaking news to you, because 47 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,519 Speaker 1: I've already told you about it. Tea bags are one 48 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: of the biggest culprits when it comes to exposure to microplastics. 49 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: And they also think when a beverage is warm, this 50 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: causes the microplastics to kind of break off from wherever 51 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: they are and enter into the liquid. So hot tea, 52 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: you have the tea bag and it's hot, the amount 53 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:14,119 Speaker 1: of microplastics are the highest than any other beverage. There's 54 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: another study. It took place, I think in like twenty 55 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: twenty four. It found microplastics in nearly eighty nine percent 56 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:25,079 Speaker 1: of healthy adults. These are just from regular blood samples. 57 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: They take someone's blood, they looked at it under a 58 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 1: microscope and low and behold there's plastic in our blood. 59 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: In fact, about four particles per milli later of blood. 60 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 1: And maybe that doesn't sound like a lot, but you 61 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: have a lot more than a milli liter in your 62 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: body circulating. And it's not like you're just being exposed 63 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: once or twice to microplastics. This is cumulative. They're going 64 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: to continue to grow and in number as you live. 65 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: So again it may sound small, but researcher discovering that 66 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: people with the higher levels they also had more inflammatory 67 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: marks in their blood. They also had higher risk of 68 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: blood clotting. So it's pretty obvious that if you have 69 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: plastic circulating in your blood, your blood and your body 70 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: are like, what is this foreign body We're going to 71 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 1: send our inflammatory markers or inflammatory cells. It's going to 72 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,920 Speaker 1: trigger the clotting cascade, which happens with inflammation, and you're 73 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 1: going to have systemic inflammation and maybe an increase risk 74 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:29,239 Speaker 1: of clotting disorders. I mean, that's a problem. Another study 75 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: further quantified it. So when I just say microplastics are bad, 76 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:35,840 Speaker 1: people are really trying to look at exactly how bad 77 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 1: it is or what the number is. I personally don't 78 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:42,159 Speaker 1: care about the numbers microplastics are bad. The average load 79 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 1: in this one study showed one point six micro grams 80 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:49,839 Speaker 1: of plastic per mile liter of blood. And that's made 81 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:56,160 Speaker 1: up of plastics from water bottles, polyethylene from packaging materials. 82 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:00,320 Speaker 1: In other words, the same plastics that hold our food 83 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: and hold all of these other things together. It's just 84 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: circulating in our blood stream. It's pretty scary. They looked 85 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: at a placenta in twenty twenty one. They looked at 86 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: various placentas and they found microplastic fragments in the placenta. 87 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: So if a pregnant woman has microplastics in their blood, 88 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: of course it's going to go through the placenta to 89 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 1: get to the baby, because that's exactly how babies get 90 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: their nutrition and their blood straight from the mother. Why 91 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: do you think that the microplastics in the mother's blood 92 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,600 Speaker 1: aren't going to actually get there? So is it surprising 93 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:39,280 Speaker 1: that the placentas have plastics. No, in fact, essentially saying 94 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: that babies are getting microplastics exposed to them before they 95 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 1: even take their first breath. But it's even more than that. 96 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: So we've talked about just checking someone's blood. We've checked 97 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:59,160 Speaker 1: placentas by the way. We've also done autopsies. Now, mind you, 98 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: there haven't been a time of autopsies looking at microplastics, 99 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 1: but there have been some, and some studies have reported 100 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 1: on it. One of them, they were looking at the lungs, 101 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:13,600 Speaker 1: found an average of three microplastics particles per sample, when 102 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: some much more than that. Again, I'm not going to 103 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:17,720 Speaker 1: get stuck on the numbers because I don't think the 104 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 1: numbers matter. I just want to hear are there microplastics 105 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:24,839 Speaker 1: there or they're not. One thing that they found was 106 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 1: they found microplastics again in the lung also in the 107 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: liver and in the kidneys. Now, I'm not really surprised 108 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 1: that these particles are depositing in the lungs because if 109 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: you're breathing in things, we know that pollution, toxins, cigarette, smoke, everything, 110 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:44,719 Speaker 1: As you breathe it in, it gets stuck into the lungs. 111 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 1: And so that's why you see those pictures of like 112 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: gross black lungs from smokers, because yeah, those toxins get 113 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,359 Speaker 1: stuck there. So if you're breathing in plastics, they're getting 114 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: stuck there too. Your kidney and your livers. They are 115 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: meant to filter your blood stream and so it makes 116 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: sense to me that you're going to find plastics in 117 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,039 Speaker 1: the liver, plastics in the kidney because they're trying to 118 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:10,720 Speaker 1: filter it all out. Here's the thing that I found 119 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: a little bit concerning, and by a little bit concerning, 120 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: I'm like, oh my gosh, hold the phone alarms are 121 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 1: going off. This one post mortem research study, meaning again 122 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: on cadavers people are already dead. It revealed that micro 123 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: and nanoplastics, you know, just small pieces of plastic can 124 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,119 Speaker 1: actually reach the human brain. This is a big deal. 125 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: The brain is supposed to be protected by the blood 126 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: brain barrier and not everything is supposed to get there. 127 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: But what they found was there were seven to thirty 128 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: times more microplastics and brain tissue than in the liver 129 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:55,000 Speaker 1: and the kidneys. That's a problem. Liver and kidney's supposed 130 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: to be filtering it out, but what's happening Microplastics getting 131 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: to the brain, staying in the brain. And then they 132 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: took it step further because I guess you can argue, well, 133 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 1: what's the big deal. Microplastics are just in the brain. 134 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: If it's not causing a problem, then what's the big deal. 135 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: Why not have microplastics in the brain. Okay, I guess 136 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 1: we can talk about that hypothetical. But guess what what 137 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: they decided to do was they looked at the postmortem 138 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: patients who had the microplastics in the brain, and Yep, 139 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: you guessed it. The patients who had a history of 140 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: dementia had more microplastics in their brain. So what does 141 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 1: this mean. I don't know. Well, we don't really have 142 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: definitive answers about health outcomes. And you hear again like 143 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:41,079 Speaker 1: Maha and other people saying, well, we're just going to 144 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: study it some more to figure out what it is. 145 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,840 Speaker 1: But here's what I'm telling you. I'm telling you that 146 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: we already have studies that show patients with dementia have 147 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:56,720 Speaker 1: more microplastics in their brain. We have blood studies showing 148 00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: that patients who have microplastics in their blood, which let's 149 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:01,559 Speaker 1: be on us, it's most of us at this point 150 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: have inflammatory markers, clotting disorders, or clotting cascades been activated. 151 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 1: When our whole goal is to try and decrease our 152 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 1: risk of chronic inflammation. If we are continuing to consume 153 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 1: these microplastics, all we're doing is putting microplastics into our bloodstream. 154 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: It's getting deposited into our various organs, and it's increasing 155 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: our risk of chronic disease. I mean, inflammation in itself 156 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:32,440 Speaker 1: is linked to diabetes and cancers and autoimmune diseases. Obviously 157 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: we've been talking a lot about dementia, but maybe it's 158 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: maybe there will be link to certain brain cancers. I 159 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: guess that is one reason to study it. But my 160 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: biggest concern is we can't wait ten to twenty years 161 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,320 Speaker 1: to continue to study. We have to start taking some 162 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:52,080 Speaker 1: action now to do everything we can to decrease our 163 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:55,440 Speaker 1: exposure to microplastics. I mean, I can't even begin to 164 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,840 Speaker 1: think about how awful it was, how long it took 165 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:01,959 Speaker 1: for people to find say, Hi, you know what Sicka 166 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 1: is smoking. That's probably not good for us because it 167 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 1: went for a couple of decades of thinking it was fine. 168 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:10,599 Speaker 1: In fact, there are even some commercials back in the 169 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:14,680 Speaker 1: day where it was recommended to help open up your lungs. 170 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,240 Speaker 1: We're still dealing with the consequences of that because of 171 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 1: how detrimental it was for our human health. I don't 172 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 1: want microplastics to be there. We're already behind. If you 173 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: think that you don't have microplastics in your blood. You do. 174 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: I'm sorry to tell you that, but you do. It's 175 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 1: probably in your brain too. The best we can do 176 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 1: at this point is everything we can to decrease any 177 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 1: more microplastics that we are exposed to. Now, the reality is, 178 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: can we ever get to a zero exposure of microplastics? No, 179 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 1: unless you're going to go live in a bubble, and 180 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 1: it can't be It can't be a plastic bubble. It 181 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: have to be a glass bubble. But unless you are 182 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: going to just go and live in Antarctica by yourself 183 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:59,719 Speaker 1: and have your own water supply and whatnot, you will 184 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: always have some low level exposure. We have just become 185 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: a society where we are incredibly dependent on plastic products. 186 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:09,719 Speaker 1: But there are some key things that you can do 187 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 1: to absolutely decrease the amount of microplastics that you and 188 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: your family are exposed to. Again, I'm not sharing this 189 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: to just scare you, but i want to empower you 190 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:21,280 Speaker 1: because if I'm trying to do stuff in my own home, 191 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 1: I like to share it with you. So again, we 192 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 1: can't eliminate this exposure entirely, but we can reduce it. 193 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:31,080 Speaker 1: Some of the biggest ways we can decrease our exposure 194 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:36,319 Speaker 1: to microplastics first and foremost. I know, but let's stop 195 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:40,320 Speaker 1: using tea bags. This breaks my heart. I love hot tea. 196 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:42,439 Speaker 1: I love hot tea in the morning, I love hot 197 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:44,480 Speaker 1: tea at noon, and I love hot tea at night. 198 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: I love the various herbs. But I got to tell you, 199 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: plastic tea bags terrible, absolutely terrible. And by the way, 200 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:56,559 Speaker 1: iced tea still has microplastics in it, but less than 201 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: hot tea. So try to go with loose leaf tea. 202 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:02,600 Speaker 1: I know that gets a little cumbersome what I have 203 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:05,840 Speaker 1: started doing at work because I used to have tea 204 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: every single afternoon. I am known to have turmeric and 205 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,319 Speaker 1: ginger tea in the afternoon. I love it. It's a great 206 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: way to kind of kick off the afternoon. Turmeric is 207 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 1: naturally in anti inflammatory. But so instead of the tea bag, 208 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:26,600 Speaker 1: I actually am using liquid herbs. It's nice that I 209 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: actually happen to make tinctures that are liquid herbs. I 210 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 1: didn't actually when I created them. It didn't occur to 211 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 1: me that I would be using them in this way. 212 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: But as I have continued to learn more about microplastics, 213 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 1: it has become my favorite thing. Is to now take 214 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: liquid herbs and put them in hot water, and that 215 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:49,320 Speaker 1: is my new way of consuming herbal tea. You can 216 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 1: have herbs that decrease your inflammation, give you energy, help 217 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: calm you down. Whatever it is. You can try it 218 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 1: with liquid rbs or just natural herbs. You can get 219 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: herbs herbs from the store or again loose leaf tea, 220 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:06,000 Speaker 1: and that's only if you're a tea drinker. Coffee drinkers, 221 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:10,160 Speaker 1: try not to use plastic cups, plastic tops. If you're 222 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: going to your coffee shops and all of that, you 223 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:15,560 Speaker 1: have to know that all of those to go cups, 224 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 1: they're all lined with some sort of plastic inside. So 225 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: if you're putting a hot beverage in it, yes, that 226 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 1: microplastic particles are going to come off. You're going to 227 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 1: drink it. It's going to get into your blood and 228 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 1: then it's going to sit in all of your organs 229 00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 1: for who knows however long and who knows what it 230 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: is going to do. So maybe bring your own stainless 231 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,640 Speaker 1: steel or a glass bottle. Trying not to use those 232 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:45,280 Speaker 1: disposable bottles and plastic bottles are obviously a big no no, 233 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: especially if they've been sitting out in the sun or 234 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 1: if they've gotten warm, because as you warm up the plastic, 235 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:55,360 Speaker 1: it tends to have the little microplastic particles go into 236 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:59,840 Speaker 1: the liquid. Another big thing. Stop microwaving things and plastic. 237 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:04,080 Speaker 1: Let's do it. Let's stop exact same concept. The heat 238 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: accelerates the breakdown. It gets into the food and then 239 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:12,079 Speaker 1: you consume it. So put it into a glass, try 240 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:15,320 Speaker 1: and warm it up on the stovetop. And also this 241 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 1: sounds kind of funny as well, but consider washing your 242 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: synthetic clothing less often. Now I have three boys, I 243 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: can't I cannot have them rewar things. But in that 244 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:33,000 Speaker 1: whole athletic athleisure wear that everyone's into these days, there 245 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 1: is actually chemicals in it that are plastics that are 246 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 1: being shown to stay on our skin and absorb that way. 247 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,400 Speaker 1: The reality is the skin is your biggest organ. You 248 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 1: absorb a lot from your skin. So while we think 249 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: of microplastic consumption as something we eat or drink, we 250 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 1: also have to think about what we're putting on our bodies. 251 00:14:54,480 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 1: Because whether it's your clothing, whether it's lotions, whether it's 252 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,160 Speaker 1: an oil you put on, your body is absorbing all 253 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: of this. So just check the ingredients before you put 254 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: stuff on. Again, I'm not telling you to avoid everything, 255 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: but I'm just saying we could all probably do a 256 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: little bit better in reducing our exposure. And a big 257 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,080 Speaker 1: thing is, and it's also just a good thing in general, 258 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:24,760 Speaker 1: is keep your air clean. So make sure you're changing 259 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 1: your HVAC filters regularly. I have a couple of air 260 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 1: purifiers in rooms of my house, mainly because one of 261 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: my kiddos has pretty significant seasonal allergies. But microplastics are 262 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:40,440 Speaker 1: in the air from the pollution from car exhaust. And 263 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:43,160 Speaker 1: another thing that I thought was very random, but I 264 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: thought of recently as I was preparing for this episode. 265 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 1: You know that feeling when you get into your car 266 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 1: and it's been hot, and as soon as you open 267 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 1: the door and you sit down inside, it almost smells 268 00:15:55,960 --> 00:16:01,440 Speaker 1: like a little chemically, little synthetic y something going on there. Well, 269 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 1: if that sounds familiar, you are right, because again, if 270 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:10,400 Speaker 1: you have closed your doors, closed your windows, and your 271 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:12,920 Speaker 1: car has heated up, you have a lot of plastic 272 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: in your car, so you're aerosolizing a lot of that plastic. 273 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 1: So one thing that you can do if it's not 274 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:21,360 Speaker 1: raining out, you can crack your window to try and 275 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 1: let some of the airflow, and as soon as you 276 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:25,600 Speaker 1: get in the car, you can also roll down your 277 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:28,720 Speaker 1: windows and just try and kind of let everything escape 278 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: the car. So I guess here's the takeaway. I would 279 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:38,680 Speaker 1: love to say that the government or whomever is going 280 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:42,960 Speaker 1: to start focusing on microplastics and push for smarter policies 281 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,960 Speaker 1: to really curb the whole single use plastics and all 282 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 1: of that, but the reality is, I don't think it's 283 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: very high on their priority. And let's be honest, these 284 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: single use plastics and utensils, they're cheap and it's going 285 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:00,520 Speaker 1: to take a lot of fighting with the end to 286 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: get rid of it. So all I can say is 287 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,239 Speaker 1: we can do things on our own to decrease our 288 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:10,119 Speaker 1: exposure and hopefully decrease the inflammation and the disease that 289 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:12,639 Speaker 1: is probably going to ensue from it. I guess my 290 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 1: takeaway is just basically, this the plastic problem. It's not 291 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: just some pipe dream that we hear about about keeping 292 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:22,119 Speaker 1: the ocean clean. It's actually just everywhere. It's in our blood, 293 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:24,399 Speaker 1: it's in our lungs, it's even in our brains, and 294 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,200 Speaker 1: as we continue to see more people diagnosed with cancer 295 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 1: and dementia and others. Now's the time to take every 296 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: step we can to limit exposure, both individually but also collectively. 297 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:38,440 Speaker 1: Teach your kids, teach your friends. If your friends make 298 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:40,879 Speaker 1: fun of you for carrying a glass water bottle, the 299 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,119 Speaker 1: jokes on them, because when it comes to microplastics, the 300 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,359 Speaker 1: evidence is clear they're already in us. The question is 301 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: what are we going to do about it? Thanks for 302 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:53,680 Speaker 1: listening to Wellness Unmasks on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. 303 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:57,119 Speaker 1: Follow Wellness Unmasks with doctor Nicole Staftfire and start listening 304 00:17:57,160 --> 00:17:59,959 Speaker 1: on the free iHeartRadio app Wherever you get your podcast, 305 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 1: ask and we'll catch you next time.