Disturbing Study Regarding Plastic

Kitchen items sent to the recycle bin

 

Plastic Brain

I’m getting rid of plastics that come into contact with my food and drinks. Maybe it’s already too late to save me from dementia or whatever damage plastics bring about, but I’ll do what I can. Scientists at the Univ. of New Mexico say that in the last 8 years the concentration of microplastics in our brains has risen 50 percent. They studied brain specimens from autopsies to reach this conclusion. 

 

There may not be much I can do to filter out plastics in my environment, but I can control what’s in my house. Seems logical that plastics used to prepare food have a high probability of flaking off particles that end up in my body. In the process of eliminating plastics from my kitchen, I’ve tossed into the recycle bin mixing bowls, spatulas, straws, measuring cups & spoons, pastry brush, colander, and funnel. I’ve bought stainless steel replacements.

 

In the grocery store, I look for soft drinks in cans and dairy products in paper cartons. 

 

My husband refuses to give up our coffee maker that produces coffee using a plastic pod. I’m hoping to get rid of it for an old fashioned perking coffee maker. 

 

Plastics are everywhere and the best solution may be to move to a wilderness, avoid contact with cities, grow vegetables, hunt, and fish for food. But I’m no hunter or farmer. Besides that, giving up city life is tantamount to giving up.

 

More than myself, I worry about my kids and grandkids when I read of research that finds that “the growing amount of nanoplastics in our brain as “alarmingly high” and “appears to be growing over time.”

https://hscnews.unm.edu/news/hsc-newsroom-post-microplastics-human-brains

*Afterthought -- As I was brushing my teeth this morning with a plastic toothbrush, I imagined flakes of microplastics going into my mouth, into my stomach, my brain. What have I been thinking? Why would I scrub my mouth with something so fragile as plastic bristles? Found plant-based brushes online and ordered them. And to my surprise, I found plant-based dental floss picks.