HOW BAD IS A DAILY DOSE OF PLASTIC FOR YOUR HEALTH

 

In today’s world, plastic is an indispensable part of our lives. It provides various benefits and offers numerous future technological and medical advances. But as every coin has two sides its usage and disposable are linked with severe problems too.

Almost everything, from grocery bags to candy wrappers we are surrounded by plastic. For anyone living in this world, it is impossible to completely avoid plastic. We all know that plastic is miserable for us, our planet and wildlife as we are familiar with the ill effects of the use of plastic on our environment. Unknowingly, we’re doing more than just using plastic…...we’re ingesting it too just by eating (using contaminated seafood), drinking (traces of plastics are found in tap water which is used for various purposes) and breathing (microplastics are also present in dust and air).

 

MICROPLASTICS AND ITS EFFECT ON OUR HEALTH

Microplastics are the smallest pieces of plastic found in the environment. They are either created by degradation of large plastic pieces or produced as microbeads for adding in various cosmetic products such as toothpaste, body wash and others.

We all tend to consume microplastics through various channels as already mentioned above. Because of this it is hard to avoid it completely.

Microplastics can cross hardy membranes preserving the brain from many foreign bodies getting into the bloodstream. And there is some evidence that mothers may be able to pass microplastic via placenta to developing fetuses. Another dangerous chemical found in microplastic and food packaging namely styrene has been linked to numerous health issues such as nervous system problems, hearing loss and cancer.

 

HOW TO AVOID MICROPLASTICS

One cannot totally avoid plastic or the harmful chemicals which are found in plastic. But these small initiatives can help us to reduce our and our family exposure to them. Here are some suggestions are as follows:

1. Drink water from your tap

Bottled water has contributed to microplastic ingestion to a greater extent. Instead, drinking water from a tap is preferable to drinking from packed water. Moreover, wastewater treatment can remove more than 90% of microplastics.

2. Don’t heat food in plastic

Heated containers of plastic transfer plastic chemicals directly into the food. Even when plastic containers are labelled “microwave safe” that only means that the container won’t melt in the microwave but definitely transfer chemicals into your food.

3. Minimize household dust

Regularly dust and vacuum is the next suggestion to reduce our exposure to microplastic. This can be done by:

i) Vacuuming and dusting every week.

ii) Using air filters and purifiers.

iii) Opting for hard flooring over carpet.

4. Buy plastic free cosmetics

Microbeads are widely present in cosmetics and household products. One should avoid products with ingredients such as

i) Nylon

ii) Polyethylene

iii) Polypropylene

iv) Polyethylene Terephthalate

v) Polymethyl Methacrylate

5. Buy organic clothes

Synthetic clothing like polyester contributes a lot to microplastics. Whenever possible one should choose clothes which are made up from organic materials namely cotton, silk, wool, hemp and other natural fibers.

STAY SMART AND STAY SATARK !

Blog by~ Yuvanshi