Scientists are still working on a definitive answer. Experts are currently studying the presence and impact of microplastics in the body, including exactly what happens after they enter your system, whether you ingest or inhale them.
Additional evidence in humans is needed to better understand the trajectory of microplastics in the body — and what to do if they linger there — but some initial research performed in both animals and human cadavers suggests that particles accumulate in your cells and may migrate to different tissues throughout the body.
On the detox front, one preliminary study hypothesized that microplastics may be physically removed from the body with a procedure known as therapeutic apheresis, which is the process of removing blood, filtering out any harmful compounds, and then returning the blood back to the patient.
This procedure is typically performed for those who have blood disorders.
While additional evidence and larger studies are needed to expand on this theory, some experts say tactics like these won’t solve the issue of repeated microplastics exposure.
“If you’re a human living in the modern world, you’re going to be continually exposed to microplastics, and you could technically get your blood cleaned, but then as soon as you walk back out, you’re going to be re-exposed,” says Susanne Brander, PhD, an environmental toxicologist and an associate professor in the department of environmental and molecular toxicology at Oregon State University in Corvallis, whose laboratory researches the effects of microplastics and endocrine disrupting compounds on health. “There have been lots of articles published on how to reduce your exposure to microplastics — but you can’t reduce it completely. It’s just not possible.”
Read the full article here
