ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — According to the World Economic Forum, by the year 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean. But the environment is not the only thing plastics are impacting. Ivanhoe details what health impacts they can have too.
You exercise and eat plenty of healthy foods, but no matter what you do you can’t seem to shed the pounds. According to new research from Norway, the plastic you have all around your house–from food containers to kids’ toys–may be to blame.
Susan Castriota told Ivanhoe, “I was pretty shocked and dismayed, that I had been kind of sucked into that whole false sense of security with using plastics.”
In a study, researchers extracted chemicals from 34 everyday products, including freezer bags, drinks bottles, and coffee cup lids. They found more than 55,000 chemicals and identified 629 of the substances. Eleven of them are known to disrupt metabolism and promote the growth of fat cells. The most common fat-promoting chemicals, bisphenol A and phthalates, which can be found in everyday plastics and can also affect human development and fertility. So, what are some alternatives to plastic? Use glassware instead of plastic containers for leftovers, swap out plastic straws for stainless steel, bamboo, or even pasta and rice straws, and skip the plastic cutlery for takeout orders. You won’t only be helping to save the environment, but your health too.
In another study, it was found that some plastics can leach chemicals into food, producing an endocrine disrupting effect. They can mess with the hormones that regulate appetite, metabolism, and other bodily functions.
Contributors to this news report include: Milvionne Chery, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor
Sources:
https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/research/data-statistics/periodontal-disease/adults
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c06316
THE SURPRISING WAY PLASTICS AFFECT HEALTH
REPORT #2952
BACKGROUND: Plastic has shaped society in ways that make life easier, however, it has left harmful imprints on the environment and possibly human health. Almost 360 million tons of plastic were produced globally in 2018, and evidence is mounting that the chemical building blocks that make plastics so versatile are the same components that might harm people and the environment. People are exposed to chemicals from plastic multiple times per day through the air, dust, water, food, and use of consumer products. For example, phthalates are used as plasticizers in the manufacture of vinyl flooring and wall coverings, food packaging and medical devices. Eight out of every ten babies, and nearly all adults, have measurable levels of phthalates in their bodies. In addition, bisphenol A (BPA), found in polycarbonate bottles and the linings of food and beverage cans, can leach into food and drinks.
(Source: https://www.ehn.org/plastic-environmental-impact-2501923191/particle-7)
PLASTIC AND HUMAN HEALTH: It is becoming common knowledge that plastic is a human health crisis hiding in plain sight. There is research that reveals the distinct toxic risks plastic poses to human health at every stage of the plastic lifecycle, from extraction of fossil fuels to consumer use, to disposal and beyond. This research focused narrowly on specific moments in the plastic lifecycle, often on single products, processes, or exposure pathways and fails to recognize that significant, complex, and intersecting human health impacts occur at every stage of the plastic lifecycle: from wellhead to refinery, from store shelves to human bodies, and from waste management to ongoing impacts of microplastics in the air, water, and soil. These uncertainties often hinder regulation and the ability of consumers, communities, and policymakers to make informed decisions. The full scale of health impacts throughout plastic’s lifecycle are overwhelming and justify further research.
BREAKTHROUGH PROVIDES ALTERNATIVE: Researchers in the chemistry department at University of Cambridge have developed a method to create a compostable plant-based plastic-like material that’s as strong as engineering plastics. They can create the polymer film from plant proteins in a sustainable and scalable way. The material is as strong as the most common plastics in use today and could replace plastic in many common household products as it is home compostable and will degrade naturally in a marine environment and in fresh water. Professor Tuomas Knowles, who led the research, said, “One of the key breakthroughs is that we can now control the assembly of natural plant proteins into technologically useful structures. We can also now do this in a scalable way which is critical to actually be able to start replacing plastics in real world applications.” Much of the research has been focused on what happens when proteins misfold, or misbehave, and how this relates to health and human disease, primarily Alzheimer’s disease.
(Source: https://www.ch.cam.ac.uk/news/research-breakthrough-provides-alternative-single-use-plastics)
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