Becoming Plastic People on a Plastic Planet. Plastic pollution linked to increases in inflammatory bowel disease, cancers, obesity, infertility and heart disease STEPHEN LEAHY APR 05, 2024 Each of us could be ingesting as much as a credit-card-sized amount (5 grams) of microplastics every week, according to a 2021 study in the Journal of Hazardous Materials. Micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) have been found in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Consider.......43 trillion miniature-plastic particles rain down on Switzerland every year.........the average liter of commercially-available bottled water has nearly a quarter million pieces of MNPs, according to a new study.........Babies fed using plastic baby bottles swallow millions of particles a day, according to a 2020study.........MNPs have been found throughout the body including blood, kidneys, bladder, liver, and even in the brain. Recently researchers found MNPs in every human placenta they studied.  Need-to-Know: We make 450 million tons of plastic a year.     Eight Need-to-Knows.......1. 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels........2. 90% of the petrochemical industry production is for making plastics.......3. Plastics are made from more than 10,000 different chemicals, most have never been tested for safety. At least 4,200 are considered hazardous........4. Some chemicals in plastics are known endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which can interfere with the body’s natural hormones.......5. Plastic products, such as food packaging, can contain hundreds of different chemicals, many of which are hazardous........6. Plastics leach chemicals, particularly when heated.........7. MNPs not only leach chemicals, but they can also act like magnets for bacteria and other toxins........8. MNPs also act like tiny pieces of grit damaging delicate cell membranes, causing inflammation or riling up our immune systems. The health impacts of all this plastic in our bodies have been difficult to determine. But that is changing quickly. Scientists and medical health experts now say MNP pollution is a serious threat to human health and well-being.   Need-to-Know: Plastics linked to increases in many diseases- a growing number of studies link microplastics to increased inflammatory bowel disease and cancers in people under 50, as well as diabetes, reproductive disorders, neurological impairments in children, obesity, and heart disease.....and much much more                   https://leahy.substack.com/p/becoming-plastic-people-on-a-plastic