Microplastics are something I talk about a lot, with good reason. They’re a massive emerging threat to human and animal health, and I want to do as much as I can to raise awareness and give people simple practical advice to help them protect themselves and their loved ones.
This week I’m talking microplastics in depth with a man who’s helped develop the world’s first blood test for microplastics. My hope with technology like this is that it can help us to establish baselines for exposure, so that we can understand who has the most microplastics in their body and why.
If you want to try the test for yourself, you can get 10% off using the coupon code “MICRO” at plastictox.com or simply by clicking the following link:
Is it even possible to determine what a general "safe" level of microplastics is, or do individuals vary too greatly in their body's ability to resist exposure? Does it depend on amount of exposure, or length of time exposed, or both? Are there certain kinds prone to cause more chronic illness than others? Does their effect come into play only in combination with other polluting chemicals, or do they and the other chemicals magnify each other's effects? Every question you might ask seems unanswerable in terms of even a vaguely approximate chain of causality.
I mean, the natural level of exposure to microplastics would be zero, right?
You’re absolutely correct about that. However, what is the possibility of ever returning to a state of zero exposure? Even if you completely banned all plastics production and consumption worldwide immediately, you’d still have what is currently present in all the material objects in humanity’s possession, plus what has already been released into the environment. How many centuries would it take for the ecosystem to cleanse itself? Still, I realize you have to start someplace to reverse the trend. Do you know of anyone who has developed a really practical, affordable way to live plastics free and still participate seamlessly in modern civilized life?