Microplastics in Our Brains and Everywhere Else: A Growing Concern for Health and the Environment.

In a 2025 interview comedian and podcaster Bill Maher revealed that his greatest fear in life, as the question was worded, was having plastic in his brain. The brain has impressive plasticity — the ability to neurologically adapt for growth and repair, a trait that makes it resilient. However the  plastic Bill Maher referred to is the environmental pollution that comes from the ubiquitous presence of plastic in modern life: microplastics. He is not alone in his concern. A substantial and growing number of people share this concern 

A 2023 survey in Germany found that consumers are more concerned about microplastics in food than any other health issue, including antibiotic resistance and pesticide residues. In the United States, a recent survey revealed that over 90% of voters are “somewhat” or “very” concerned about the presence of microplastics in the human body.^X

Microplastics, which are small, varying sizes of plastic, are everywhere — in our water, air, and food. They are found on high mountain tops and in deep sea beds, from the tropics to the polar regions. We ingest them, inhale them, and absorb them through our skin

Microplastics: What Exactly Are They?

Microplastics are defined by their size:

MPs  [Microplastics] are plastic particles with sizes ranging from 1 μm to 5 mm and come in various forms, including granular, fibrous, and film-like shapes. These particles may further break down into nanoplastics (NPs), which are sized between 1 nm and 100 nm (Mamun et al., 2023)^X  …

“Plastic never goes away — it just breaks down into finer and finer particles,” said Desiree LeBeaud, MD, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Stanford Medicine who co-founded the university’s interdisciplinary Plastics and Health Working Group. ^X 

The plastic in products we use everyday — grocery bags, food containers, water bottles, synthetic fibers in clothing, and personal care products are a few examples —  break off into these smaller pieces. Some examples::

• plastic from synthetic fibers like nylon and polyester in clothes slough off over time from friction and movement.
• Plastic from water bottles can slough off from the friction of the screw caps and end up in the water you drink.
• Plastic from grocery bags, when they end up in a landfill, physically degrade and fragment from heat, sunlight and mechanical stress
• Microplastics are found in many beauty products, for example as microbeads for exfoliation. The plastic beads are cheaper and more durable than natural exfoliants such as jojoba beads or walnuts or brown sugar. 
• Microbeads are also found in paints 

Research: What Is Known About Health Consequences?

The estimate that humans on average ingest (through food and water —  the main routes of contamination) the weight of one credit card’s worth of plastic each week has come under some scrutiny.^X My research for this article did not include delving deeper  – more for a future article. That be said, microplastics have been found throughout the body — in blood, saliva,  urine, the liver, the kidneys, the heart, the placenta, and the brain (in higher concentrations than other organs). Nanoplastics are especially concerning because they can infiltrate cells.

The risks to human health appear to be in the early stages of exploration . Not surprisingly, as with many environmental toxins, potential risks include cancer, inflammation, cardiovascular events, fertility issues, and compromised immune systems.

Studies in animals and human cells suggest microplastics exposure could be linked to cancer, heart attacks, reproductive problems and a host of other harms. Yet few studies have directly examined the impact of microplastics on human health, leaving us in the dark about how dangerous they really are.^X

 

Ways to Limit Your Exposure

Many of the items in this short summary may seem fairly obvious. One challenge is often to change routine behaviors into healthier ones that become a new way of living. Another is to substitute healthier options when selecting products that define our personality: clothes and personal care products, are examples. 

• Do not use a plastic cutting board
• Never microwave food in plastic containers, heat breaks down the polymers and particles end up in your food
• Keep the amount of dust in your home to a minimum by vacuuming without stirring it up  – microplastics shed from synthetic rugs and other furniture
• Reduce the amount of plastic that comes into contact with the food you eat 
• Favor products sold in glass rather than plastic jars.
• Eat lower on the food chain. Like with mercury and other toxins, animals higher up in the food chain have a cumulatively higher level of toxicants 
• Buy clothes with natural rather than synthetic fibers
• Buy used (pre-loved 🙂 ) clothing, which sheds fewer fibers when washed and worn
• Reusable grocery bags — you can find grocery bags and vegetable produce bags made from natural fibers such as jute or organic cotton online; this will also be beneficial to the environment
• Buy personal care products that use natural ingredients or make your own
• Make fermented foods a regular part of your diet

How to Detoxify Microplastics – Lifestyle Can Matter

Probiotics in general help remove microplastics from the gut. kimchi may have an extra added value. One of my most recent articles was on the importance of adding fermenting foods, especially fermented vegetables, to your diet. And speaking of synchronicity, Julia, AMD’s marketing consultant, sent me an article about a bacteria found in kimchi that can attach and hang on to nanoplastics in the gut where other bacteria fail.^{X, Y} Fermented veggies are a gold star addition to your daily diet. Here is a link to my article.  

Here some other suggestions:

• Probiotics help your gut process and remove waste including microplastics.
• Exercise will help promote elimination through sweating and regular bowel movements.
• Vitamins C and E are antioxidants that can help counter the negative effects of microplastics.
• Filtered water helps your body flush out microplastics.
• High-fiber diets help your body get rid of plastic in your waste by promoting bowel movements^.X

Some Resources:

• PlasticPollutionCoalition’s Beginner’s Guide to Reducing Microplastic Pollution in Your Life
• Environmental Working Group’s website for tipa and information   
• For clothing – look for OKEO TEX or Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certification and websites that offer pre-loved clothes such as Poshmark, Thredup, and Toad&CO.

For The Future

As the amount of plastic in the world continues to accumulate, we may face a daunting road ahead.

The durability of plastic molecules contributes to their staying power — scientists believe that all the plastic ever made, besides that which has been incinerated, is still around in a form that can’t degrade naturally (burning plastic releases toxic chemicals and heavy metals). To date, microplastics have been found in 1,300 species, including throughout the human body.^X

Given human ingenuity, though, hope may lie in visions yet to be realized. I have recently been impressed by articles about young people discovering ways to tackle the enormous amount of environmental issues produced by human advances on the planet. I am encouraged that solutions exist that are still within the dreams and imaginations of our children

One example, in 2020 Fionn Ferreira, an Irish teenager developed a technique to remove microplastics from water using oil and rust.

Meet the teen science star using magnetic liquid to remove microplastics from water

Adopting a Detox Lifestyle

While  at the moment I cannot make any claim about the removal of microplastics, the IonCleanse by AMD has research that demonstrates its effectiveness as a valuable asset in any detox routine. This is reinforced by years of customer approval. Over AMD’s twenty-four-plus years we consistently receive comments reporting deep relaxation and better sleep. Both play major roles in detoxification: the body primarily detoxifies in the rest-and-digest/parasympathetic state, and the brain primarily detoxifies while you sleep (here is a link to my article on sleep). Once an insomniac, I have read a lot about the importance of good sleep, and of course can appreciate it from experience.

Our monthly educational webinar for our customers covers the topic of detoxification during sleep this Friday.