Microplasty in dumping food can make you desperate: study

More diskfood food.

A collection of four letters-posted on Tuesday in Brain Medicine-reports a worrying link between microplastics, ultra-processed foods (UPF) and mental health.

UPFs that are considered unhealthy because they are high in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium-include non-alcoholic beverages, chips, chocolate, ice cream, processed meat, many foods ready to eat and mass produced cereals.

Previous research has shown that people who eat UPF have an essentially higher risk of depression, anxiety and poor sleep – but the role that microplastics can play in this connection is not fully explored.

UPFs are more sensitive to microplastics than other foods due to packaging and their additives and equipment used to process them.

As an example, researchers told chicken nugges – which are reported to contain 30 times more microplastics per gram than chicken breasts.

“We are seeing converging evidence that should bother us all,” said Dr. Nicholas Fabiano, a resident of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa in Canada, in a statement.

“Workout -processed foods now contain more than 50% of energy intake in countries like the United States, and these foods contain significantly higher concentrations of microplastics than whole foods,” he added. “The latest findings show that these particles can pass the blood-trum barrier and accumulate in alarming quantities.”

This can also potentially explain the latest bomb news that our brains may contain an entire “spoon” of microplastics.

“This hypothesis is particularly compelling because we see extraordinary overlap in biological mechanisms,” said Dr. Wolfgang Marx, a senior associate of research at the Deakin Food Center and Mood in Australia.

“Processed ultra foods have been linked to unfavorable mental health through inflammation, oxidative stress, epigenetics, mitochondrial dysfunction and interruption of neurotransmitting systems,” he continued. “Microplasty seems to work through extremely similar routes.”

While further research is required in the supposed link between microplastics and mental health – the actual evidence is alarming.

“While the levels of ultra -processed foods, microplastics and unfavorable mental health outcomes grow simultaneously, it is imperative that we further investigate this possible association,” Fabiano said. “After all, you are what you eat.”

How to reduce your exposure to microplastics

• Avoid microwave food in plastic containers: this can release millions of microplastic particles in your food.
• Use glass or metal containers: these are safer for storing and preparing food.
• Limit the consumption of UPFs: They choose for full, raw food when possible.
• Filter tap water: This can help reduce microplastic swallowing.