The Hidden Dangers of Microplastics

0:00Sunna Van Kampen:Welcome to Catching Up With The Royals, a brand new show with me, Richard Coles. And me, Emily Andrews. Every week we'll be going beyond the headlines, lifting the lid on what life is really like behind the palace walls. Hello sir, good morning. I'm the Sun's new royal correspondent. Oh, he said, look at me up and down. Things are looking up. We'll be diving into the moments everyone's talking about. What does the world owe you if all of a sudden you've handed back your crown? Meghan and Harry can't keep hold of their stuff. We'll reveal the secrets of an organisation usually shrouded in mystery and explore defining moments of royal history to see how the past still shapes the monarchy today.

0:38Now, you actually knew Princess Anne.

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1:02At Boar's Head, we've been going back to school for over 115 years. And this year, every school lunch is reason to celebrate with the flavours your kids love and the exceptional quality you expect. Helping you make school lunch fresh, easy and delicious. Ring the bell. The deli is open. Boar's Head, committed to craft since 1905.

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2:18Hello and welcome back to the Unprocessed Truth. Today, we're diving into something that sounds on your health and our planet, microplastics. These are fragments of plastics less than five millimeters in diameter, and they're turning up, well, everywhere, from the deepest parts of the ocean to our own bloodstreams. Now, the science is still evolving. There's a lot we don't know yet about exactly how dangerous microplastics are for our health, but we do know they're persistent and they're everywhere and early research suggests they may be interfering with our hormones, our fertility and our inflammation in the body.

3:01So today I want to take a balanced look at what we know, where they're coming from and most importantly the practical ways you can reduce your microplastic exposure. Now let's get into the scale of the problem. Globally an estimated 40 million tons of microplastics leak into the environment every single year. Now that's the equivalent of several truckloads spilling into our oceans every single minute. Horrible and alarming thoughts. And when you see that scientists have even found microplastics in our lungs and in human placentas, you start to understand that they are everywhere. Now, we still don't know the full effects of this, but animal research is sounding the alarm bells.

3:52Take the work of Dr. Shafiq, who carried out a study on dogs. In 1993, he studied 31 male dogs who wore either cotton or polyester underwear for two years. And he found that the dogs in polyester showed dramatic reductions in sperm count. And how? Why? What's causing that? Well, apparently, it's the electrostatic potential of polyester fabric, which seems to disrupt our reproductive function. Not good, not very exciting, because I'm sure a lot of us have worn polyester underwear. This study was then replicated in 2008 using female dogs, using a polyester blended underwear, and the results were equally striking, where the female dogs failed to release eggs and ovulate properly and therefore couldn't conceive.

4:49And the cause was exactly the same, the electrostatic field generated by the polyester fabric. Now, the good news is, in both studies, when the polyester was removed, the dog's fertility recovered. And while we aren't dogs, and it's probably an exaggerated effect on these dogs, it is worth noting that human fertility rates are at all-time lows worldwide, with sperm counts dropping by more than 50 % over the last 40 years. So there's something going on in our environment that isn't helping our fertility. And there could be lots of other causes like stress, lifestyle pollution. But if you're wearing polyester underwear and you're thinking of having kids, maybe time to opt for the cotton.

5:41So let's look at the hidden offenders in our home and how and where else we might be exposed to microplastics because some of the biggest culprits are everyday items you will all be using. And potentially the worst offender is in your cup of tea. Tea bags use plastic mesh. The cheap brands use plastic mesh to hold the tea leaves in and a glue to seal the tea bag. And the problem is when you heat plastics, this is when we see the most release of these tiny microplastic particles. So studies have estimated that just two cups of tea per week can release over 1.5 trillion plastic particles into your cup of tea.

6:38A horrible and scary thought. Now, there are simple solutions available. If you trade up and look at some of the more premium brands, you will notice that they will say plastic-free tea bags on their packaging, so you can be ensured that you're enjoying your cuppa without all those microplastics. Another area, laundry. When we have synthetic clothes that are made out of polyester or nylon, they can shed 300 million microplastic fibers per wash that goes into the water and into the waterway. So whilst not directly affecting you like tea bags, it is going into our environment, which is not a good thing.

7:21Another area, plastic chopping boards. I've done videos on this before, but cutting food on plastic chopping boards can release up to almost 80 million tiny particles into your food that you are chopping right there and then. So easy swap for those, ditch those to the wood. Now, another one, every day we all do it, possibly twice a day, hopefully twice a day. Toothbrushes. Using a standard plastic toothbrush can release around 48 ,000 microplastics as the bristles wear down. Now, not one of the bigger offenders, to be honest. It's one of the smaller ones, but it's used so frequently you might want to switch to a naturally made toothbrush.

8:07Takeout containers is another one. Heating or storing food in plastic containers can also add about 40 ,000 microplastics to your meal. And then furniture and rugs. These are everywhere, but have you ever looked at what your furniture and rugs are actually made out of? They're often also synthetic fabrics, which then can shed an additional 90 million particles over time into your household dust, which could get inhaled. So not cool. One of the biggest contributors outside of the home is actually our takeaway coffee cup. So you think, hey, well, this is made out of paper. What's the problem? Well, every coffee cup is lined with a thin layer of plastic to stop the liquid leaking out.

8:57So every hot coffee or tea you drink as a takeaway cup can actually leach microplastics into your body. So this is where we have to sit down and enjoy that drink in a traditional china mug if we can. Or if not, bring our own reusable cup made from glass or stainless steel so we aren't mixing those microplastics into our tea or coffee.

9:26At Boar's Head, we've been going back to school for over 115 years. And this year, every school lunch is reason to celebrate with the flavors your kids love and the exceptional quality you expect. helping you make school lunch fresh, easy, and delicious. Ring the bell. The deli is open. Boar's Head, committed to craft since 1905. Do you keep hearing podcast ads, like this one for example, but always wonder how you actually get involved with them for your own brand or organization? Well, it's easier than you think. We're Acast, and we give you the platform to do it all yourself. Browse thousands of popular podcasts, choose the shows that match your perfect audience, set your budget, and launch.

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10:33Now, there are some other simple swaps you can do to make a difference and reduce your exposure to microplastics without having to spend the earth. So plastic food containers at home and Tupperware, really easy one to swap for glass containers. Glass containers are not that much more expensive, or if you need to travel with them, stainless steel are available as well, in case you don't want to break those glass containers while they're floating around in your bag. Another hidden area where you find these petroleum-based chemicals and microplastics is non-stick pans. They're lining and that non-stick is actually made from a petroleum-based chemical.

11:16So you can simply swap that for cast iron or stainless steel cookware and it'll be much better for your health and stop those microplastics getting into the environment. A common one, I'm sure we are all aware, but bottled water contains microplastics. So it is much better to have a home filtration system set up for your tap water, which will avoid you consuming more of those microplastics. So little things don't need a complete lifestyle overhaul, but can make a difference over time with your exposure to microplastics. But there is also one really cool and surprising thing you can do to help prevent microplastic accumulation in your body.

12:05Some helpful studies in nutrition science where researchers have found that people who consumed more dietary fiber had less microplastic accumulation. Why? Well, fiber has binding properties that help bind to those particles and microplastics through the gut and get them passed through the gut instead of being absorbed. So eating more vegetables, beans, fruits that have real fiber is not only good for your health and nutrition, but is also potentially protecting you from microplastics. So fiber is key. We should be eating 30 grams of fiber in a day. And data shows that only nine in 10 of us actually achieve that full 30 grams of fiber in a day.

13:03So it is important we all eat our fiber, not only for our gut health, but also for the fact it can protect us from microplastic accumulation in our body. So where does that leave us? Well, microplastics are an area where we need to do urgent, more scientific research to fully understand this huge environmental challenge we face, but more importantly, the science it has on our human health. But I always view my body as a temple. I know it's a cliched saying, but it's the only vehicle we have to go through this life and feel good, have energy and live our life and feel amazing. So I don't want to wait for all the data.

13:50I want to take smart steps now, today and precautionary measures to reduce my exposure to microplastics and potentially prevent the accumulation in my body. So hopefully a few of these simple swaps were helpful. Be mindful of what you can buy and make sure you eat a high fiber diet and we can reduce our exposure and reduce the accumulation in our body. So thank you for listening. As always, if you found this episode helpful. Please share it with a friend who's still sipping on tea from plastic tea bags or buying their coffee in a paper cup every single day, which is having hidden microplastics in it.

14:30These small changes really multiplied over decades of our life can make a huge difference to our health. So until next time, stay healthy, guys.

14:49Boar's Head, we've been going back to school for over 115 years. And this year, every school lunch is reason to celebrate with the flavors your kids love and the exceptional quality you expect. Helping you make school lunch fresh, easy, and delicious. Ring the bell. The deli is open. Boar's Head, committed to craft since 1905. You've got social dialed in. Search is doing its thing. So why do your marketing results look the same as six months ago? That's because you're fishing in the same pond as everyone else. Podcast listeners are a different audience entirely. More engaged, harder to reach through traditional channels, and ready to act when someone they trust makes a recommendation.

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