10 Simple Ways to Keep Microplastics Out of Your Body

A neuroscientist explains where they come from, how they affect your brain, and what actually lowers your exposure.

Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash

My generation has accepted a lot of things as normal that previous generations would find insane - subscription services for everything, the death of the album, and apparently, having plastic circulating through our bloodstream.

The problem with science communication right now is that it’s failed anyone trying to make actual health decisions. Scientists document plastic particles crossing cellular barriers and triggering inflammation, then conclude with “the clinical significance remains to be determined.”

So instead of practical guidance, we get academic hedge-speak that makes people think the jury’s still out on whether having petroleum derivatives in your organs might be suboptimal.

This article skips the hedge-speak and gives you what the evidence actually suggests:

1. Where the plastic in your body comes from

2. Why you should probably care

3. The most defensible strategies to reduce your exposure

Current Evidence Summary

1. Is plastic in our bodies?

Yes. Multiple independent studies now confirm that microplastics (particles <5 mm) and nanoplastics (<1 μm) are detectable in human tissues. In 2022, researchers found polymer fragments in 77% of blood samples they tested.

Plastic particles have also been identified in human lungs (11 of 13 surgical specimens), the brain, and even placentas - first in 4 of 6 samples, and more recently in every sample of a larger 2024 study.

The particles span a wide size range: from visible fibres to nanoscale fragments small enough to cross cell membranes and enter the bloodstream.

2. How did it get there?

Mainly through what we eat, drink, and breathe.

• Ingestion: Bottled water can contain over 200,000 nanoplastics per litre, while tap water - depending on filtration - contains far fewer. Heating food in plastic containers, using plastic-lined cups for hot drinks, or storing food in plastic wrap all accelerate particle release. Microwaving certain plastic container’s for three minutes can shed millions of particles.

• Inhalation: Indoor air carries microfibres released from synthetic clothing, carpets, and furnishings. Washing a single fleece jacket can shed around 700,000 fibres, many of which end up airborne or in wastewater.

• Dermal contact: This route appears minor but possible for nano-sized particles through hair follicles or damaged skin.

3. Does it cause damage?

This is I think where science communication completely loses the plot. Faced with uncertainty, scientists often retreat into cautious phrases like “we can’t prove plastic is bad for you.” That might be technically correct (we need in-depth studies over decades to prove causation) - but it’s also profoundly stupid.

Sure - we don’t yet have a double-blind, decades-long human trial showing that a certain dose of plastic causes a specific disease. But we also never will because you can’t ethically feed people plastic for thirty years to see what happens. The key is that the absence of proof isn’t proof of safety.

Every experimental system we’ve tested - human cells, mice, fish - tells the same story: plastic fragments cause inflammation, oxidative stress, metabolic disruption, and cell damage. The smallest particles can cross into the bloodstream, the placenta, and the brain. In animals, chronic exposure affects fertility, liver function, and behaviour.

None of this is subtle.

So yes, to me, it’s f*cking obvious that having plastic accumulating in your organs is bad for you.

From Evidence to Action: Reducing Your Plastic Burden

We’re all exposed to plastic now - that’s just the reality. The question isn’t whether you can avoid it completely (you can’t), but how much you can cut down. What matters most is total dose: the less plastic you take in, the less ends up circulating in your body.

The good news is that some sources contribute far more than others, and those are easy to change. The steps below focus on where exposure is highest and where simple habits make a real difference.

Water

• Choose filtered tap water over bottled water. Recent studies show bottled water contains around 240,000 plastic particles per litre, about 90% of which are nanoplastics.

• Use a home water filter system, such as reverse osmosis or tight ultrafiltration. These systems physically block microplastics and nanoplastics, removing more than 95–99% of particles.

  • Look for systems independently certified for microplastic reduction - such as NSF/ANSI 401 or 58 (U.S.) or WQA/ISO 15883 (international equivalents) - and specifying membrane pore sizes ≤0.1 µm, which confirms genuine particle removal rather than simple taste or odour filtration.

• Avoid putting hot liquids in plastic cups, since heat causes plastics to shed more fragments. Use glass or ceramic mugs instead.

Food storage & heating

• Do not microwave food in plastic. Heating plastic containers for just three minutes can release millions of microplastics. Always reheat or store food in glass or ceramic dishes instead.

• Replace worn plasticware. Everyday wear, knife marks, and abrasion increase plastic shedding. For example, scratched food containers, mixing bowls, or plastic cutting boards release far more particles than new ones.

  • Switching to bamboo, wood, or glass cutting boards prevents this.

• Avoid plastic tea bags. A single plastic tea bag at 95 °C can release ~11.6 billion microplastics and 3.1 billion nanoplastics per cup. Use loose-leaf with a stainless-steel infuser or verified plastic-free bags.

• Don’t pour very hot baby formula straight into plastic bottles. A 2020 Nature Food study found that polypropylene baby bottles can release up to 16 million tiny plastic particles per litre when filled with hot water.

  • It’s safer to mix formula in a glass container, let it cool a bit, then pour it into the bottle, and to replace bottles if they’re old or scratched.

Indoor air quality

• Use HEPA air purifiers and open windows regularly. Indoor air has lots of plastic particles from clothing, carpets, and dust—homes typically have about 528 plastic particles floating in every cubic meter of air. Studies show HEPA air cleaners work well, cutting airborne plastics by 40-57% after running for 2 days.

• Vacuum weekly and use a damp mop on floors. This picks up plastic fibers without throwing them back into the air. A study of 108 homes in 29 countries found that people who vacuum more often have less plastic in their homes

Laundry & textiles

• Wash synthetic clothes less often, use cold water, and wait for full loads. Each wash releases millions of tiny plastic fibers - one fleece jacket can shed 700,000 fibers in a single wash. Simple changes help: cold water cuts fiber release by 30-50%

• Get a washing machine filter or microfiber-catching bag. Microfiber-catching bags stop 79-86% of fibers from breaking off clothes, and washing machine filters catch 88-90% of loose polyester fibers.

  • It’s deemed effective enough that France now requires filters on all new washing machines starting in 2025.

Bottom Line

The plastic-in-humans story is following a familiar script: first detection, then lab evidence of harm, then decades of waiting for “proof” while everyone stays exposed. By the time we’re certain, a generation has been the test group.

You can’t opt out completely, but you can cut your dose. The biggest wins are simple - drink filtered tap water, avoid heating food in plastic, improve indoor air quality, and limit synthetic textiles.

The question to me isn’t if plastic in our tissues is harmful - every mechanism we understand points in that direction. The real question is whether you wait for institutional consensus or make simple changes now. There’s no downside to doing so: at worst, you end up with cleaner water, safer food storage, and better air quality.

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