The effects of plastic consumption.

Ever since we found out that we are prone to ingesting a quantity of plastic equivalent to a bank card every week, we have started to wonder what happens to all the plastic that reaches our body and what are its effects on health. Scientists have not yet reached any definite conclusions, but there are several worrying assumptions that should motivate us to find more sustainable and healthier alternatives to using plastic.

How do we get exposed to plastic?

There are three ways we store plastic in the body. The first way is by inhaling microplastic particles from the air. Recently, scientists have discovered plastic in the lungs, surprisingly, the particles managed to cross the lower regions of the lungs, which were considered narrower. The most common particles were polypropylene (PP), commonly used for packaging, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is most commonly used in packaging. Although the direct link between the presence of plastic in the body and the onset of certain conditions has not yet been demonstrated, respiratory disorders have been observed in people who have been exposed to large amounts of microplastics in the workplace.

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