Do you want to reduce your consumption of microplastics? Scientists have a new suggestion.
These tiny pieces of plastic may seem completely unavoidable: they break down into tiny particles that enter the body through breathing, skin contact and, of course, eating and drinking.
In fact, research suggests that we inadvertently consume about the equivalent of a credit card per week. All this plastic builds up inside us and causes toxic effects – from damaging the heart, blood vessels and bones to suppressing our immune systems and disrupting our hormones.
While it’s impossible for most of us to completely avoid microplastics, there are a few science-backed habits we can easily adopt.
We already know that heat causes plastic to break down. There are obvious culprits, like plastic water bottles and kitchen utensils. But there are also some sneakier ones, like tea bags sealed with plastic glue.
Scientists are now warning about another source: instant noodles.
Specifically, researchers studied microplastics from the types of instant noodles sold straight from the bucket to avoid dirtying a pot or bowl.
These disposable cups may look like paper, but research suggests they’re actually covered in an insidious layer of plastic that leaches right into your soup.
Possible danger from inflated containers
Outside of Asia, Americans eat more instant noodles than anyone else in the world.
That said, Asia still accounts for 85% of instant noodle sales, according to the study authors. That’s why they chose 20 different samples of bucket noodles from four countries in the region: China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
To mimic noodle making, they filled the empty, cleaned containers with hot water (203 degrees Fahrenheit/95 degrees Celsius), let them sit, then shook and stirred the water.
When they tested the water, they found microplastics in all 20 buckets, averaging about 318 particles per bucket.
Researchers say that if you eat it often, you could easily ingest more than 1,000 microplastic particles each week, noting that this meal remains a staple for office workers and students working overtime.
Although these microplastics varied widely in shape, size and even color, the authors say they were “predominantly” polyethylene (PE) and composites of polyethylene and polypropylene (PP+PE).
Polyethylene is actually the most used plastic in the world because it is found in single-use items. Research suggests that once broken down into microplastics, PE can end up in our blood, lungs, placenta and brain.
From there, it can interact with cell membranes, causing stress, inflammation and cell death.
Researchers say these plastics are “likely linked” to the packaging the instant noodles come in in a bucket. “Molten PE film is laminated onto paper substrates,” they write.
They also note that the same thing happens with disposable takeout coffee cups. According to the study, “around 50,000 microplastic particles were detected in 3 to 4 takeaway cups of coffee.”
Notes on results
While the authors say they wanted to simulate how people actually prepare hot noodles, their process was quite different from what most labels advise.
To start, they let the hot water sit with foil on it for 15 minutes, then another 20 minutes without it, for a total of 35 minutes. Usually, package directions only ask that the hot water sit for three to five minutes before stirring and eating.
It’s unclear how much this prolonged exposure actually affected the number of microplastics released.
To test it, they shook the bucket “vigorously” and stirred it with a glass rod. But it’s unclear whether this method accurately mimics the physical force of mixing and drinking – it’s entirely possible that this dislodges more or less microplastics than real life.
The authors also admitted that despite careful cleaning, some particles could have come from laboratory contamination.
That ties into broader concerns among some experts who say research on microplastics can sometimes be overblown.
“It really forces us to re-evaluate everything we think we know about microplastics in the body. Which, as it turns out, really isn’t much,” Roger Kuhlman, a former chemist at the Dow Chemical Company, told the Guardian.
“Many researchers make extraordinary claims, but fail to provide even ordinary evidence,” he added.
Gn Health
