Can You Really Avoid Eating Or Drinking Microplastics?

Plain and simple, it's TOUGH to avoid microplastics, even when you put your best foot forward. That isn't to say you shouldn't try, it's just that they're literally everywhere. You can find them in our air, food, and water as well; we ingest thousands of bits of microplastics every year, to offer a bit of perspective here. They've been found in human blood, organs, and even the brain, which is concerning in regard to our health.

Take bottled water, for example, it's loaded with microplastics, but switching to tap water isn't a perfect solution, either. A lot of household filters are effective at removing contaminants, but they themselves shed plastic particles. Even the dust particles floating in your home contain microplastics that can settle onto your food.

The reality is that plastic doesn't break down like organic material. It keeps breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces, intruding on every corner of the environment. Even though eliminating exposure entirely isn't realistic, understanding how microplastics get into your body is the first step toward reducing your intake. You want to make smart, simple changes that help reduce unnecessary exposure.

Microplastics are plastic fragments that are smaller than 5 millimeters – about the size of a sesame seed — and sometimes they're even smaller than that. They come from two main sources: primary microplastics, like microbeads in beauty products or fibers from synthetic clothing, and secondary microplastics, which result from larger plastic items breaking down over time.

Microplastics are found in oceans, rivers, and even remote mountaintops — they're a global problem. Microplastics are also in human blood and organs. When you realize how pervasive they actually are, it further highlights why the efforts to slow down exposure are difficult, but definitely necessary.

The first thing that will help is making more informed and intentional decisions about some of our favorite drinks and foods. Seafood is among the culprits. Filter feeders like mussels and clams absorb microplastics from their environment. Limiting seafood consumption or sourcing it from less-polluted waters can help reduce exposure. Even how you handle food matters. Cutting food on plastic cutting boards can easily compromise your food. Covering meals and properly storing them can prevent airborne particles from settling onto your plate.

You have to pay attention to packaging, also. Fresh, unpackaged produce is a safer bet compared to processed foods wrapped in plastic. Cooking with materials like stainless steel or glass instead of non-stick pans or plastic utensils can further limit contamination. Small adjustments like these add up, helping you cut down on microplastic intake without drastically changing your lifestyle.

Once microplastics enter the body, they don't just stay there forever (thankfully). According to studies, some are flushed out through urine and stool, but others may stick around. The tiniest particles—called nanoplastics—are especially concerning because they're small enough to cross biological barriers, meaning they can move from the gut into the bloodstream and potentially reach major organs, including the heart and brain.

Animal studies have shown that these microscopic plastics may trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, and even cellular damage. The human body has natural detoxification systems, but they weren't designed to deal with synthetic plastic particles. It's different from heavy metals or toxins, which the liver and kidneys can filter out, because there's no clear pathway for breaking down or neutralizing plastic inside the body.

A portion likely accumulates over time, even if we expel them to some degree. This is why reducing exposure — whether by limiting plastic-packaged foods, using glass or stainless steel for cooking, or improving indoor air quality — matters more than ever. The less plastic you consume, the less you have to worry about getting rid of later.