New Study Links Ingesting Micro and Nanoplastics to Diabetis, Obesity, and Liver Disease

On average, five grams of plastic particles affect the body's digestive system per individual per week. This is approximately the weight of a credit card.

Numerous studies are being conducted to determine whether consumed micro-and nano plastics present a danger, but the answer is still unknown.

A research team has now compiled a summary of current scientific knowledge.

The gastrointestinal tract, where micro-and nano plastic particles (MNPs) can be discovered in tissue, is the focus of medical studies on the matter.

Experiments show that ingested MNPs that move through the intestinal system alter the composition of the gut microbiome, as per ScienceDaily.

The research team, led by Elisabeth Gruber (Department of General Surgery, MedUni Vienna) and Lukas Kenner (Department of Pathology, MedUni Vienna, Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital, Department of Laboratory Animal Pathology of VetMedUni), found that such changes are connected to the production of energy metabolism diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and chronic liver disease.

Drinking water has also plastic particles

(Photo : LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Nanoplastics are characterized as being less than 0.001 millimeters in size, whereas microplastics, which range from 0.001 to 5 millimeters in size, are still visible to the human eye to some extent.

MNPs enter the food chain from a variety of sources, including packaging waste.

Plastic particles enter the body not only through food, such as marine life or sea salt but also through drinking.

According to one study, anyone who drinks the recommended 1.5 to two liters of water per day from plastic water bottles consumes approximately 90,000 plastic particles per year.

Those who drink tap water, on the other hand, can reduce the amount ingested to 40,000 plastic particles, depending on where they live.

According to Lukas Kenner, the potential negative health effects of plastic particles could be especially severe for people who have a chronic disease burden.

"A healthy gut is more likely to protect against the health risk; however, local changes in the gastrointestinal tract, such as those seen in chronic conditions or even stressful situations, may make them vulnerable to the negative impacts of MPs," he said.

Read more: Can Magnets Help Break Down Microplastics in Marine Pollution?

What are microplastics?

Microplastics are small bits of type of plastic that vary considerably in size despite their resemblance, as per eufic.

The smallest pieces cannot be seen with the naked eye.

They can be made of any type of plastic, such as polyethylene (PE), polybutylene succinate (PBS), or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). They can also be of various shapes, colors, sizes, and densities.

Based on what the small plastic particles come from even before they stop up in nature, they could be classified as primary or secondary microplastics.

When primary microplastics are discarded, they are already small in size, as they come from cosmetic products and product industries.

Secondary microplastics are formed when larger quantities of waste, such as bags, bottles, and fishing nets, are discarded and weathered, resulting in the fragmentation of micro and nano plastics.

Since their introduction to the market in the twentieth century, plastics have enabled innovations and contributed to societal benefits, particularly in the areas of food and health, safety, energy efficiency, and material preservation.

Related article: 4 Million Pounds of Microplastics Found in Corals, Causing Tissue Necrosis in Fishes