navigating the toxic wasteland
microplastics masterclass
Being healthy is hard, and it’s getting harder in our modern world.
Scroll through any social media feed and you’re bombarded with a new health crisis every day. Self-proclaimed health warlocks pointing fingers at everything in your life:
Vegetables are bad.
Seed oils are poison.
The soil has no nutrients.
Your HVAC is spewing mold.
Your bedsheets are killing you.
Nonstick pans are bad for your gut.
Your water is contaminated with fluoride.
Your Lulu Lemon pants are ruining your fertility.
The EMF’s in your AirPods are toasting your brain.
I could fill this entire newsletter with these weird health concerns that make daily life feel like navigating a toxic wasteland.
Do these environmental factors impact our health? Yes.
Are they the cause of all the ills in the world? I don’t think.
Is health anxiety helping anyone? No.
But is it important to raise awareness? Yes.
While I don’t believe these factors alone will make or break your health, their cumulative effect matters. All those little 1% harmful exposures add up, day after day, year after year.
Build a foundation focused around the traditional stuff, quality sleep, real food, and movement. Then, strategically chip away at these wackier (although important) health challenges when you’re ready. Many solutions are surprisingly simple.
I’m not here to scare you. I’m here to give you the knowledge to act. It’s up to you what to do with it.
Today, I wanted to start with microplastics.
TL:DR (Too long didn’t read, for my boomers): Microplastics are probably pretty bad for us and they’re literally everywhere. Skip to the end for a big old list of ways you can mitigate exposure.
What are Microplastics?
Microplastics are, well, micro plastics. Little plastic particles floating around the earth. By definition, they range from undetectable to the size of a sesame seed.
The term “microplastics” wasn’t coined until 2004, but the widespread accumulation started after World War II. That’s when plastic production exploded and waste management was suffocated by it all.
Technically, there are two types of microplastics:
Primary – plastics that are made to be small (like exfoliating microbeads in face wash, paint, detergents).
Secondary – plastics that break down over time (bags, bottles, tires, clothing fibers).
Where are These Little Bastards Coming From?
Basically, everywhere.
Take a second and look around.
How much plastic is in your environment?
Seriously look.
Here we go…
Every single wash, your favorite Vuori workout set leaches thousands of particles down the drain.
What doesn’t make a grand escape stays clinging to the fabric like little barnacles, waiting to rub off on your skin or off into the air.
You think bags, bottles, and packaging just vanish? No bozo, they break down bit by bit into who knows where.
Remember that bottle you tossed at the amusement park when it was 97 degrees?
Heat speeds up the leaching. That bottle was crying plastic into the environment before it ever made it to the trash can.
As a kid, I used to collect plastic bottles to flex how hydrated I was. I used to fill up an entire dresser like it was a shrine. Good thing I’m possibly the world record holder for microplastic concoction consumption. Thanks you Snapchat memories.
That "exfoliating" face wash? Likely has plastics you're washing into your skin and again down the drain.
Pretending you're a Formula 1 driver? Yes. Taking the racing line at every roundabout? Yes. You're shedding tire rubber all over the map. Where do you think all that goes? Water. Air.
Carpet fibers and dust shed plastic all over your house. That new carpet smell you like? Plastic off gassing. Imagine walking around a synthetic carpet kicking up a little snowstorm of plastics that settle into your food, counters, and eventually you.
And what happens to the plastic that goes down the drain, gets kicked into the air, or dumped into streams?
It cycles right back into our drinking water and into you.
Ay yay yayyy.
Yes, this shit is everywhere.
Kowalski, Analysis
So how bad is it?
Well, benign or not, the fact remains that wherever scientists look for microplastics, they find them. Blood. Lungs. Placenta. Breast milk. Testicles. Brain.
In a study from May 2024, published in the journal Toxicological Sciences, researchers found 8.2mg of microplastics in human testicles. Oof.
From Nature Medicine and the University of New Mexico, research shows “there’s more microplastic in the human brain now than there was ten years ago.”
Those are some important organs!
In any case, you have them in your body. I have them in mine. No one is off the hook.
It is currently an unavoidable problem.
Microplastics contaminate water, soil, and the air. They are found in marine life, terrestrial animals, and even places like glaciers and water.
In my research for this one, this fact scared me most. These little rascals made it all the way to the arctic circle! Kind of badass.
These little dingus’s are in our food, water, and even our own tissue. We inhale them, we ingest them, they may even enter through our skin. The whole ecosystem is cooked. Marine life and land creatures eat microplastics, we eat them, they’re malnourished, so we are too. Their fertility sucks, and so does ours. Food webs get zapped, the soil is fried, our plants are intoxicated.
“WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH, TIMEOUT!”
— Syndrome, The Incredibles
Yes, I know, it sounds bad, and it probably is, but I believe in the world, and I believe we will prevail. With education. With action.
Please keep reading I’m hopelessly trying to find meaning in life. Thank you.
The Risks
You probably care about you, so let’s talk about you.
Are these things killing us?
Well, maybe…. we don’t know yet.
As it stands, there’s no conclusive data proving that they do, directly. It’s all correlational, not causal.
This a new world problem that we are facing for the first time… the risks just aren’t clear yet.
But, with microplastics in nearly every part of the human body, it’s becoming a growing public health concern.
So, quick science lesson….
These plastics are sneaky. They’re small enough to cross barriers your body designed to protect itself.
Remember the blood brain barrier? Well, basically, it’s purpose is to keep naughty things out. And it’s not.
The placenta also has a barrier. Not working.
Same with the testicular barrier. Failing.
These barriers exist for a reason: to protect your most sensitive, vital areas from harm.
Since they’re not… it’s kind of a big uh oh.
Digging even deeper, here are some of the things we think are happening as a result of microplastics…
Oxidative stress: the garbage men in your body cant take the trash out quick enough
DNA damage: when your personal instruction manual gets ruined and everything else gets confused
Hormonal disruption: when your little messengers get lost and don’t know where to go
Gut microbiome interference: when the little men in your belly get drunk and don’t know how to handle the things you give them
Neurotoxicity: when tiny Rugrats sneak into your brain and no one knows what they’re doing there
Heart health: when little plastics clog your pipes and make it harder for your heart to do what hearts do
Had fun making descriptions for each of these!
The scariest part of all is that it’s not just a plastic issue. Microplastics are like little sponges that soak up other toxic chemicals, like BPA, phthalates and heavy metals, which ride the wave right into you, free of charge.
Like little trojan horses made of Aquafina and tire rubber.
So, while eating right matters, it doesn’t account for this...
Fighting Back
“Do I think these plastics are the cause of all the world’s problems? No. But, do I think that there’s enough smoke to where there might be fire? Yes. And so I think we should act accordingly.”
— Peter Attia
That’s the mindset.
Not panic and not doom, but awareness and action.
The time is now…
It’s true, you can’t avoid microplastics completely, but you can take reasonable precaution with just a few small changes.
I made a little picture to show you how it all works.
Basically, with more effort and money, you get more mitigation. But most of the mitigation comes from a few upfront costs. It’s like juicing the end of a lemon.
This is good!
11 Ways To Reduce Exposure
1. No More Plastic Water Bottles
Buy yourself a nice one and take it everywhere. Stainless steel, glass, whatever. You can also buy Mountain Valley water, which comes in glass.
2. No More Plastic Containers
Switch to glass, ceramic, or stainless steel. Hot food in plastic is a big big no no. Microwaving plastic is an even bigger no no. Think about how much food is served to you in plastic, or how many people microwave food in plastic.
3. Upgrade Your Coffee Station
French press, pour over, or you can find an expensive glass drip coffee machine (Got my dad hooked). Think about Keurig… hot water through a hot plastic tube, into a plastic pod, into a paper cup. Think about how many people do this at your office, or at Starbucks, daily.
4. Filter Your Water
The bare minimum should be a basic carbon filter, but optimally you get some kind of reverse osmosis filter. I use an AquaTru Carafe. You can also get systems installed under sinks.
5. Careful with Canned Food
Most canned foods are lined with BPA. Self explanatory.
6. Stop Touching Receipts
Yeah, I know this one sounds insane, but the paper is coated in BPA. Your call. “You can just pitch that, thanks” is my go to.
7. The Kitchen Needs an Upgrade
No more plastic cutting boards and utensils. Be careful with nonstick pans (I understand this is a pain in the ass, stop being a baby). Switch to stainless steel or wood. Why would you want something that you can see melting touching your food.
8. New Home Stuff
Rugs, blankets, sheets, pillows, mattresses. Buy organic cotton, wool, silk. At least upgrade your sheets, you spend a lot of time in bed!
9. Clean Up The Personal Hygiene Stuff
Why are you rubbing neon blue soap in your beautiful skin, honey. Think about it. Prolly a scam anyway. Natural detergent, deodorant, soap, and shampoo.
10. Reconsider Your Wardrobe
This one hurts, and not one I adhere to very much, but good to raise awareness. All of those awesome polyester Lululemon products are basically plastic bags. Add cotton and wool garments to your wardrobe, especially If you’re sweating.
11. Filter Your Air
You can use big dog HEPA filters for your house, or a nice Dyson for one room spaces. This one’s expensive, but it is the air you breathe.
I know this list is a lot, but you don’t have to do it all at once. Most of these things need replaced at some point. Over time, slowly start to make changes! When you inevitably send away one of your precious containers, replace it with a glass one! You get it.
Hope
Don’t let this overwhelm you. Seriously.
Perfect is the enemy of good. You don’t need to live in a forest and churn your own butter. You just need to make a few smart changes step by step.
And yes, it might be scary… it is scary, but you’re in the drivers sear. Take ownership of your health without losing your mind.
Fear doesn’t help. Action does.
You’re already ahead of the curve just by just being aware.
I know this was a hog, so if you made it through, I appreciate you very much!
Thank you for reading and stay safe out there.
—Dante