Microplastics and our health: What does science say?

In recent years, motivated by a fierce attack on exaggerated traditional media accounts, the story surrounding microplastics has been woven in a story of ecological destiny, finally painting an image of a vacillating world on the verge of environmental disaster. We are told that these tiny particles infiltrating our body by ingestion and inhalation, accumulating in our lungs, our livers and our intestines. We are anecdotes nourished with the spoon that microplastics poison our oceans, disrupt whole ecosystems, contaminating our soil and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. It seems that microplastics threaten the geological fabric of life on earth.

The only problem is that everything is a lie.

It is time to face the uncomfortable truth on microplastics. Real science is far from the apocalyptic scenario that we have been led to believe and clearly demonstrates that a large part of media rhetoric is rooted much more in the fear than in fact. Frankly, I am indignant by the striking contrast between the reality of microplastics and the fantasy that we are nourished. And it’s not just me; The American FDA also published a statement indicating that they saw no threat based on their own examination of science.

The fact is that science and scientists have proven that we were deceived and deceived by believing this manufacturing because, on the whole, frightening people are profitable. Sensationalism attracts the public, brings together higher notes and increases public commitment, ultimately leading to targeted advertising that resonates with the emotional state of a spectator or a reader, but ignores the obvious ethical concerns and the harmful consequences of such a practice.

The fear of microplastics has been monetized, and in order to maximize alarm and anxiety (and therefore income), reports exert the effects of microplastics by describing biological and environmental effects which are associated with microplastic dose more than a million times higher than those that occur in real life. The dose rates to which no one in the real world is never exposed. It is more than a shameful level of dishonesty; It is a deliberate distortion of facts from environmental groups confused operationally in search of donations and in the grip with identity attacks.

It is difficult to express, much less to quantify, the level of deception to which we are exposed. Plastic, for example, represents only 0.001% by weight of the dust that we ingest, and 50 years of tests have shown that it is non -toxic. The remaining 99.999% of the dust that we ingest contains proven toxins such as lead, arsenic, mercury and carcinogens known as quartz and asbestos. But, because their impact can be less visible and more complex to transmit (but clearly more harmful), everything is in plastic, all the time. It is a carelessness that borders crime.

Recent stories on microplastics in our body seem alarming until you consider the fact that our body particles have been studied since 1844. It is therefore hardly revolutionary or revolutionary information. Over time, we have biased the story so that plastics appear problematic by ignoring the presence of other particles (more harmful).

A recent frightening story said we had a spoonful of microplastics in our brain. Who believes this nonsense? The study has been repeatedly demystified by appropriate scientists who emphasize that the study is based on a method that simply does not work. The method they used (called GC-MS pyrolysis) detects the lipids and other substances we need in our brain, not in plastic.

It is time that we move our goal to real threats and require truth -based information. Fear is not a worthy guide. Rationality and evidence must open the way. The data show that plastics represent less than 1% of the materials that we use daily and are, most often, the materials having a least biological and environmental impact. The use of plastic can lead to a reduction in waste and greenhouse gases while limiting the use of fossil fuels. If we continue this unfounded campaign to demonize this material, it will be our suffering world.

Photo: Blue Planet Studio, Getty Images

This message appears through the Medcity influencers program. Anyone can publish their point of view on business and innovation in health care on Medcity News through Medcity influencers. Click here to find out how.