Detox microplastic effects from your body

I’m glad to see that the dangers of microplastic pollution are finally being acknowledged [Click here](1770d7/ct0_0/1/ms?sid=TV2%3AzZHAVmnZO) to view this message in your browser | [Click here](1770d7/l-002e/zout?sid=TV2%3AzZHAVmnZO) to stop receiving our messages [] [] Al Sears, MD 11905 Southern Blvd. Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411 [] April 4, 2024 [] Reader, I’m glad to see that the dangers of microplastic pollution are finally being acknowledged by the mainstream media. As a regular reader, you know I’ve been sounding this alarm bell for decades. Back in 2016, I wrote that there were 51 trillion pieces of plastic contaminating our oceans. Today, that number has skyrocketed to 171 trillion plastic pieces.1 And it’s expected to triple again by 2040 if no serious action is taken. While all plastic is damaging, the biggest catastrophe for human health comes from microplastics. You see, these plastics act like a sponge. They pick up pollution, pesticides, bacteria, chemicals, flame retardants, and heavy metals – and are linked to multiple health problems, including:2,3,4 - Cancer - Heart disease and stroke - Alzheimer’s - Diabetes - Lung disease - Inflammatory bowel disease - Thyroid dysfunction - And more Meanwhile, chemicals in these plastics – like bisphenol A and phthalates – wreak havoc on your hormones. They lead to estrogen overload in men and women. They lower a man’s testosterone and cause extreme symptoms of menopause in women. Sadly, no one is immune. Studies show the average person now eats, drinks, and breathes up to 211,000 microplastic particles each year – and that’s probably an underestimate.5 Worryingly, microplastics have been found in the feces of newborn babies.6 Chewing gum, pharmaceuticals, perfumes, fabric softeners, canned foods, and laundry pods contain these tiny plastic particles. They’re even found in cheap supplements. But one of the biggest sources comes from the fish we eat. Let me explain… Microplastics often come in the form of scrubbing “microbeads” – the gritty specks added to body scrubs, shower gels, toothpaste, and other products. When you rinse microbeads off your face and body, they flow into your local sewer system. But they are often too small to get filtered out of the water supply. Fish mistake those bits of plastic for food. By entering fish, these plastics enter our food supply. Scientists from New Zealand and Australia recently detected microplastics in 75% of commercial fish we eat.7,8 Take steps to reduce your exposure It’s impossible to remove all microplastics from the environment. But there are things you can do to reduce your exposure. Here are three tips to get you started… - Choose seafood wisely: Avoid fish at the top of the food chain. Good choices are smaller fish, like herring, sardines, halibut, and haddock. - Use a laundry filter: Nearly 65% of today’s clothing contains plastics like polyester, nylon, acrylic, and polyamide. Installing a washing machine filter can eliminate almost 80% of plastics. Also, avoid plastic-covered laundry and dishwasher detergent pods.9 - Filter your water: Look for a fridge filter with a micron rating of 0.1 or better. Also, consider getting a water filter for your kitchen sink tap with the same micron rating. Flush as many microplastics from your body as you can Minimizing exposure will get you only so far. I recommend making natural detox a part of your regular lifestyle. Here’s what I tell my patients: - Boost fiber consumption: Fiber acts like a scrubbing brush in your gut, keeping your gut microbiome in balance and helping to flush out plastic particles. Foods rich in fiber include pears, chia seeds, blueberries, beets, and avocado. - Eat adaptogenic herbs: Detox by adding adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha and rhodiola to your diet. Add 500 mg of ashwagandha powder to your morning smoothie. Supplement with 200 mg of rhodiola on an empty stomach. - Grab some probiotics: Fermented foods like kimchi, natural sauerkraut, kefir, and kombucha can help break down chemicals in plastics. Probiotic supplements should use mixed strains, especially lactobacillus and bifidobacterium. Look for 30 billion colony forming units (CFU) per capsule. This is the number of bacteria expected to reach and survive your gut. - Boil tap water: Increasing water intake is one of the most effective ways to detox. But make sure your water isn’t adding to the problem! A new study found that boiling hard tap water produces calcium carbonate, which form crystallized encapsulations around microplastics. These can then be removed by pouring the water through a coffee filter. This process removed up to 90% of the microplastics in samples of hard water and up to 25% of the microplastics in soft water.10 - Sweat them out. Sweating is one of the most effective ways to detox. I recommend every patient at my clinic detox with an infrared sauna. I prefer this type of sauna to a traditional steam sauna. Infrared light penetrates several inches into your tissue. This releases debris from the fat underneath your skin. It also allows your body to free toxins stored in other organs and tissues.11 In one study, sweat from a traditional sauna was up to 97% water. But sweat released in an infrared sauna was only 80% water. The remaining 20% was made up of fat-soluble toxins.12 Sweating also increases circulation and body heat, which helps in the transport and elimination of toxins through the liver and kidneys. To Your Good Health, Al Sears, MD, CNS --------------------------------------------------------------- References: - Eriksen M, et al. “A growing plastic smog, now estimated to be over 170 trillion plastic particles afloat in the world’s oceans—Urgent solutions required.” PLoS One. 2023 Mar 8;18(3):e0281596. - Sangkham Set al. “A review on microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment: their occurrence, exposure routes, toxic studies, and potential effects on human health.” Mar Pollut Bull. 2022, 181, 113832. - Lee Y, et al. “Health effects of microplastic exposures: current issues and perspectives in South Korea.” Yonsei Med J. 2023 May; 64(5): 301–308. - Prata J.C. “Airborne microplastics: Consequences to human health?” Environ Pollut. 2018;234:115–126. - Cox K, et al “How we eat, drink and breathe microplastics.” Environ Sci Technol. 2019, 53, 12, 7068–7074 - Zhang J, et al. “Occurrence of polyethylene terephthalate and polycarbonate microplastics in infant and adult feces.” Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2021, 8, 11, 989–994 - Clere IK, et al. “Quantification and characterization of microplastics in commercial fish from southern New Zealand. Mar Pollut Bull.” 2022;184:114121. - Chelsea M. Rochman “Ecologically relevant data are policy-relevant data.” Science. 2016; 352(6290):1172. - Napper, et al. “The efficiency of devices intended to reduce microfibre release during clothes washing.” Sci Total Environ. 2020 Oct 10;738:140412. - Yu Z, et al. “Drinking boiled tap water reduces human intake of nanoplastics and microplastics.” Environ Sci Technol Lett. 2024;11(3):273–279. - Sears M. “Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in sweat: a systematic review.” J Environ Public Health. 2012;2012:184745. - Evolution Health. Infrared sauna detoxification. alsearsmd@send.alsearsmd.com [Preferences | Unsubscribe](1770d7/l-002e/zout?sid=TV2%3AzZHAVmnZO) 11905 Southern Blvd., Royal Palm Beach, Florida 33411, United States