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Doc here. It’s hard to prove.

You can’t do a double-blind randomized control trial.

And we have barely learned to measure these nanoplastics.

But there are starting to be strong correlations between the plastic occurrence and terrible diseases. Recent data on atherosclerosis + infarcts is horrible.

Recent data on testes production of sperm cells also looks very damning.

In summary, there are a few unexplained things in medicine that might very well be caused by plastics. Eg. More colon cancer in young people in the west. Eg. Declining sperm quality in the last 30 years in the west. Yes, it could be foods, but it doesn’t explain the whole picture. Plastics could be it.

My guess is that a LOT of nasty studies will come out in the next years.

I switched to glass and metal for all my food and water, for as much as I can control it.



Aren't microplastics a much bigger problem in Asia than in the West? I would guess that the negative effects of microplastics would show up in Asia first, rather than the West.


Depends. They are currently higher in Asia, but I would guess they were higher in the west before the last few decades.


We also don’t have a definitive cause of the obesity epidemic. It wouldn’t surprise me if it turns out to be caused by plastics exposure.


Another thing you can do to limit your exposure is to move far away from high-traffic roads. Tire dust is a major factor in exposure.


> You can’t do a double-blind randomized control trial.

You could on animals.


Yes, and I guarantee the first comment on that future HN article will be: "In mice" and dismiss the study.




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