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Athleisure Besieger
The Science, The Alarm, and How to Avoid Microplastics Damage.
Fellow Optimizer
06 May
Table of Contents
Our yoga pants, tap water, and plastic bottles may be killing us slowly.
As colorectal cancer emerges as a leading cause of death among young adults under 50 years old, medical professionals are sounding the alarm. Despite a decline in overall cancer rates thanks to advancements in screening and reduced smoking, gastrointestinal cancers are paradoxically on the rise in younger populations.
Experts are pointing fingers at various culprits, from changing diets and sedentary lifestyles to an insidious yet pervasive environmental hazard: microplastics.
As recently outlined in the LA Times, the term “microfiber”, once synonymous with versatile cleaning products, has become an environmental nightmare. When these microfibers, predominantly composed of synthetic materials like polyester and acrylic, are shed during laundering, they find their way into our oceans, rivers, and lakes. The omnipresence of microplastics, which have even been detected in our food chain and water supplies, raised the question: correlation or causation? It appears that the answer is causation. Chronic inflammation, cancer, and infertility are just some of the potential risks as these minuscule particles invade human systems.
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that are either intentionally manufactured — like microbeads and glitter — or formed from the breakdown of plastic products like clothing and food packaging in the environment,” explained Rebecca Fuoco, director of science communications at the Green Science Policy Institute
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