How to reduce microplastics

akc-important-threads
#41

microplastics in eyedrops, the first study https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.05.26.24307941v1.full

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Amazon.com: Illy Intenso Whole Bean Coffee, Dark Roast, Intense, Robust And Full Flavored With Notes Of Deep Cocoa, 100% Arabica Coffee, No Preservatives, 8.8 Ounce (Pack Of 1) : Illy (illy’s coffee comes in metal containers, tho u can never be sure about upstream contamination)

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6" TPLA Spoon - Wrapped - World Centric (worldcentric has lots of plant-derived materials, but it’s unclear if they’re more innocuous than plastics b/c wood also creates microparticles…)

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6x6 Clamshell these clamshells say they’re 100% microplastic-free, i see them used in some trader joe’s tomatoes (but not enough trader joe’s food yet…) maybe i should go to the tenderlion organic foods tore tomorrow…

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when storing things in plastic containers, TRANSFER THEM TO GLASS CONTAINERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE so there’s not continual leaching. Like this: Amazon.com: Anchor Hocking 2.5 Gallon Glass Barrel Jar with Lid: Cookie Jars: Home & Kitchen

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I know Rhonda Patrick and others mention that cruciferous vegetables/sulforaphane might help “detox” plasticizers but phtlatates/BPA are not the highly jagged/hetereogeneous particles that get stuck (accumulate) in cell membranes (or brain tissue) over time.

#42
#43

Get bamboo floss rather than dental floss/tape (often made thru microplastics). see consumerlab.com for a guide [and that for a guide on best water pitchers - you can get 5 day free trial]

NOTE: chameleon coldbrew coffee uses polyester filters…

#44

[integrity of the gut barrier]…

#45
#46

If you have retatrutide/ozempic, try the below injection pens to minimize MPs from the injection pen:

Amazon.com: Bitomic 1ML Borosilicate Glass Syringe With Golden Metal Plunger | 10 Pack | Anti-Leak Luer Lock Without Needle | Accurate Measuring for Liquid, Glue, Oil : Industrial & Scientific

because Ozempic reduces food need, it is by far the best way to more than halve your intake of microplastics (more than halve b/c you avoid temptation to eat food when you’re least prepared to control for MPs), and that is good enough

GOT A NEEDLE TO FIT AND DRAW WATER INTO THIS

#47

Short answer: broccoli sprouts are not tiny garbage trucks. There’s no direct evidence that sulforaphane (SFN) “clears microplastics” by shunting them out via exosomes. Here’s what the actual science supports, minus the hype:

  • What SFN does do: SFN can activate TFEB, ramping up lysosomal programs and lysosomal exocytosis. In Niemann–Pick C models, SFN pushed TFEB into the nucleus and boosted LAMP1-on-membrane readouts, increasing exocytosis and clearing trapped cholesterol. Cool, but that’s cholesterol, not plastic.
  • What cells can do to nanoplastics: Several in-vitro studies show that polystyrene nanoplastics that accumulate in lysosomes can be removed by lysosomal exocytosis once exposure stops. That’s endogenous cleanup, not SFN-specific.
  • Where exosomes fit (or don’t): SFN can increase exosome release in some cell types (fibroblasts; certain cancers), but those papers didn’t track plastic cargo. Also, exosomes are ~30–150 nm vesicles; they’re not built to ferry micro-sized debris, and even for nanoplastics this route hasn’t been shown with SFN.
  • Reality check on plastics + vesicles: Micro/nanoplastics often mess up lysosomes and can perturb extracellular-vesicle signaling; EVs might spread stress signals rather than detox you. That’s kind of the opposite of a gentle escort to the exit.

Verdict:

SFN → TFEB → more lysosomal exocytosis? Shown. Plastics → sometimes cleared by lysosomal exocytosis? Shown. SFN specifically redirecting microplastics into exosomes for export? Not shown. If that pipeline exists, nobody’s published it yet.

If you’re thinking pragmatically: dialing up lysosomal health is plausible as a general strategy, but banking on SFN to vacuum nanoplastics is wishful. Also, lysosomal and EV pathways are double-edged; crank them indiscriminately and you might also crank inflammatory cargo. The body isn’t a Roomba, no matter how many crucifers you eat.

#48

Short version: that claim is a neat narrative built from real pieces, glued together with optimism. The pieces:

  1. **Melatonin vs microplastics (antioxidant/anti-inflammatory):**There are animal and fish studies where melatonin blunts toxicity from micro- or nanoplastics (liver I/R models, intestinal barrier, adrenal cortex, zebrafish neurodevelopment). That supports the “stimulating antioxidant defense” part. It does not show plastic is cleared from the brain.
  2. **Glymphatic clearance and melatonin:**Sleep boosts glymphatic clearance; melatonin helps you get slow-wave sleep and is present at high concentrations in CSF. Reviews by Reiter’s group argue melatonin may aid this waste-flush, and newer rodent work suggests melatonin can improve glymphatic function under certain injuries. Still, that’s mostly mechanistic/review and small animal data, not human proof that taking melatonin increases glymphatic “throughput.”
  3. **Microplastics + glymphatic system:**At least one mouse study links polystyrene nanoplastics to glymphatic dysfunction and cognitive impairment. So plastics can mess with the plumbing. What we don’t have is a study showing melatonin restores glymphatic flow and thereby clears microplastics from brain tissue.
  4. About those PMIDs in the claim:
  • 32368984 is about melatonin reducing BPA-induced oxidative stress in human red blood cells. Not microplastics, not brain, not glymphatic.
  • 38805828 shows melatonin counteracts polyethylene microplastics–induced adrenal toxicity in rats. Again, not brain or glymphatic.
  • 36917314 and 35316766 are reviews proposing roles for CSF melatonin and sleep in glymphatic waste clearance. Interesting, but not direct evidence of plastic clearance.

Bottom line

  • Supported: melatonin can mitigate some microplastic toxicity via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways; sleep (which melatonin promotes) supports glymphatic clearance in general.
  • Not shown: that melatonin protects against microplastics by flushing them out of the brain via the glymphatic system. That exact pipeline has no direct evidence yet. If someone on social media said it does, they stitched together adjacent facts and called it a day. Cute, but still a leap.

If you want to play this on hard mode: lower exposure (water and air filtration, avoid heating food in plastic), protect barriers (sleep, exercise), and don’t expect a $6 supplement to moonlight as a municipal waste service for your neurons.