Posted on 12/28/2021 9:11:33 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Microplastics—tiny pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in length –– are everywhere, from bottled water to food to air. According to recent estimates, people consume tens of thousands of these particles each year, with unknown health consequences. Now, researchers found that people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have more microplastics in their feces than healthy controls, suggesting that the fragments could be related to the disease process.
The prevalence of IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is rising globally. Characterized by chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, IBD can be triggered or made worse by diet and environmental factors. Microplastics can cause intestinal inflammation, gut microbiome disturbances and other problems in animal models.
The team obtained fecal samples from 50 healthy people and 52 people with IBD from different geographic regions of China. Analysis of the samples showed that feces from IBD patients contained about 1.5 times more microplastic particles per gram than those from healthy subjects. The microplastics had similar shapes (mostly sheets and fibers) in the two groups, but the IBD feces had more small (less than 50 μm) particles. The most common types of plastic were polyethylene terephthalate (PET; used in bottles and food containers) and polyamide (PA; found in food packaging and textiles). People with more severe IBD symptoms tended to have higher levels of fecal microplastics. The researchers found that people in both groups who drank bottled water, ate takeaway food and were often exposed to dust had more microplastics in their feces.
These results suggest that people with IBD may be exposed to more microplastics in their gastrointestinal tract. However, it's still unclear whether this exposure could cause or contribute to IBD, or whether people with IBD accumulate more fecal microplastics as a result of their disease, the researcher say.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Perhaps minimizing them in your home could help with symptoms.
"Microplastics"
Perhaps they meant 5nm?
in paragraph 3:
” . . .IBD feces had more small (less than 50 μm) particles.”
Yeah, I think I’d notice if I had 5 millimeter plastic particles in my septic deposits. Bleeding ‘roids would be a good indicator.
Coincidentally, Chinese biochemists researching IBD have significantly higher amounts of fecal matter under their fingernails.
Do they know how huge a 5mm piece of plastic is?
There is a place in the ocean double the size of Texas that is filled with all the plastic bottles tossed in the ocean.90% of this comes from Africa and Asia.
These break down into tiny particles and the fish eat it. Then humans eat the fish.
Maybe that is the beginning of an explanation for Morgellons
Disease; Skin lesions that appear to have tiny bits of string and fiber coming out of them. Most sufferers are seen as hypochondriacs, afflicted with fibromyalgia or parasites.
I am not sure that a study from China has any relevance to people suffering from similar conditions in this country. It might be that micro-plastics are an issue in the Chinese diet but it may or may not be here.
And here I thought this article was about Invester’s Business Daily.
I’m not surprised. People don’t realize how much plastic is in what they eat.
I thought that it was typo. There is nothing micro about a 1/4” long piece of plastic. Can you really eat a rice sized piece of hard plastic without noticing? The Chinese might not be getting good chew training when they are kids.
Another failure of the Carter Administration. Americans don't understand the metric system. What was that telescope lens failure confusing meters with yards or some such?
Dr. Berg said people eat a credit card's worth every week.
The metric system is for people who don’t believe in evolution.
+1 on that. I know our diet in this country isn’t the greatest, but I’m willing to bet the Chinese people eat worse than we do.
By the way, I have Ulcerative Colitis, since 1994, and both my daughters, while colitis free, have exhibited traits of autoimmune diseases, just like myself.
It’s genetics, I think.
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