There’s probably one lurking on your desk, kitchen top or bedside table.
But people should steer clear of bottled water to reduce the level of toxic microplastics in their brain, scientists warned today.
Canadian researchers said switching from bottled to filtered tap water alone could slash their intake of microplastics by 90 per cent — from roughly 90,000 to 4,000 particles each year.
The report, highlighting practical strategies for reducing exposure, follows research published last month that found some human brains now contain up to 7 grams of plastic.
This is roughly about as much as goes into making a small spoon.
Levels were also three to five times higher in individuals with documented dementia diagnoses, US researchers discovered.
Invisible to the human eye, microplastics are tiny plastic fragments as small as two micrometres, or two-thousandths of a millimetre.
These particles make their way into food, water supplies and even into the air as plastic products degrade over time.
Canadian researchers said switching from bottled to filtered tap water alone could slash their intake by 90 per cent — from roughly 90,000 to 4,000 particles each year
Dr Brandon Luu, a resident physician in internal medicine at the University of Toronto and report co-author said today: ‘Bottled water alone can expose people to nearly as many microplastic particles annually as all ingested and inhaled sources combined.
‘Switching to tap water could reduce this exposure by almost 90 per cent, making it one of the simplest ways to cut down on microplastic intake.’
The report, published in the journal Brain Medicine, also said other ‘significant’ sources of microplastic intake included using plastic tea bags and how food is heated.
‘Heating food in plastic containers — especially in the microwave — can release substantial amounts of microplastics and nanoplastics,’ Dr Luu added.
‘Avoiding plastic food storage and using glass or stainless steel alternatives is a small but meaningful step in limiting exposure.
‘While these changes make sense, we still need research to confirm whether lowering intake leads to reduced accumulation in human tissues.’
The earlier study, published last month in Nature Medicine, saw US scientists analyse the brain tissue of 52 people who died in 2016 and 2024.
They found the levels of microplastic found in people’s brains was in 2024 was about 50 per cent higher than in those who died in 2016, suggesting the concentration in our bodies is rising as the environment becomes more polluted.
Experts say you can cut your exposure to microplastics by swapping out plastics in your home for natural materials, metal and glass
The University of New Mexico researchers also found higher amounts of tiny plastic particles in the brains of dementia patients who had died compared to those without the condition, suggesting a potential link.
However, they noted that this didn’t show that plastics harmed brain health. Instead, it merely hinted at a correlation.
Dr Nicholas Fabiano, an expert in psychiatry at the University of Ottawa and lead author of the Brain Health commentary, said: ‘The dramatic increase in brain microplastic concentrations over just eight years, from 2016 to 2024, is particularly alarming.
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‘This rise mirrors the exponential increase we’re seeing in environmental microplastic levels.’
To get into the brain, plastics have to cross the blood-brain barrier — a layer of cells surrounding the brain which acts as a filter to prevent the entry of harmful substances.
Microplastics have worried scientists for decades.
While the long-term effects of microplastics on human health remain unclear concern is rising because avoiding them is almost impossible.
A recent study even found using a single tea bag could release billions of dangerous microplastics into the body.
Microplastics have been found in variety of other human tissue including the intestines and even in men’s sperm.
Dr. Luu also recommended that the public avoid using plastic containers while heating up food in a microwave. The cooking process can release ‘substantial amounts’ of plastics which contaminate your meal.
Using glass and steel containers for food storage instead of plastic can also limit your exposure.
According to the Mayo Clinic, dementia is the umbrella term for a group of symptoms which affects memory, thinking, and social behavior. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia.
Memory loss is the most known symptom, but there are many others which can develop slowly over the course of several years.
These include problems finding words and communicating with others, visual and spatial abilities like easily getting lost, confusion, and losing coordination of your movements.
There can also be a behavioral change, with dementia patients often experiencing depression, agitation, or unexplained outbursts of anger.
The World Health Organization estimates that over 55 million people have dementia, with a half-million Americans expected to be diagnosed this year alone.
To this point, treatment has focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle into old age, and the new study has added another step in that process – avoid plastics.