A young woman watches a long pice of plastic float by her at head level.
Photo by Iryna Makarchuk on Unsplash

Nanoplastics Invading Our Brains: The Shocking Truth You Need to Know

Michael Hunter, MD
BeingWell
Published in
5 min readSep 8, 2024

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I recently came across this headline on CNN: “Tiny shards of plastic are increasingly infiltrating our brains, study says.”

It’s quite alarming, but should I be concerned?

Today, I’ll delve into this news and provide some context.

After that, we’ll explore practical ways to reduce your nanoplastic exposure.

What Are Nanoplastics?

The National Ocean Service (of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) offers this definition:

Microplastics are small plastic fragments ranging from less than 0.2 inch (5 millimeters), or about the size of a pencil eraser, to 1 nanometer.

A plastic PET bottle floats in aquamarine water.
Photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash

Here’s some perspective: A human hair is about 80,000 nanometers wide.

Anything smaller is a nanoplastic that we measure in billionths of a meter.

Nanoplastics are a potential health time bomb, as the tiny shards can establish residence in individual cells.

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BeingWell
BeingWell

Published in BeingWell

A Medika Life Publication for the Medical Community

Michael Hunter, MD
Michael Hunter, MD

Written by Michael Hunter, MD

I have degrees from Harvard, Yale, and Penn. I am a radiation oncologist in the Seattle area. You may find me regularly posting at www.newcancerinfo.com