Microplastics are tiny plastic fragments breaking down in the environment and ending up in your blood, lungs, and semen. Your body can't process plastic like it does food, so it's basically eating microscopic LEGO dust. Switch to glass containers, don't heat food in plastic, and limit plastic contact where you can.
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What the fuck are microplastics, and why are they in my balls? Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic, microscopic pieces that form when plastic starts to break down. Every time plastic gets worn down by heat, sunlight, or friction, it doesn't disappear, it just turns into smaller and smaller bits. Those bits end up in water, food, air, which means they end up in us. Scientists have already detected microplastics in human blood, lungs, breast milk, placental tissue, and even semen, which is a pretty wild sentence if you stop and think about it. It's like the world's tiniest glitter problem, except instead of it being stuck on your hands and face, it's Stuck in your hands and face. Now, your body knows what to do with protein, it knows what to do with fat, but plastic? That's not really in the digestive instruction manual. Eating pre-packaged meals is like seasoning your food with microscopic Lego dust. Now, this doesn't mean the sky is falling tomorrow, but it does mean we're running a pretty huge experiment where microplastics are slowly entering into the food chain and the human body. The good news is you can reduce your exposure. Use less plastic where you can— glass bottles, stainless steel cups. Avoid heating food in plastic, because if you can avoid eating microscopic pieces of packaging, that's probably a good idea. See you in the next episode of What the fuck is that? Because you deserve to know.