350% Increase in Heart Attacks!

What if this plastic water bottle were poisoning your heart? And yes, this is a real heart. A real, bonafide, fleshy heart. Admittedly, it's a cow's heart. I thought stealing a human heart from the anatomy lab would get me in a lot of trouble. But the question remains: what if this plastic water bottle were poisoning your heart? In fact, it almost certainly is. But I'm not here just to scare you. In today's video, we're going to break down landmark data showing just how dangerous plastic is for the heart. But we're not going to stop there. We're going to go on to share practical, implementable lifestyle tips that you can use today to protect one of your most valuable organs, your heart. And I promise, if you stick around to the end, you're going to get information here you can't get anywhere else. Let's go. Are you ready for the mic drop moment? This is a study that honestly scared the sutures out of me. Just let that sink in. They aren't just real dangers, they're gargantuan dangers. They found jagged-edged —form particles lodged in macrophages. Your immune cells scream. The pervasive invasion of plastics into our environment is the reason I actually made this video. A microplastic shield from within the body. Power begins where panic ends. Now, real quick before we begin, when you're done here, don't forget to check out the associated Stay Curious Metabolism newsletter. That's where you can always find extra details, nuances, and protocols, like where I first divulged how I'm protecting My Heart Against Microplastics. Find out what people are raving about and why we've quickly become a top 3 bestseller in science across the globe on the platform. Anyway, with that over, to your main feature. Now I want to kick off our conversation by reviewing a landmark study that was published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine. This was a study that honestly scared the sutures out of me. But to review, it was an observational trial that followed 257 patients who each had partial blockages of the carotid arteries going to their brains. Now, these patients were asymptomatic, but each underwent a procedure, a medical procedure known as a carotid endarterectomy. You don't need to know what that word means. Basically, the arteries are surgically opened, but this provided the doctors, the researchers with a rare opportunity. They could take direct samples from the patient's plaques and then examine those plaques for different features, different types of cardiovascular plaques, and then follow the patients over time. To see what happened to them. Did they have heart attacks, strokes? Were they fine? Did they die? On average, the 257 patients were followed for 34 months, so almost 3 years. Now here's where things get wild. Microplastics and nanoplastics were detected in 58.4% of patients' plaques. But that's not the mic drop moment. That's not the scary bit. Are you ready for the mic drop moment? In patients with microplastics and nanoplastics in their plaques, there was a 350% increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and death. 350% increased risk. That's not a typo. It's not a verbal slip. The hazards ratio was 4.53 for those composite endpoints, meaning a 4.53-fold increased risk. Just let that sink in. Just the presence of microplastics in the artery was associated with a dramatically higher risk of major adverse cardiovascular events—heart attacks, stroke, death. I'm going to frame that up a little bit more in a moment, but to first back up, this wasn't an out-of-the-blue finding. It had already been hypothesized since prior studies had shown that microplastics can stimulate oxidative stress, inflammation, and vascular cell death, which are all important in cardiovascular disease. But most of that prior work had been done in preclinical models—think cells in petri dishes and animals. But this study, this New England Journal study, it translated these theories, these hypotheses into humans. It put the danger on the map, and in a dramatic way. It highlighted something jaw-dropping: the dangers of microplastics in the cardiovascular system, they aren't just real dangers, they're gargantuan dangers. Now, to add another layer of biological plausibility, the researchers went a step further. They looked for associations between the microplastics and markers of inflammation and immune cell invasion into the arteries. They found that higher levels of microplastics were associated with more inflammation, as measured by key inflammatory markers like interleukin-18, interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6, and TNF-alpha. But that wasn't all. There were also elevated levels of immune cell invasion, specifically markers like CD3 and CD68, which are markers of T cells and macrophages respectively. You don't need to know the details, but you can see the data visualized here. When microplastics were present, there was more immune cell invasion into the artery. And to go even further, the team used ultra-high-resolution electron microscopy to inspect the plaques at a cellular level. What did they find? Quoting, they found jagged-edged foreign particles lodged in macrophages, immune cells that normally clean up cellular debris. If you want a little bit more framing for that, here's a helpful and somewhat goofy metaphor. If these macrophages, these immune cells, are like a foot, those jagged little plastic particles are like Legos. You step on one and your immune cell screams. The result is a flare of inflammation. The biological equivalent of shouting profanities into your bloodstream, into your heart. I also want to emphasize this amazing study wasn't a one-off. Since the New England Journal of Medicine paper spotlighted this issue last year, more and more studies have emerged pouring out, showing consistent and reproducible findings. For example, in another study involving 101 patients with cardiovascular disease, researchers looked for an association between microplastic levels and severity of both inflammation and cardiovascular disease. And once again, remember, reproducible. The researchers found higher levels of microplastics were linked to worse inflammation and more complex and more severe cardiovascular disease. So the takeaway is clear and consistent: microplastics from the environment tend to trigger inflammation, immune activation, and can seed or accelerate cardiovascular disease. This can ultimately culminate in heart attack, stroke, or death—that 350% increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and death we reviewed earlier. Now, as a quick aside, but to kind of give a size reference, these effect sizes we're seeing, they're massive. In fact, while these studies don't offer a direct internal comparison, if you extrapolate across studies, the effect size—the risk-effect size—of having nanoplastics and microplastics in your arteries is about 10 times greater than the association between elevated LDL, bad cholesterol, and heart disease. You can take that number with a grain of salt—again, internally the studies don't provide direct comparisons—but I share it because it helps frame up the potential severity of microplastics in a way that is relatable and urgent. And if you want more data, you can see the newsletter link below. But in review, plastic production and pollution are rising globally, And as plastics break down, they form microplastics and nanoplastics that enter our bodies and can trigger pathological changes including inflammation, oxidative stress, and eventually heart attacks, stroke, and death. What was once a theoretical concern now has stronger human-based evidence than ever. Microplastics and nanoplastics are found embedded in our blood vessels and other organs too—our pancreas, our liver, even our brains, our testicles. Well, those of us who have testicles anyway. Higher levels of microplastics and nanoplastics are linked to higher levels of inflammation, greater immune cell invasion, and again, that 350% increased risk of heart attack, stroke, or death. This isn't just an environmental issue anymore. I still care about the turtles, but this is a human issue. So now, what can we actually do? Because knowing that microplastics increase your risk of a heart attack by 350%, it's terrifying, But power begins where panic ends. So let's pivot from the problem to prevention. Here are high-yield ways to dramatically reduce your exposure, and you're really gonna wanna stick around for number 5, 'cause it's the reason I actually made this video. But first, switch from plastic to glass or stainless steel when you can, and especially for heat. Plastic leeches more microplastics and nanoplastics when it's heated. So reheating leftovers in plastic containers or drinking hot coffee from a plastic lid, that should be a big no-no. That's microplastic season. Use glass or stainless steel instead if you can, especially for hot food and drink. 2, try to filter your water properly. Use a reverse osmosis or activated carbon block filter for your water. These systems can remove about 90% of the microplastic particles as well as other contaminants like PFAS, forever chemicals, and heavy metals. 3. Upgrade your laundry game. Synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon, or acrylic, they shed billions of microfibers every wash, and those fibers can go into our waterways and eventually into you. So use microfiber-catching laundry bags or a filter if you can. 4. Mind your air. Yes, even airborne microplastics exist, so try to run an air purifier with a HEPA filter and open your windows regularly. That can help purify your air so you're inhaling less microplastics. And that brings us to number 5, our grand finale: Winnow. Now, there's a reason I'm making this video now. As I mentioned earlier, I get that feeling, that urge to look away because you just don't know what to do. Even with all the tips I just suggested, microplastics are everywhere, and it seems inevitable that some are going to get into your body. So ideally, you'd want something that is internally helping you, shielding you from the dangers of microplastics. And that brings me to Winnow. For the first time, I feel like there might be a practical, science-backed way to protect ourselves from the pervasive invasion of plastics into our environment without having to go off the grid or live in a bubble. A company called Winnow, which full disclosure, I've recently joined as a partner and scientific advisor because I'm so excited about what they're doing. They have developed a probiotic blend shown in gut-based simulations to bind up and chelate microplastics. The concept is elegant. It's brilliant. By taking this probiotic daily, microplastics in the gut are bound up and escorted safely through the intestines and then eliminated naturally before they can be absorbed into our bodies. Winnow's formulation has been tested against multiple plastic types, including multiple types of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl, and polystyrene. These are found in water bottles, food packagings, bags, films, containers, and other everyday materials. The goal here isn't just to build another top-end class probiotic, it's to build that plus a microplastic shield from within the body. It's a remarkable feat of engineering that gets me so excited. So yeah, I'm genuinely excited to be part of this team and promoting this product, but on the team, they're a group of highly motivated, intelligent, and open-minded people driven by science and altruism. I truly feel that way. And just as a little behind the scenes, I've declined about 90% of scientific advisory roles I've been offered. I am very selective about the missions I align with, but I believe in this one, both in the product and the people behind it. This is a product engineered to solve a pervasive problem. Remember, 1.8 billion tons per year by 2050. The solution is leading the business model, not the other way around, and that's how it should be. So if you want to try this product, the one that I'm helping to develop, the one that I'm using, click the link below, use discount code STAYCURIOUS for 15% off. Serious offer, this is something I think you should try. Because plastic, it's not just an environmental problem, it's a biological one. It's inside us, in our bloods, organs, and even our hearts. The data are clear: microplastics drive inflammation, damage arteries, and raise our risk of heart attack, stroke, and death. But knowledge shouldn't just scare us. It's meant to arm us. Every filtered glass of water, every switch from plastic to glass, every breath of cleaner air matters. Small changes add up. And now with innovations like Winnow, we may finally have a way to defend ourselves from the inside out. So don't turn away. Get curious, stay curious, get smart, and protect your heart so your heart and the planet can beat on.

As a quick little behind the scenes, I had to run around Boston for a couple hours to get this 100% pasture-raised, regeneratively raised, locally produced beef heart. Why did I do this? Well, I'm a hardo who loves to eat beef heart and wanted to bang our intro for you. But more to the point, while I think animal proteins, particularly organ meats, can be incredible fuel for the human body, I also think this is still compatible with being aware of how we source our meats to optimize both human performance and health, but but also animal welfare ethics.

So that's my PSA for you.

This is going to be delicious.