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Tara Loader Wilkinson

They are found in cosmetics and cleaning products, apples and chicken nuggets, breast milk – and our brains. From the bottom of the Mariana Trench 10,000 metres (32,800 feet) below the ocean’s surface to the top of Mount Everest, microplastics are everywhere.
These plastic particles that are less than 5mm (0.19 inch) in size are broken down from larger plastic items such as bottles or packaging.
Synthetic textiles are the biggest source of microplastics, producing 35 per cent of the total, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Tyre wear and tear ranks second, at 28 per cent.
A 2021 Hong Kong study of 50 samples of frozen mussels brought in from five different locations, including Canada, Holland and Australia, estimated that mussel eaters in the city could ingest as many as 508 pieces of microplastic per year.

Particularly small pieces can cross into the bloodstream from the stomach.
The study called microplastics pollution “an alarming global issue in food safety”.
Tracey Woodruff is a professor of obstetrics, gynaecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco.
In 2022, she led a review of nearly 2,000 scientific studies on the health risks associated with microplastics.
What she found from animal studies led her to warn that ingesting microplastics may increase the risk of cancer, particularly in the digestive tract, as well as lead to poorer fetal development and reduce fertility.
Dr Shanna Swan, an epidemiologist and professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York, agrees.

She suggests plastics are threatening the existence of the human race due to their effect on sperm production.
Plastics and PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are synthetic chemicals found in products such as clothing, carpets and fabrics) are so-called forever chemicals.
Swan’s research into the links between them and the precipitous decline in global sperm counts has brought her international recognition.
We’re kind of flying blind, like all 8 billion of us on Earth, when it comes to microplastics
Bryan Johnson, celebrity biohacker
In 2021, she co-authored the book Count Down: How Our Modern World is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race.
In the book she suggests average sperm decline will reach a critical point by 2045. She highlights that fertility has dropped 50 per cent over the past 50 years worldwide, and the average man today has only half the sperm count his grandfather had.
“It’s a decline of 52 per cent, which is faster than 1 per cent per year. And if you thought about anything else, like breast cancer, or ADHD, or anything that was increasing or changing at that rate, people would be up in arms, but for some reason, they are not so alarmed about this decline,” she said in Plastic “Tox”, a podcast by the Plastic Pollution Coalition.

To see how widespread the microplastics problem is, she advises reading the labels on everyday household items including those in your kitchen cupboard, bathroom cabinet and garden shed.
For celebrity biohacker Bryan Johnson, the founder of longevity-focused company Blueprint, the idea that microplastics were so rampant, and having such an impact on our health, was staggering.
“We’re kind of flying blind, like all 8 billion of us on Earth, when it comes to microplastics,” he says on his website.

His team contacted 50 laboratories and found only one with a limited ability to test for microplastic presence in humans. So he took matters into his own hands.
Blueprint has launched the world’s first microplastics self-testing kit. With a finger-prick blood test, it reveals the kinds of microplastics circulating in your bloodstream and how you compare to others.
It measures common commercial plastics including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA), polypropylene (PP), polythene (PE), polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS) – and can even report the particle sizes.
The test costs US$149. There is currently a waiting list for availability.

Johnson is known for his extreme approaches to anti-ageing. After testing himself and finding microplastic particles in his system, he had a total plasma exchange – replacing his blood plasma with albumin, the protein found in blood plasma – to see if this would reduce the forever chemicals and plastic particles in his body. He is still awaiting the results.
So how can the rest of us rid our bodies of microplastics?
“The first step is to measure, and then as a community, we will collectively work to find solutions,” Johnson says. “Optimising the gut microbiota might offer another viable avenue for reducing the nutritional impact of microplastics. We will also learn a lot about avoiding and eliminating microplastics from our drinking water, clothing, food and environment.”
Ways to take action include avoiding bottled water and plastic takeaway containers, choosing unprocessed foods not wrapped in plastic, using natural cosmetics and toiletries, filtering and boiling tap water, replacing plastic containers with glass and ceramic ones, and not microwaving food in plastic containers.

Avoiding clothes and textiles made from man-made fabrics such as polyester, washing our clothes less (the washing process breaks fibres into microplastics) and using fabric shopping bags are other ways to combat the microplastics problem.
Governments are taking steps to reduce plastic use. On Earth Day this year (April 22), Hong Kong banned many single-use non-biodegradable plastics, including straws, cutlery and styrofoam containers.
Phase 2, expected to take effect in 2025, will ban plastic cups and takeaway boxes.
Plastic may be ubiquitous, but by being conscious of the way we shop, drink, eat and cook, we can start to limit the damage we are still only starting to comprehend.
Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here.


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Wellness

How microplastics threaten humans and the US$149 test to see your levels

Plastic waste litters Bicaz Lake in Romania. Microplastics are found everywhere these days and, alarmingly, are being linked to a range of health problems. Biohacker Bryan Johnson’s company Blueprint has released the world’s first microplastics self-testing kit in response to a growing problem. Photo: Shutterstock

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Dr Shanna Swan suggests average sperm decline will reach a critical point by 2045. Photo: shannaswan.com

The cover of the 2021 book Swan co-authored. Photo: Simon and Schuster

Johnson says it is important to measure microplastics’ presence in the body to gauge the size of the problem, and then to work together to find solutions. Photo: Instagram.com/bryanjohnson_

Blueprint’s microplastics self-testing kit for common plastics in the blood. Photo: Blueprint

In hopes of removing toxins, including microplastics, from his body, biohacker Bryan Johnson had a total plasma exchange, removing all the blood plasma in his body and replacing with albumin, the protein in blood plasma. Photo: Instagram.com/bryanjohnson_

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Visibility is reduced as haze affects Hong Kong today, Central.  
30DEC23 SCMP/ Dickson Lee

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Air pollution over Beijing in 2015. China has introduced a number of laws to clean up its air, which have been linked to a reduction in cognitive impairment in older adults. Photo: Shutterstock

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Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

Food & Drink

Experts say microplastics reduce fertility, lower sperm count and may increase cancer risk. Biohacker Bryan Johnson is trying to help


Experts say microplastics reduce fertility, lower sperm count and may increase cancer risk. Biohacker Bryan Johnson is trying to help.


Reproductive health

Healthy eating

Ageing society

Environment