In a recent trial published in Nature Medicine, researchers replaced the diet and personal care products of 60 Australians with low-plastic alternatives and found that participants’ levels of plastic chemicals dropped after only seven days.
In short:
- In addition to replacing personal care products and plastic kitchenware, participants were swapped to a diet of food that had minimal contact with plastic during production, processing, packaging, storage, and preparation.
- Participants saw a significant decrease in their levels of several plastic chemicals, including multiple types of phthalates and bisphenols.
- Switching to low-plastic personal care products also reduced participants’ phthalate levels independently of diet.
Key quote:
“Changing dietary behaviors; limiting highly processed foods, plastic food packaging and canned goods; and minimizing plastic touchpoints in food storage, preparation and handling reduces urinary excretion of… phthalates and bisphenols.”
Why this matters:
Endocrine disrupting chemicals like bisphenols, phthalates, and other plastic chemicals have been linked with a wide range of severe health impacts, including (but not limited to) cancers, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity, and reproductive issues. Of the 16,325 chemicals known to be used in plastic, more than 66% have never been tested or assessed for potential hazards, and very few are subject to regulations that would help minimize public exposure. While studies such as this show that people do have the ability to lessen their exposure through their personal choices, research has shown that regulatory and policy interventions are more effective, more consistent, and have a more widespread impact than strategies that put the burden on individual consumers to protect themselves.
Related EHN coverage:
- Lifestyle changes may help meaningfully reduce exposure to toxic plastic chemicals
- Exposure to plasticizer chemicals linked to hundreds of thousands of U.S. deaths each year
More resources: The Food Packaging Forum provides independent publications and tools based on the latest science on the health effects of chemicals in food contact materials.
- Op-ed: When it comes to food chemicals, Europe’s food safety agency and the FDA are oceans apart ›
- Most U.S. calories now come from ultra-processed foods, CDC report finds ›
- Op-ed: How the FDA ignores the law when approving new chemical additives to food ›
- Chemicals in food are an overlooked threat to public health, scientists say ›
