Healthy_Food_Guide_UK_-_January_2020

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JANUARY 2020HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE 95

HEALTH

Drinkingwateris a no-brainerforgoodhealth,

butwarningsofmicroplasticparticlesinthewater

supplyareoff-putting.DietitianHarrietSmith

looks at how to dilute potential dangers

❛Bottledwater has^

22 timesmore

microplasticthan

tap water❜

W

HATARETHESEMICROPLASTICS

thatgetintoourwatersystems

andtheenvironment?Theymaybe

invisibletotheeye,buttinyplastic

particles(5mmorsmaller)arefoundin

clothingandbeautyproductsandmay

alsocomefromthebreakdownoflarger

plasticitems.Therearemanywaysthey

cangetintoourwater:forexample,from

surfacerun-off(particlesleftbehindby

tyresgetwashedintodrainagenetworks);

viawastewaterthatentersriversand

oceans;pollutionintheatmosphere

(particlesaretransportedbywindand

snow); and from mineral water bottles.

Sotheyalsogetintoourbodies?

Weconsumemicroplasticsinvarious

ways.Infood,forexample,highsources

includebeer,saltandshellfish.Weeat

ourshellfishwhole,soweingesttheir

plastic-polluteddigestivesystems.Even

restrictingourselvestofishfillets(aswe

eatonlytheflesh)won’tremovetherisk

asstudieshaveshowncannedfishand

fishliversalsocontainmicroplastics.

Themainsource,however,is drinking

water.A newstudyfromtheUniversityof

Newcastle,Australia,foundtheaverage

personconsumes1,769particles(about

5g)ofplasticeveryweekfrombottled

andtapwater.Howbadlywe’reaffected

dependswherewelive:there’stwiceas

muchmicroplasticfoundinUSandIndian

than in European or Indonesian water.

Aretheyharmful?

Scientistssuspectthatmicroplasticspose

a biggerhealthhazardthanpreviously

thought.Thelong-termeffectsarenot

clear,butstudiesareunderway.

Certain exposure levels have led to

inflammation,respiratoryproblems

andtoxicityinanimalandinvitro

studies,althoughwecan’ttranslate

thesefindingstohumans.Plus,the

levelsofexposureusedinthestudies

areprobablymuchhigherthan those

encountered in daily life.

Whataretheimplications?

Onceinourdigestivesystems,

microplasticscouldleadtoinflammation,

immunereactionsandotherhealth

problems,anda recentreviewsuggested

theymayhaveanadverseeffectonthe

gutmicrobiome.TimSpector,professor

ofgeneticepidemiologyatKing’s

CollegeLondonandauthorofTheDiet

Myth,says,‘Weknowvirtuallynothing

about the potential risks of humans

accumulatingplasticinourintestines,

andexactlyhowourgutmicrobeswill

respondtothesesyntheticchemicals –

but it’s unlikely to be good news.’

Whatthelatestresearchsays

TheWorldHealthOrganizationrecently

publisheda report,basedonlimited

evidence,thatconcludedmicroplastic

particlesindrinkingwateraren’t

harmfulatcurrentlevels– butit urgently

calledformoreresearch.TheFood

StandardsAgencyUKsaysthelevels

reportedare‘unlikely’tocauseharm,

based on current information.

Bottledortapwater?

Someofthebestavailabledatafor

microplasticsconcernswater,and

bottledwaterhasbeenshownto

contain,onaverage, 22 timesmorethan

tap.Onestudylookingatbottledwater

fromninecountries(notincludingthe

UK)found93%ofwaterbrands

containedmicroplastics,mainlydueto

thepackagingandbottlingprocess.

Some were leading international labels.

Whatactionshouldwetake?

lReduceouruseofplasticsingeneral,

whichwillmeanfewermicroplastics

enterourenvironment.

lAvoidsingle-useplasticwaterbottles

anduserefillable,non-plasticbottles.

Tapwateris betterfortheenvironment

and,ofcourse,cheaper.

lConsidera bottlewitha waterfilter

ora filterjug.Thesearedesignedto

removemicroplasticparticles(and

othercontaminants)fromdrinking

water.Sofarwe’vereliedonlaboratory

testingbythemanufacturersonly,but

thesefiltersappeartobeeffective.

lSupporta banontheuseof

microplasticsinmake-up,flushablewet

wipes,suncreamanddetergents.The

MarineConservationSocietyhas

lobbiedsuccessfullyfora microbeads

ban in personal care products.

Thedietitian’stakeout...

Weknowdrinkingwateris a health

essential.Weshoulddrinkaround 2

litresoffluidsa day,mainlylow-sugar

drinkssuchaswater,teaandcoffee.For

nowit’sbusinessasusualuntilevidence

on microplastics proves otherwise.