You train hard, eat well and look after your sleep. So it's a bit unsettling to learn that tiny fragments of plastic are turning up inside the human body.
Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than 5mm, and nanoplastics are smaller still. They come from the breakdown of larger plastic items, and they're now in our food, our water and even the air we breathe. Scientists have detected them in human blood, lungs and placentas, and the evidence that they may affect our health is growing.
Here's what we know so far, and what you can realistically do about it.
What does the research say?
Two recent studies have grabbed the headlines.
In 2024, a team of Italian researchers published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine in which they examined fatty plaque removed from the carotid arteries (the main arteries in the neck) of 257 patients. Just over half of them (58%) had polyethylene, the plastic commonly used in carrier bags and food packaging, in their plaque. Those patients were around 4.5 times more likely to go on to have a heart attack, a stroke or to die over the next three years or so than those with no detectable plastic (Marfella et al., 2024).
In 2025, researchers writing in Nature Medicine analysed brain, liver and kidney tissue from people who had died. Plastic concentrations were substantially higher in the brain than in the other organs, were higher in samples from 2024 than in those from 2016, and were higher still in the brains of people who had been diagnosed with dementia (Nihart et al., 2025).
It's important to be straight about the limits here. Both studies show an association, not proof that microplastics cause these problems, and the authors say as much. Other factors could be involved, and more research is needed. But early laboratory work also points to possible links with inflammation and cell stress, so many scientists think it's sensible to reduce exposure while the picture becomes clearer.
The good news is that you can't avoid plastic completely, but a few simple changes in the kitchen and on the go can cut down how much ends up in your body. Here's where to start.
1. Bin the plastic cooking utensils
Plastic spatulas, spoons and whisks take a lot of punishment. They're heated in hot pans, scraped against metal and washed again and again, and over time that heat and friction can wear tiny particles off them and into your food. If yours are scratched, warped or melted at the edges, they're almost certainly shedding.
The swap: wooden, bamboo or stainless steel utensils. They're durable, inexpensive and kinder to your pans when used with the right cookware.
2. Stop storing food in plastic containers
The longer food sits in plastic, the more chance there is of particles and plastic-related chemicals transferring into it. This is especially true of oily, fatty or acidic foods (think curries, tomato-based sauces and dressings) and of older, scratched or cloudy containers.
The swap: glass containers with lids, or stainless steel tins. Glass is also easier to get properly clean and doesn't hold on to smells or stains, which is a bonus for anyone who batch-preps their meals for the week.
3. Never reheat food in plastic (and don't eat from it)
Heat is the big one. Laboratory studies have found that heating plastic food containers, including in the microwave, can release large numbers of tiny particles into the food inside. Heating a ready meal in its plastic tray, or microwaving last night's leftovers in a takeaway tub, is probably the single most common way people get an extra helping of plastic with their dinner.
The swap: tip food onto a ceramic plate or into a glass dish before reheating, and eat from ceramic or glass too. It takes an extra 30 seconds and it's one of the easiest changes you can make.
4. Ditch the plastic drinks bottles
If you're drinking from single-use plastic bottles, you're probably swallowing plastic as well as water. A 2024 US study of bottled water found, on average, around a quarter of a million plastic fragments in a single litre, the vast majority of them nanoplastics. Bottles that are left in a hot car or a warm gym bag, or squeezed and twisted over and over, are likely to shed even more.
The swap: a refillable glass or stainless steel bottle. If you're in the UK, tap water is among the most tightly regulated in the world, so filling up at home, at work or at the gym is cheaper as well as better for the planet.
5. Leave the plastic cutlery behind on-the-go
Grabbing a quick lunch is when plastic cutlery tends to creep back in. It's thin, flexible and designed to be thrown away, and when it meets hot food, it's very easy for fragments to find their way into your meal.
The swap: keep a small reusable set (metal or bamboo) in your gym bag, desk drawer or car. You'll use it every day without thinking about it, and you'll save a few plastic forks from going into landfill, too.
Bonus tip: Make use of the sauna
If you have access to a sauna, you've got a nice bonus here, with a caveat.
You may have seen headlines claiming that sauna sessions can "sweat out" microplastics. The truth is a little more nuanced. Research on sweat has found that it can carry out some of the chemicals that are added to plastics, such as BPA and phthalates, which can act as hormone disruptors. In one small study, BPA was found in the sweat of 16 out of 20 participants (Genuis et al., 2012, Journal of Environmental and Public Health). So regular sweating, whether through a sauna or hard training, may help your body get rid of some of these plastic-related chemicals.
What hasn't been shown yet is that sauna use clears the plastic particles themselves from the body. No controlled human trial has tested that, and claims based on single, personal experiments shouldn't be taken as proof.
That said, there are plenty of well-established reasons to enjoy a sauna session: it can help you relax, wind down after a tough week, and support recovery after training. Just stay hydrated, build up gradually, and speak to your GP first if you have a heart condition, high or low blood pressure, or you're pregnant.
The bottom line
You can't remove every trace of plastic from your life, and there's no need to panic. Microplastic research is still young, and many of the big questions remain open. But the five swaps above are cheap, simple, and good habits whatever the science ends up showing. Start with the one that's easiest for you, then add another when you're ready.
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