Plastic and Its Effect on Our Health

 

Plastic is one of the most helpful and adaptable innovations in modern life. Plastic is present in almost everything we touch, consume, or drink on a daily basis. Food is purchased in plastic bags and containers, and drinks and water are purchased in plastic jugs and bottles. Many of us use plastic plates and cups at home, as well as plastic containers to store leftovers. We use plastic wrap to wrap items. Plastic baggies are used for a variety of purposes, Our phones, books, and crucial paperwork are all protected by plastic. The inside of canned foods is lined with plastic to safeguard them. Plastic has a wide range of applications, not only in our homes but also in important companies. The list continues on and on: medicine, computers, chemistry, culinary arts, dentistry, agriculture, and so on. Our society has been transformed by plastic.

Too much of a good thing can be harmful to our health. Have you ever tried to go a whole day without touching plastic? It's nearly impossible. Plastic is a polymer, which is a collection of identical molecules held together by weak chemical bonds. Some of the molecules are able to break out as a result of this. Our hormones are beginning to be disrupted by our constant exposure to plastic. Many forms of plastic have an excessive "xeno-estrogenic" impact. When we have too much estrogen in our systems, we can detect hormonal imbalances in both women and men that appear to be excess estrogen. This can have a number of negative consequences, including affecting fertility, menstruation, growth, and development, as well as overall health and well-being. Xenoestrogens alter our natural endocrine system, causing breast cancer, endometriosis, and even disrupting brain signaling during fetal development in women. Testicular function, spermatic concentration, growth, and motility are all affected by xenoestrogens in men. Because so many xenoestrogens from our wastewater wind up in streams, environmentalists are noticing a tendency in fish. Male fish display both partial and complete sex reversal in comparison to female fish. Plastic garbage has engulfed some regions of the ocean, pushing animals from their natural habitats. Plastic gets caught in and around the bodies of marine animals and fish, causing severe malformations, inability to feed, and death.

Using plastic for food and water is the most significant exposure over which we have control. One of the deadliest ways to poison our food and bodies is to heat it in plastic containers. The molecules break apart more easily when the meal is heated in plastic wrap. Frozen vegetable packs with instructions to "steam" the vegetables in the bag in the microwave, frozen meals in plastic trays and pouches, and storing hot cooked food in a plastic container or wrapping it with plastic wrap are all examples of how plastic can harm human health. Drinking water from a plastic bottle permits dangerous chemicals like bisphenol-a, polychlorinated biphenyls, and phthalates to leach into the water, just as they do in food.

What options do you have? In your daily life, try to use as little plastic as possible. For food storage and heating, use Pyrex or other non-plastic containers. Glass or stainless steel bottles should be used to drink water. Instead of using plastic bags, bring your own cloth shopping and produce bags. Processed foods and frozen meals should be limited or avoided. Anything made of plastic should not be microwaved or heated. Make an effort to consume as little canned food as possible. By making these simple changes, you will not only improve your own health but also the health of the planet.