A recent study indicates that chewing gum releases hundreds to thousands of microplastics into our mouths. The base ingredient of gum is synthetic rubber, a type of plastic, contributing to the microplastic content. This phenomenon is relatively unnoticed by consumers. Lead author Sanjay Mohanty highlights the widespread presence of microplastics in various products and their potential health implications, including links to inflammation and cancers. He suggests reducing gum consumption as one action to mitigate microplastic ingestion, aiming to raise awareness around this issue.
"You are eating a material that is made of plastic. At least 2% of that is plastic," he said, referring to a piece of gum.
"99% of things I see around me are plastic, so I should not be surprised to find plastic in everything, including my own body."
"My goal is just to inform what we could do differently," Mohanty said.
Research has found correlations between microplastics and inflammation, infertility, lung and colon cancers, and risk of heart attacks and stroke.
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