An average person eats thousands of plastic particles each year, according to a study

A microplastic particle is a piece of plastic less than five millimeters, but many are much smaller and visible only under a microscope.

The study examined existing research on microplastics found in beer, salt, seafood, sugar, alcohol and honey. To calculate how often a person can eat each of these dishes over the course of a year, the study looked at the recommendations of the US Department of Agriculture.

Currently, existing research on microplastics in food accounts for only 15% of calories consumed by an average person.

The author of the study, Kieran Cox, believes that his findings are underestimated and that it is likely that people consume much more.

"Many of the products we have considered are the ones you eat raw. We have not yet addressed plastic diapers and packaging layers, "says Cox. "I think it's probably the case that more plastic is added than we realize."

A study published in 2018 in the journal Environmental pollution concluded that people were more likely to ingest plastic using dust from their environment than by eating shellfish.

So what happens to the plastic once it's in your body? Does it enter your bloodstream? Does it sink into your guts? Or does it simply go through without hurting?

Scientists still do not know for sure how much microplastics a body can tolerate or the damage they inflict. In 2017, a study from King's College London hypothesized that the cumulative effect of plastic ingestion could be toxic. Different types of plastic have various toxic properties. Some are made with toxic chemicals such as chlorine, while others recover trace amounts of chemicals such as lead found in the environment. An accumulation of these toxins over time could have an impact on the immune system.

Johns Hopkins researchers have examined the impact of consuming seafood contaminated with microplastics. They also discovered that the accumulated plastic could damage the immune system and disrupt the intestinal balance.

According to Cox, scientists are struggling to understand how much microplastics are starting to have significant health effects. As with air pollution or harmful building materials, those who are more exposed or who already exist are less likely to tolerate plastics.

Leah Bendell, an ecotoxicologist at Simon Fraser University in Canada, explains that Cox's study takes a simplistic look at a complex problem with many variables.

She says that it is important to remember that microplastics come in the form of fragments, pellets, beads, fibers and films. It can be composed of a number of different materials with hundreds of different chemical additives. For this reason, she describes microplastics as having "several personalities". Some might harbor toxic chemicals, while others might be suitable vectors for bacteria and parasites.

Humans consume microplastics via many channels. We can eat them by eating seafood, breathing in the air, or eating foods with traces of their plastic packaging.

Because of this, it's hard to avoid them altogether, says Cox, "if not impossible."

Some lifestyle changes, like drinking trap water instead of bottled water, would reduce the amount of microplastics that a person consumes, he says.

Of the research reviewed, microfibers were by far the most common type of plastic. Microfiber released from textiles such as nylon and polyester. They often wash their clothes and enter the ecosystem through the sewage washing machines.

Plastic fragments such as those commonly used for bags and straws were the second most used plastic material.

Cox hopes his research will show that plastic pollution is not limited to marine wildlife.

"We did not consider ourselves a potential impact [of plastic pollution]He said, but we are.