A doctor posted a viral video warning viewers about the amount of microplastics found in your brain. She then shared her tips on how to avoid ingesting plastic in your body.
TikTok user Dr. Jane (@jvandis) has reached over 1.3 million views on her video. The on-screen caption that says, “Your brain on plastic.”
Jane says researchers from the University of New Mexico conducted a study on cadavers and found plastic in the brains. Matthew Campen, a regents’ professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the university, is the lead author on the study.
What did the study find?
First, Jane explains that researchers took the brains of people who died and filtered the material to determine the amount of microplastics present by weight.
Next, Jane uses the green-screen effect to speak over a screenshotted picture of notes taken from Campen’s study. She reads that the researchers also tested kidneys and livers, but found that the brain accumulated the most plastics out of all three organs overall.
“While researchers don’t know specifically why, they think that it might be due to the fact that plastics are lipophilic,” she explains, “meaning they like fat.” The National Cancer Institute states that the definition of lipophilic means, “able to dissolve, be dissolved in, or absorb lipids (fats).”
“This is why you should never ever eat that chicken that sits in plastic under a heat lamp at Costco or your favorite grocery store,” Jane advises.
She continues, “There’s three things that increase the speed at which plastic enters your body.” No. 1 is heat, No. 2 is fat, and No. 3 is acidity, she says.
Jane says chicken in plastic under a heat lamp is “basically a conveyor belt of plastic going into your brain.”
The main exposure route is food intake
The National Library of Medicine confirms that the main exposure route is likely through food intake, “although it remains difficult to provide a detailed estimate due to the lack of research on the contents and internal doses of microplastics in different foods.”
“The No. 1 way that the majority of people are probably exposed to this type of plastic is in soda and water bottles,” Jane adds.
She then mentions that the most prominent plastic discovered was polyethylene. Polyethylene is the most widely used plastic in the world, according to Britannica.
Jane says that polyethylene is in salad dressings, peanut butter, and many other household items.
Next, Jane says another important aspect in the study was that the researchers tested brains from both 2024 and 2016.
“What they found was that the brains of the more recently passed or deceased people had 50% higher amounts of plastic in them than those from 8 years ago,” she explains. “Those who have been born recently, in some ways, might have higher levels of plastic.”
Can you avoid microplastics?
First, Jane jokes that you should always avoid the chicken under a heat lamp. Secondly, and more seriously, she warns, “Don’t heat any of your food in plastic.”
She notes that a lot of frozen foods are now sold in plastic packaging. Therefore, she suggests that viewers make their own home-fresh meals, and then store the leftovers in glass containers. “It’s almost impossible to buy frozen food and not be exposed to either plastic or PFAS,” she acknowledges.
Before ending her video Jane adds, “Do not drink soda or water out of plastic bottles. Avoid dust accumulation in your house … there’s a lot of plastic all around us.”
How do microplastics negatively affect your brain?
PIRG states that studies suggest the presence of microplastics in one’s brain could increase the risk of conditions such as “oxidative stress, which can lead to cell damage and inflammation.”
They continue explaining that exposure to certain types of microplastics may even lead to impairments in an individual’s learning and memory.
Studies on humans and animals found that plastics can have dangerous health impacts on not just your brain, but all different bodily systems. PIRG states that microplastics have been studied in many different parts of the human body, “including the heart, blood vessels, digestive system, and more.”
@jvandis #greenscreen ♬ original sound – Dr. Jane
The Daily Dot reached out to request a comment from Dr. Jane via the TikTok comment section and email.
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