Scientists have revealed disturbing reasons why consumers should never reuse store-bought water bottles and takeaway containers.
They found that adding more water and heating up single-use plastics causes them to release nanoplastics and toxic chemicals that seep into your food and liquids.
These bottles and take-out containers are made from types of plastic that are designed to be used only once and disintegrate more easily than sturdier plastics such as those used in Tupperware tubs.
Reusing the products also exposes people styrene, found in synthetic rubber and plastics, which can increase the risk of esophageal and pancreatic complaints cancer.
Sherri Mason, professor and director of sustainability at Penn State Behrend, compared the effects to the way humans shed skin cells.
“We know at this point that our skin is constantly shedding,” she said. “And this is what these plastic objects do: they fall out all the time.”
Plastic contains an average of 16,000 chemicals, of which 4,200 are considered “very hazardous” according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“Normal people looking at a water sample – if there’s visible plastic in it, they’re turned off,” Mason said. ‘But they don’t realize that it is the invisible plastics present that are the biggest concern.’
Plastic contains an average of 16,000 chemicals and hundreds of thousands of nanoplastics that are released into your water every time you reuse a single-use water bottle
Nanoplastics are so small that they can enter a person’s blood, liver and brain as they pass through the intestines, allowing them to cross cell membranes and enter the bloodstream.
“There is a real significant potential impact on human health associated with the reuse of plastic, whether you’re talking about beverages or food,” Mason told the newspaper. WashingtonPost.
Although no cases of particle consumption have yet been definitively linked to cancer, the accumulation of these nanoparticles in human tissues has been found to increase chemical toxicity, which can lead to serious health problems, including cancer and developmental disorders in children.
A study A study published earlier this year by researchers at Columbia University found that the average bottle of water contains 240,000 particles. This is the first time researchers have been able to identify plastic in single-use bottled water.
This is despite assurances that bottled water is healthier than drinking tap water, but researchers warned it is nothing more than a marketing ploy.
“You still have a lot of people who are convinced by marketing that bottled water is better,” Mason said The mail. “But this is what you drink next to that H2O.”
Take-out containers also pose a risk because the heat releases chemicals and nanoplastics into your food that can cause cancer and other health problems.
Heating plastic will also increase the rate at which a single-use bottle or fast food container releases nanoplastics and toxic chemicals into the water or food.
Even leaving plastic out in the sun can leach the toxins into food, but Rob Danoff, DO, an osteopathic primary care physician in Philadelphia, said a cardinal rule is to never microwave plastic.
When plastic is heated, the heat breaks down its molecular structure, releasing the chemicals, but this does depend on the type of plastic you use and the type of food you heat.
“Fatty foods, such as meat and cheese, reach very high temperatures and can cause the plastic to warp or melt,” Dr. Danoff said at the American Osteopathic Association place.
“This in turn has the potential to cause a chemical from the plastic to seep into the food,” he added.
If you’re unsure whether the plastic can be heated, look at the bottom of the product, where there is a microwave-safe symbol or instructions that indicate it is safe to use in the microwave.
Products that do not indicate whether or not they are safe are likely among those that release chemicals and nanoplastics into your food.
“The most important thing is to always read the labels on your plastic containers carefully before putting them in the microwave,” Dr. Danoff warned.
‘If you’re not sure, it’s best to reheat your food in a microwave-safe container made of another material, such as glass or ceramic.’
And in the field of water bottles, experts advise people to use products made of stainless steel or glass.