Junk Food Is Filling Our Brains With Microplastics, Raising Mental Health Risks, Scientists Warn

Scientists have found alarming amounts of microplastics in virtually everything, from sea turtles to testicles. But discovering a plastic spoon’s worth of these pernicious particles inside human brains may be the most disturbing of all. That recent finding prompted researchers to dig deeper into the health consequences of plastic accumulation in the brain. According to a new review study, published today in the journal Brain Medicine, microplastics may be the missing link in the relationship between ultra-processed foods and certain neurological disorders, such as depression and dementia. “We’re seeing converging evidence that should concern us all,” said lead author Nicholas Fabiano, a psychiatry resident at the University of Ottawa, in a statement. “Ultra-processed foods now comprise more than 50% of energy intake in countries like the United States, and these foods contain significantly higher concentrations of microplastics than whole foods,” he added. Indeed, multiple studies ... Read full article.