The Top 5 Ways to Keep Plastic out of Your Brain
- Al Lewis
- Oct 6
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 7
You can think you are doing everything right to stay healthy…yet you are taking in this much microplastic over the course of a year.
And, while we will be the first to admit that the heading is clickbait, microplastic does indeed get into your brain, as well as plenty of other body parts, as this sample Quizzify question demonstrates:
No one really knows the major hazards of accumulating these micro- and nanoplastics (those are even smaller plastic particles) for certain, but researchers and lay people alike would agree that they certainly aren't good for us.
You can't possibly avoid all or even most of the tiny plastics that get into your system, but Quizzify can help employees significantly reduce that number. But only to maybe half a dinner plate's worth per year. Even so, that's half a plate less than we would normally take in.
We offer a full quiz on microplastics/nanoplastics and microparticles in general – and how to avoid some of them. Here are five sample things employees would learn.
"Microwave-safe" plastic containers are anything but
It turns out that the phrase "microwave-safe" just means the containers won't crack or break when being heated. It has nothing to do with microplastic leaching. Quite the opposite: if you think containers are microsave-safe, you might be tempted to heat things up in them longer than you otherwise would.
They aren't the only kitchenware you should avoid. The following quiz question has three correct answers, not just one.
Even exercise can be unhealthy
Try this one.
OK, like the other examples, it's a screenshot so you can't actually play it. But it turns out the answer is cycling. Plastics aren't the specific hazard this time. it's microparticles and nanoparticles in general. Because car exhaust is fairly "clean" these days, microparticles flying off tires are now the biggest pollutant on the roads, throwing off about 2000 times more particles than car exhaust.
We recommend cyclists stick to off-peak times, lightly traveled roads and, of course, bike paths.
And that water you drink after exercising?
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Turns out plastic water bottles leach nanoparticles at a rather prodigious rate. Bottles left out in the sun leach even more. It almost doesn't matter which of these choices below is the correct answer. It's still a whole lot more than tap water, especially filtered tap water. Fortunately, many people, though far from most, are now using refillable metal water containers.
Speaking of tires, here's how to put that "recirc" button to good use
Car tires, as mentioned, throw off ridiculous amounts of microparticles – about five pounds per year per set.
Especially if you see something like this or even hear a screech in front of you when you're driving along, immediately hit the recirc button.
Otherwise, your recirc button, which is helpful to keep your car cool on very hot days, is surprisingly useless against microparticles. This question addresses that:
Here is a homemade screenshot from YouTube, illustrating the correct answer to that question – you need a HEPA filter:
It's enough to make you never want to leave the house, but...
...Oops. The house also turns out to be a major incubator of microparticle pollution. The correct answer to this question is 3.9 times more particles circulate indoors vs. outdoors.
While the hazards of particles are not certain, it's likely a good idea not to breathe them inside your own home. Quizzify rarely advocates buying things. Quite the contrary: we usually advocate not buying things, like most supplements, juice boxes, dried cranberries, and full-body scans. However, this is the opposite: use the money you save on those items to buy an indoor HEPA air purifier.
Those of you whose companies offer a wellness "allowance" might consider adding HEPA air filters, for both car and home, to your list of covered items.
Whether you pay for those items or not, you should consider Quizzify for your employees, to teach them about health benefits, healthcare and health issues like this one. While the actual physical hazards of micro/nano plastics and particles are uncertain (and clearly not too serious or we would all be dead by now), the emotional hazard is pretty straightforward: people want to avoid these things because they are, to use a technical environmental science term, gross.
They will certainly appreciate the information in this and our other quizzes.
