New study says the average brain contains 10g of microplastics: Good Day Today

Welcome back. A new study in the journal Nature shows an alarming number of microplastics are showing up in the brain

On average, a human brain contains 10 grams, 10 grams of microplastics. But how much is that exactly

Well, the answer is it's enough to make a plastic spoon. Not good. Those with dementia, their brains show even more microplastic accumulation. Here to tell us more

And what we can do to try and prevent it is Dr. Susanna Hills. Thank you so much for joining us

Great to be here. First of all, explain to people exactly what microplastics are

Microplastics are tiny little particles that you can't really see with your eye, but they're all around us

They're in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink

and they come from the plastics you see, like bottles for water, juice, coke, food containers

but they also come from places you wouldn't expect, like your clothes, tires from automobiles

really all the products that we use for cleaning for cosmetics many of them contain microplastics too

okay so obviously you don't want anything that's foreign inside your body but what exactly are the

effects of having too many microplastics in it because if it's in the environment you're going

to get some right yeah and and this study that you mentioned in the journal nature showed that

over eight years the amount of microplastics they found in the brain increased that suggests that as

in our environment these plastics increase more than likely we're seeing increased levels

in our bodies. We don fully understand exactly what these microplastics are doing to our body because we haven had studies or data yet to prove it but we working on that We studying that But it was really compelling that this study showed that people who had dementia cognitive decline

had three times more microplastic in their brain than people without. So that suggests that there may be a link

between the amount of microplastics and, for example, cognitive decline. Is it possible..

Okay, so I read somewhere that it's impossible to completely remove the microplastics from the environment

So with that being said, are there certain groups that are more at risk

So anybody who is basically using a lot of plastic to drink from

they use water bottles that sit in the car for a long time, they're likely to potentially ingest more microplastics

It's just an incredibly difficult thing to avoid. I think the approach we have to take is that all of us together

need to work to reduce the amount of microplastics that are in our environment so all of us can

benefit because so much of it is really impossible to avoid. Okay, this all sounds real heavy. So

what do we do? How can we correct this? Right. So there are some simple things that we can do that

just take some planning, some effort, some thought. For example, using fewer single-use containers

single-use bottles that we talked about, looking at your detergents. Detergents cause microplastics

The pods? The pods, for example, yes, or the cleaning wipes. So look for biodegradable cleaning products

Try to use natural sponges, cloths instead of disposable wipes. You can get filters for your washing machine that will decrease the microplastics from

your clothes that get into the water Wow Public transportation it not so easy sometimes but trying to limit the use of single passenger vehicles all of these can help But you have to remember that there are 400 million tons of plastic that are produced

globally each year, 42 million tons in the United States, and it's really going nowhere

So we have to really reduce the amount that we use, the amount that we consume. The biggest myth, I think, around plastic consumption as well in the United States is

that recycling is an effective tool. Really only 9% of what we put in recycling ends up being

recycled. The rest remains in the environment. So really it's a matter of reducing what we consume

what we produce in terms of plastics and starting there. Is there more danger by being in the city

or metro area because there's so many more plastics versus rural? Yeah, certainly with traffic, for

example, tires against pavement, that's a huge contributor. It ends up in the air, it ends up in

the water. Perhaps our congestion pricing rules will have a beneficial impact with that if traffic

is reduced. But yeah, being in an urban environment, the more you're around automobiles, the more you're

around plastics that other people are consuming, using, yes, certainly. So give us hope. What can

we take from this and turn it into a positive? Right. Well, the good news is there are things

that you can do. You can go home and look at your detergents. What's biodegradable, what's not

So consider that. Consider the amount of single-use bottles that you use

Maybe use a thermos, for example, right, instead of using a bottle that you throw away every day

These things are simple things, but they require some thought. But if you think about it it can actually have an impact and decrease the amount that ends up in a landfill or in the ocean And are there any brain activities since we can avoid ingesting these microplastics any brain activities we can do to stay sharp

Well, certainly in terms of cognition and avoiding dementia, Alzheimer's, reading late into life, puzzles like crossword puzzles, keeping active

Social activity is so important for keeping your brain active and functional

So yes, absolutely. We may have these microplastics or other issues that we're concerned about, but keeping active, keeping your brain functional and doing things that exercise your brain can combat the potential effects for sure

Dr. Susanna Hill, thank you so much. Important information for everybody. Absolutely

Here's a little something in Germany to grip your attention. Whoa. Hang on

Certainly grabbed it. About 180 competitors faced off of the 64th Finger Wrestling German Championships

They wanted to see who had the strongest, well-trained finger. I'm still in awe just looking at the way this is

It looks painful is what it does. It looks so painful. Okay, so let's break it down

In each round, two people, they hook one finger through a small leather loop

and pull until one loses their grip, as we saw earlier. There it is, right there

Fell back. Organizers and participants say dislocated and bloody fingers are a common occurrence in this event

finger wrestling is popular in parts of Germany, Austria, and is said to have originated as a way

to settle disputes. Lots of beer on the tables there, and I figured that might

be part of the origination of it as well. Well, you certainly need some liquid courage to enroll

in that kind of tournament. Looks like that would hurt. I need all my fingers. I'm with you