Microplastics Found in the Brain Weigh as Much as a Plastic Spoon

This significant accumulation underscores the pervasive nature of plastic pollution and its ability to infiltrate even the most protected areas of the human body. This accumulation appears to directly reflect the increasing levels of plastic contamination in our environment. As plastic materials break down over time, they fragment into smaller and smaller pieces, eventually becoming so minuscule that they can readily enter the human body and, as this study demonstrates, penetrate the brain.

The research revealed that brain tissue of the frontal cortex - the region of the brain crucial for judgment, decision-making, and motor control, contains 7 to 30 times more microplastics than other organs like the liver and kidneys, making it one of the most heavily polluted tissues.

The concentration of microplastics in the brain reached approximately 5,000 micrograms per gram, significantly surpassing the levels found in the liver and kidneys. Furthermore, a comparison with older brain samples, dating from 1997 to 2013, revealed a disturbing trend: a gradual increase in plastic accumulation over time, with the 2024 samples exhibiting the highest levels.

To put the amount of microplastics in the brain into perspective, consider the weight of a plastic spoon.

With the brain weighing around 1,400 grams, a concentration of 5,000 micrograms of plastic per gram translates to over 5 grams of plastic in total - roughly equivalent to the weight of a standard plastic spoon.

Even more alarming, individuals affected by dementia exhibited significantly higher concentrations of these plastic particles in their brains, suggesting a possible link between microplastics and brain tissue damage.

Several factors may contribute to the accumulation of microplastics in the brain. Unlike organs like the liver and kidneys, which are equipped to filter out toxins, the brain's clearance mechanisms are more limited. Additionally, brain tissue, being approximately 60% fat, may have a greater affinity for "trapping" these plastic particles.

Despite these alarming findings, there are some glimmers of hope. The fact that plastic levels are similar in both older and younger individuals suggests the existence of natural processes that may help manage or eliminate these particles over time. Researchers also believe that many of these particles originate from older, degraded plastics, highlighting the need for environmental policies that address these legacy sources of pollution.

In the meantime, what can we do to fight these dangers? 

Fortunately, the microbes come to the rescue.

It is well known that certain microbes are able to use microplastics as their food; they transform (or metabolize) plastics and other chemical substances into natural biological material and, as a matter of fact, some microbes are actually used for the purpose of bioremediation, that is the strategy of using microbes - bio - to remediate the pollution caused by man. 

Bravo, a unique line of dietary supplements based on highly fermented colostrum (or hemp seed proteins in case of dairy-free Bravo), with its extremely wide array of probiotic microbes, prebiotics, and postbiotics, represents an extraordinary and unique tool to eliminate microplastics from our body as well as to bind heavy metals and toxins, from the neurotoxic and carcinogenic glyphosate to fertilizers and all other toxicants from industrial pollution [1,2].

The microbes of Bravo in our gut naturally activate a fully natural process of bioremediation that occurs in our bodies and takes care of eliminating these most dangerous, omnipresent, compounds.

While we wait that governments and environmental agencies find effective strategies to limit plastic pollution, let's find consolation in knowing that the microbes of Bravo will help to degrade and eliminate them for us and, who knows, they might even rejoice in eating them.

Yours truly,

Marco Ruggiero

Bravo products are available at Natural Solution NZ Ltd