Microplastics and Nanoplastics: How Alarmed Should We Be?
On Health for Women
Aviva Romm
4.8 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 21 June 2025
⏱️ 24 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
Have you ever had a moment where someone doubted your instincts—only for science to prove you right years later?
When I was applying to my medical residency, a doctor scoffed at my concern for BPA and endocrine disruptors. “You don’t believe in that BPA crap, do you?” he said. Well, here we are, decades later, with research linking BPA to miscarriage and endocrine disruption—even from something as simple as touching receipts or airline tickets.
And now, the new frontier: microplastics and nanoplastics.
A recent Nature Medicine study revealed that human brains contain a spoonful of nanoplastics. Yes, you read that right. Our brains. Our babies’ placentas. Even our breast milk.
But before we spiral—let’s take a deep breath together. This episode isn’t here to terrify you. It’s here to inform, empower, and help you take meaningful, practical action.
In this episode, we’ll explore:
- What microplastics and nanoplastics actually are—and where they’re hiding (spoiler: everywhere).
- The science on how these particles are showing up in our bodies, including our brains, lungs, livers, and even a baby’s first poop.
- What we do and don’t know about their health effects—and why early research is sounding the alarm.
- Simple, smart strategies to reduce your personal exposure (yes, there are things you can do).
- Why individual choices matter—but collective action matters even more.
If you’ve ever wondered...
- Should I toss my plastic cutting board?
- Are my kid’s sippy cups safe?
- Is this one more thing to worry about—or a real health threat I should understand?
… then this episode is for you.
You’ll leave feeling informed—not overwhelmed—and reminded that caring for your health is an act of love. For yourself, for your kids, and for the planet we all share.
Because plastic may be forever—but so is our power to make change.
Tune in now wherever you listen to podcasts.
And if this episode opens your eyes—please share it with a friend. Awareness is the first step toward healing—our bodies and our world.
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Mentioned in this episode:
Looking for supplements for yourself and your family, including some of those I talk about in episodes? You can find those - and your 15% discount on every order here: avivaromm.com/supplements
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From the stuff your mother never told you to the stuff your doctor never learn, |
| 0:09.0 | on health is what happens when a midwife plus a Yale trained MD shares about all things |
| 0:14.3 | women's health. |
| 0:15.4 | From periods to menopause, sex to reproductive health politics, motherhood to mental health, |
| 0:23.1 | join me for taboo-busting conversations that demystify and destigmatize our bodies, all while bridging the gap between conventional |
| 0:28.4 | medicine and wellness. Along the way, we'll be exploring the science and wisdom of how our bodies |
| 0:33.5 | work, what makes us well, what gets in the way, and how we can live our best lives on our |
| 0:39.2 | terms. When it comes to women's health and well-being, there's nothing we won't talk about. |
| 0:44.0 | The new medicine for women is here. I'm Dr. Avivaram. Welcome to the podcast. |
| 1:09.6 | When I was applying to medical residency in obstetrics and gynecology, the doctor interviewing me commented upon seeing my interest in the impact of endocrine disruptors on women's reproductive health as my primary area of research. |
| 1:13.3 | Dr. Rom, you don't believe in that BPA crap, do you? |
| 1:21.2 | This was years before definitive evidence proved the association between BPA and miscarriage, |
| 1:30.9 | as well as other reproductive issues, sometimes do simply enough to women working at checkout counters and airlines, handling BPA-laden receipts and airline tickets. Ironically, Hugh Taylor, then an OB-guine at that same institution, |
| 1:39.0 | many years later, blew the lid wide open on this connection, among others. My own research already had me informing |
| 1:47.6 | the women in my midwifery practice for years about the potential hazards of BPA and other |
| 1:53.6 | environmental chemicals that mimic our endogenous hormones for ourselves and our children |
| 1:59.0 | before and after they're born. In February of 2025, |
| 2:03.3 | a study published in nature medicine generated a slew of scary headlines. Human brain samples |
| 2:09.3 | contain an entire spoon's worth of nanoplastics, as CNN reported. Researchers had found several grams of |
| 2:16.9 | tiny plastic particles in human brain samples, |
| 2:19.8 | roughly the weight of a takeout spoon. |
| 2:22.2 | Perhaps even more alarmingly, though, the level of plastics detected was nearly 50% more |
... |
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