There's a lot of information out there about the best foods that help us lose weight,

prevent cancer-fight inflammation, the list goes on.

In fact, for everything about our health, we try and improve their someone out there

with a new theory on how to do it.

But what does the science say?

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts podcast.

I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

And I'm here to give you the evidence-based approach to take the mystery out of the best

way to live a healthier, longer life.

Today, it's microplastics.

And yes, they're quite small.

In fact, so small fish can eat them, and well, you can guess where they end up.

In our first story, we try and determine if ingested plastic particles from fish can get

into our bloodstream.

In 1869, a patent was taken out for a new substance to replace elephant ivory in the production

of billiard balls, and the plastics industry was born.

Ironically, what started out as a conservation-minded measure has turned into an environmental problem.

Hundreds of thousands of tons of trillions of tiny plastic particles are now floating

on the surface of the sea.

This is how it works, either from plastic objects like water balls that get worn down into

tinier and tinier pieces, or plastic microbeads flowing down into the sewers from our sinks.

Plastic microbeads are often used as a scrubbing agent in personal care and cosmetic products,

...