Microplastic spoons found in people’s brain: study

Your brain is 99.5% brain tissue – but the rest? Plastic.

This is the disturbing intake from a new study of the study by Matthew Campen, which found microplastics in the human brain at much higher levels than other organs. Even more worrying, these small particles are accumulating rapidly as they have increased 50% over the last eight years.

“There are many more plastic in our brains than I would ever imagine or I was happy with it,” said Camphen, professor of regents and professor of pharmaceutical sciences at New Mexico University in Albuquerque.

On average, brain samples studied contain about seven grams of microplastics – approximately the weight of an average plastic spoon.

To make things worse, the study also found up to 10 times the amount of microplastics in the brains of 12 patients with dementia compared to the healthy brain. While the correlation is clear, the researchers warned that further study is needed to create a direct connection.

The research team analyzed 52 brain samples – 28 from autopsies carried out in 2016 and 24 from 2024. While microplastics were present in each single sample, the concentrations were particularly higher in the most recent specimens.

Additional brain samples dating from 1997 followed the same alarming model, with higher microplastic levels found in newest samples.

Camphen said growth reflects global growth of plastic waste. Global plastic production has doubled over the last two decades, now a total of about 400 million tons a year.

Scientists previously found that people consume five grams of microplastics each week, which is about the weight of a credit card. Microplasty has been detected in different parts of the body, including lungs, liver, kidneys, placenta, blood, sperm and even breast milk.

The most common microplasty discovered by researchers from the University of New Mexico was polyethylene, widely used in packaging materials such as bottles and cups. Moreover, many of these particles were smaller than previously thought – some are no larger than viruses.

Camphen said these small fragments are small enough to overcome the blood-TRU obstacle, though he noted that the exact process of how they are transported to the brain remains unclear. He suspects that a main entrance route is through our food, especially meat.

“The way we irrigate the fields with water polluted water, we assume that the plastic is built there,” Camphen said. “We feed those crops in our livestock. We take the manure and place it back into the field, so there can be some kind of biomagnification ahead.”

Other studies suggest another possible way of microplastics to enter the human body: through the nose. The olfactory lamp can allow these small particles to travel directly to the brain when breathing.

Despite a global push to reduce plastic production, researchers warn that the microplastic threat is not going somewhere soon. Plastic requires decades to divide into microscopic particles, which means that environmental pollution will continue to increase for the years ahead.

While the full health impact of microplastics remains unsafe, studies suggest that they can damage cells, cause inflammation, disrupt organ function, and change immune responses. Exposure to these small particles has also been associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, as well as some cancers.

Although microplastics may be almost impossible to avoid completely, there are steps you can take to limit your exposure.

Start by cutting plastic with single use-think of food and drink packaging as well as intake containers. Change pots for plastic storage for glass or metal, and never heat the food in plastic containers in the microwave.

Experts also recommend filtering your tap water, investing in high quality air filters for your home and cleaning your living space more often. Another simple but effective tip: cut again processed foods, which tend to have higher levels of these small particles.