Silent danger: “Seasonings” found in every home are not only bad for the kidneys, but are also full of “microplastics”.
A condiment that every household cannot do without, an important ingredient for people all over the world. In addition to being bad for the kidneys, it is also full of “microplastics”.
“Salt” is a seasoning that is in every kitchen around the world. No matter what the menu is, salt cannot be missing. It also has many other benefits. But who would have thought that the invisible things mixed in salt might be hiding a silent danger that accumulates in the body without our knowing?
Research from the scientific journal Science of The Total Environment (2023) revealed that:
“Salt from various countries around the world was found to be contaminated with microplastics in every sample analyzed,” with an average of 700–5,470 microplastic particles found per kilogram of salt. One teaspoon of salt may contain hundreds of microplastic particles.
Microplastics
It’s tiny plastic that’s barely visible to the naked eye (less than 5 micrometers, or about 1/70 the size of a human hair). It can come from plastic bottles and plastic bags, to fibers from clothing, and eventually ends up in the ocean, before entering the food chain and making its way back to our dining tables.
Microplastics are also contaminating seafood, with particles smaller than 1mm found in mussels, oysters and other shellfish. More than a quarter of fish sold at markets in Indonesia and California were found to contain microplastics.
Even groundwater in the limestone aquifers of Illinois, USA, has an average of 15 microplastic particles per liter, and this type of groundwater supplies about a quarter of the world’s drinking water.
In 2018, Greenpeace randomly tested 39 samples of table salt from 21 countries and found that only three of the samples were free of microplastics, while the rest were all contaminated.
More than 90% of salt sold worldwide is contaminated with microplastics, with salt from Asia having the highest levels of microplastics. Of all salts, “sea salt” contains the most microplastics, followed by salt from lakes and rock salt.
Greenpeace estimates that if an adult consumes 10 grams of salt a day, their body will ingest up to 2,000 microplastic particles per year.
Salt is already bad for your kidneys, and microplastics are even more damaging to your body.
Excessive salt consumption leads to high blood pressure, kidney problems,เล่นบาคาร่า UFABET เว็บตรง ค่าคอมสูง, and increases the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.
But what is equally worrying is the “microplastics” that accumulate in the body. Although the long-term effects are still unknown, microplastics can disrupt the digestive system, metabolism, immunity, and nervous system.
What should I do?
While there’s no way to filter microplastics out of salt yourself, you can reduce your risk by:
- Reduce salt consumption
- Avoid processed and ready-to-eat foods.
- Select salt from certified sources.
- Supporting approaches to reducing plastic use