Overview
- A Nature Medicine paper from the University of Western Australia’s PERTH team reports that a seven-day low-plastic regimen cut urinary phthalates by more than 44% and bisphenols by more than 50% compared with controls.
- In a cohort of 211 healthy adults, every participant had multiple plastic-associated chemicals in urine, with at least six detected on any given day.
- The pilot randomized trial enrolled 60 people into five groups that replaced high-plastic foods, switched to plastic-free kitchenware, or used low-plastic personal care products.
- Researchers identified packaged, processed and canned foods and personal care items as major sources of exposure and worked with more than 100 producers to keep food away from plastic from farm to plate.
- Investigators say safe body levels and near-term health benefits remain uncertain, and they plan a fertility study as they press regulators to examine common BPA replacements such as BPS.