6 min. read
Journal · Health & environment
What science says about their effects on your health, and how to act.
They are called microparticles, microplastics or nanoplastics. They are invisible to the naked eye. They have no smell and no taste. And yet they are now everywhere: in the water you drink, in the air you breathe, in the food you eat, and for some years now, in your blood, your lungs, your placenta, and even in the plaques that clog your arteries.
This is not a theory. It is what studies published in the world's leading medical journals: Nature Medicine, The New England Journal of Medicine, Environment International: have shown in recent years. Microparticles have become one of the most documented subjects in environmental medicine.
This article explains what they are, how they enter your body, what they do there, and what you can do to limit their impact.
The invisible snow analogy. Imagine snow falling all the time, 24 hours a day, impossible to see with the naked eye. It would settle on everything you eat, seep into the water you drink, float in the air of your home. Snow made of thousands of fragments of plastic. This is exactly what is happening. We live in an environment where microparticles fall continuously, and our bodies have been accumulating them for decades.
We speak of microplastics for plastic fragments smaller than 5 millimetres: less than the size of a grain of rice. Below one micrometre (a thousandth of a millimetre), we speak of nanoplastics, which can cross biological barriers that microplastics cannot: the intestinal wall, the blood-brain barrier, the placental membrane.
These particles come from the breakdown of larger plastics under the effect of sunlight, mechanical abrasion and time. But they are also produced directly: synthetic clothing fibres (polyester, nylon) release hundreds of thousands of microparticles with every wash. Tyres release them every time you brake. Food packaging passes them on to the food it contains, especially under the effect of heat or fats.
Microparticles do not only come from large landfills or polluted oceans. They are generated by ordinary habits.
Clinical study
First detection of microplastics in human stools
In this landmark study, researchers analysed the stools of 8 volunteers from different countries (Europe, Asia, America). The result: microplastics were detected in 100% of participants, with an average of 20 microparticles per 10 grams of stool. The types of plastic found matched common food packaging exactly.
This is the first direct evidence that humans routinely ingest and excrete microplastics.
There are three main routes of entry.
Once in the bloodstream, microparticles behave like tiny travellers with no precise destination: they settle in the tissues that capture them most easily: the lungs, the liver, the kidneys, but also the walls of the arteries. Nanoplastics, even smaller, can cross the blood-brain barrier and reach the brain, as well as the placental barrier, potentially bringing the foetus into contact with these substances.
Clinical study
Detection of microplastics in human blood
The first study to detect microplastics directly in human blood. Of 22 healthy blood donors, 17 (77%) had measurable microparticles in their blood. The types of plastic found included PET (bottles), polystyrene and polyethylene.
This study showed that microplastics do not stay in the digestive tract: they enter the systemic circulation.
Clinical study
Microplastics in the human placenta
Microplastics were detected in the human placenta of 6 out of 6 pregnant women analysed. The particles found came from packaging materials, cosmetics and paints.
This discovery means that microplastics cross the placental barrier and that the developing foetus is exposed to them in the womb: even before birth.
Your body's first reaction to foreign bodies is inflammation. Microparticles activate macrophages (immune cells) that try to eliminate them: without ever succeeding, because plastic is not biodegradable. The result: chronic low-grade inflammation that sets in silently. This silent inflammation is now recognised as an aggravating or triggering factor in many conditions: cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune diseases, certain cancers.
Microparticles directly generate free radicals (reactive oxygen species, ROS), which damage cell membranes, DNA and mitochondria. This oxidative stress accelerates cellular ageing and reduces the effectiveness of natural defence systems: notably glutathione, the body's main antioxidant.
Plastics contain chemical additives: bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, PFAS (the “forever chemicals”), which mimic or block the action of hormones. These substances, called endocrine disruptors, accumulate in fatty tissue and gradually disrupt the hormonal system: thyroid, cortisol, insulin, sex hormones. Their effect is not measured by a single exposure, but by accumulation over years.
The study that changed public perception of this subject is the one published in 2024 in the New England Journal of Medicine. For the first time, researchers measured microplastics in the atheromatous plaques (the deposits that clog the arteries) of patients who had surgery on the carotid artery. The results are unequivocal.
Clinical study
Microplastics in atheromatous plaques and cardiovascular risk
Of 304 patients who had surgery for carotid stenosis, 58.4% had atheromatous plaques containing detectable microplastics or nanoplastics. Patients with microplastics in their arterial plaques had a risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death 4.53 times higher over 34 months of follow-up than those whose plaques contained none.
The authors conclude that microplastics are not mere “passengers” in the arteries: they play an active part in destabilising plaques.
Microparticles directly disrupt the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota: all the bacteria that live in your gut and play a key role in immunity, digestion and even mood. They also weaken the intestinal barrier, increasing its permeability and making it easier for substances that should stay in the gut (toxins, bacterial fragments) to pass into the blood. This phenomenon contributes to systemic inflammation and food hypersensitivities.
Signs possibly linked to chronic exposure to microparticles. These signals are not specific and may have many other causes. Only a healthcare professional can make a diagnosis.
“We cannot control everything. But we can choose what we put into our bodies, and support them in the face of what we cannot avoid.”
It is impossible to eliminate all exposure to microparticles in our environment. But it is possible to reduce it significantly with a few targeted changes.
While exposure to microparticles is unavoidable, the body has natural defence systems against their toxicity: provided they are well supplied. Three mechanisms are particularly called upon: neutralising free radicals, modulating inflammation and maintaining the integrity of the intestinal barrier. Here are the BIOLOGYST ingredients targeted to support these three lines of defence. Details of each molecule are presented in our feature Active ingredients.
Per 3 capsules, the formula combines quercetin (427.5 mg), Setria® glutathione (375 mg), ExceptionHYAL® Star hyaluronic acid (240 mg) and vitamin C (150 mg), which contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress. Quercetin and glutathione are studied in research, with no authorised health claim to date.
Discover Antioxidant Defense →
Clinical study
Quercetin and vitamin C: anti-inflammatory and antioxidant mechanisms
The authors report that quercetin directly inhibits the NF-κB pathway, the main pro-inflammatory pathway activated by microplastics and their chemical additives. Vitamin C regenerates oxidised glutathione and protects lipid membranes against the peroxidation induced by the ROS generated by plastic fragments.
Their combination produces a documented synergy of action on inflammatory and oxidative markers.
Nigelle Active+ provides 1,500 mg of cold-pressed black seed oil and 4.55 mg of vitamin E (38% of NRVs) per 3 capsules. Vitamin E contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress. Thymoquinone, the characteristic compound of black seed, is the subject of extensive research, but no health claim is authorised to date for black seed: we claim no effect from it.
Lactoferrine Active+ provides 500 mg of Proferrin® per 2 capsules, including 475 mg of pure lactoferrin, a protein naturally present in milk. Lactoferrin is studied in research for its interactions with the intestinal lining, but it has no authorised health claim: we present it for its composition and dose, with no effect claimed.
Discover Lactoferrine Active+ →
Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) are incorporated into cell membranes and change their inflammatory response. Published research describes a reduction in the production of PGE2 prostaglandins and pro-inflammatory leukotrienes, and a stimulation of the synthesis of resolvins and protectins, the mediators that “switch off” chronic inflammation. This research concerns general mechanisms and not exposure to microparticles. For reference, EPA and DHA contribute to the normal function of the heart, with a daily intake of 250 mg, and DHA contributes to the maintenance of normal brain function and of normal vision, with a daily intake of 250 mg.
“Your body is exposed every day to whatever the world sends its way. Your role is to give it the tools to respond.”
Microparticles are a reality of our environment in the 21st century. Science is clear: they accumulate in our bodies, they generate inflammation, oxidative stress and hormonal disruption. The 2024 study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that they even play a part in destabilising arterial plaques.
Our body nevertheless has remarkable defence systems: provided they are properly nourished. Reducing exposure (filtered water, avoiding plastics, fresh air), supporting the neutralisation of free radicals, modulating chronic inflammation and protecting the intestinal barrier are the four pillars of a coherent, documented response.
You cannot control everything. But you can choose how your body responds to what it encounters.
A microplastic is a fragment of plastic smaller than 5 millimetres. Below one micrometre, it is called a nanoplastic: this size allows it to cross the intestinal wall, the blood-brain barrier and the placental membrane, which microplastics do not do.
Yes. The study by Leslie et al. (Environment International, 2022) detected measurable microparticles in 17 of the 22 blood donors analysed, or 77%. The plastics identified included PET, polystyrene and polyethylene.
The study by Marfella et al. (New England Journal of Medicine, 2024) analysed 304 patients who had surgery for carotid stenosis: 58.4% of the atheromatous plaques contained microplastics. These patients had a risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death 4.53 times higher over 34 months of follow-up.
Four steps have a measurable effect: filtering tap water through activated carbon (70 to 90% fewer microplastics), never heating food in plastic (heat multiplies the release by 10 to 100), airing your home for 10 minutes a day, and washing synthetic textiles in an anti-fibre bag (up to 86% of fibres retained).
Vitamin C and vitamin E contribute to the protection of cells from oxidative stress. EPA and DHA contribute to the normal function of the heart, with a daily intake of 250 mg. Quercetin, thymoquinone and lactoferrin are the subject of research, with no authorised health claim to date. Find further analyses in the BIOLOGYST Journal.
BIOLOGYST. This article is provided for information purposes and does not replace the advice of a healthcare professional. Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. biologyst.com
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