Put Down That Chicken Nugget — Microplastics in Junk Food May Be Making You Depressed
. . .A collection of four papers — published Tuesday in the journal Brain Medicine — reports a disturbing link between microplastics, ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and mental health.
UPFs — which are considered unhealthy because they are high in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium — include soft drinks, chips, chocolate, ice cream, processed meats, many ready-to-eat meals and mass-produced cereals.
Previous research has shown that people who eat UPFs have a substantially higher risk of depression, anxiety and poor sleep — but the role that microplastics might play in that connection has not been fully explored.
UPFs are more susceptible to microplastics than other foods due to their packaging and additives and the equipment used to process them.
As an example, the researchers pointed to chicken nuggets — which reportedly contain 30 times more microplastics per gram than chicken breasts.
“We’re seeing converging evidence that should concern us all,” Dr. Nicholas Fabiano, a psychiatry resident at the University of Ottawa in Canada, said in a statement. (Read more from “Put Down That Chicken Nugget — Microplastics in Junk Food May Be Making You Depressed” HERE)
