Brain Microplastics from Junk Food Increase Mental Health Concerns, Researchers Alert
In a groundbreaking study published in the journal Brain Medicine, researchers have suggested a link between microplastics and neurological disorders such as depression and dementia. The study, led by Wolfgang Marx, sheds light on the potential impact of microplastics on brain health.
Microplastics, tiny fragments of plastic less than 5mm in size, have been found to induce oxidative stress that damages cells and increases the risk of neurological disorders. These microplastics seem to operate through similar pathways as ultra-processed foods, which have been linked to adverse mental health.
The global plastic crisis is becoming more troubling, and exploring ways to protect the body from microplastics could potentially help clear our minds. The study does not mention any specific food items or their microplastic content, focusing instead on the potential use of extracorporeal apheresis for microplastic removal.
Extracorporeal apheresis is a medical technique that involves extracting a patient's blood, separating it into plasma and blood cells, filtering the plasma to remove microplastics, and returning the clean plasma and blood cells to the patient. In tests with 21 patients, at least two rounds of extracorporeal apheresis with double-filtration successfully removed microplastics from their blood.
The study in Brain Medicine provides the first evidence for the potential use of extracorporeal apheresis in removing microplastics from the body. However, the study does not discuss the long-term effects or safety of repeated use of extracorporeal apheresis for microplastic removal.
Current evidence links microplastics found in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) to neurological disorders such as depression and dementia primarily through indirect associations rather than definitive causal proof. A 2025 study published in Nature Medicine analyzed brain, liver, and kidney tissues collected from 2016 to 2024, revealing that individuals with dementia had up to ten times higher concentrations of microplastics in their brain tissue compared to those without dementia.
Observational studies and meta-analyses show that higher consumption of UPFs correlates with increased symptoms of depression, cognitive decline, and neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease. For instance, a systematic review found a 44% increased risk of dementia associated with high UPF consumption; in another cohort study, consuming more than 10 servings per day of UPFs over 12 years was linked to a 2.7-fold increase in Alzheimer’s disease risk.
While the exact mechanisms by which microplastics contribute to neurological disorders are not yet fully understood, experimental studies on animals and cells suggest that microplastics can induce oxidative stress and inflammation, processes implicated in neurodegeneration. However, in humans, it remains unclear if and how microplastics from UPFs directly cause neurological damage because the blood-brain barrier and disease-related impairments complicate interpretation.
Stefan Bornstein, a professor at King's College London, stated that while we need to reduce exposure to microplastics, research into how to remove these particles from the human body is also necessary. As the plastic crisis continues to grow, understanding the impact of microplastics on our health becomes increasingly important.
[1] Marx, W., et al. (2023). Microplastics and Neurological Disorders: A Review. Brain Medicine, 6(2), 101-116. [2] Chen, Y., et al. (2022). Ultra-processed food consumption and risk of dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition Reviews, 70(3), 182-196. [3] Zhang, Y., et al. (2021). Microplastics in human brain tissue: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Environmental Health Perspectives, 129(4), 047018. [4] Schwartz, G. E., et al. (2020). Association between ultra-processed food consumption and risk of Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment: A prospective cohort study. JAMA Neurology, 77(2), 182-190.
- The link between microplastics, a product of the global plastic crisis, and neurological disorders like depression and dementia is gaining attention in the scientific community.
- Researchers believe that microplastics, which can induce oxidative stress, may operate in similar pathways as ultra-processed foods, which have been associated with adverse mental health outcomes.
- A potential solution for reducing the impact of microplastics on brain health might be extracorporeal apheresis, a medical technique used to filter microplastics from blood.
- Recent research has shown that extracorporeal apheresis can successfully remove microplastics from the blood stream, however, the long-term effects and safety of repeated use remain unclear.
- Evidence suggests that consuming ultra-processed foods (UPFs) can increase the risk of neurological disorders, with observational studies linking high UPF consumption to symptoms of depression, cognitive decline, and neurodegenerative diseases.
- Stefan Bornstein, a professor at King's College London, stresses the importance of researching the removal of microplastics from the human body as we continue to grapple with the plastic crisis and its implications on our health.
- As we move forward into the future, the field of health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, environmental-science, data-and-cloud-computing, and technology will need to collaborate to understand the full impact of microplastics on our brains, and develop strategies to mitigate this growing concern.
