Should you toss your black kitchen tools?

[00:00:00] Host Amber Smith: Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York invites you to be "The Informed Patient" with the podcast that features experts from Central New York's only academic medical center. I'm your host, Amber Smith. You may have heard concerns about the dangers of plastics to human health, so I'm turning to Dr. Kaushal Nanavati to explain. He's a doctor of family medicine and director of integrative medicine at Upstate. Welcome back to "The Informed Patient," Dr. Nanavati.

[00:00:30] Kaushal Nanavati, MD: Thank you for having me, Amber. It's been a while, and I really enjoy coming on.

[00:00:35] Host Amber Smith: Why have black plastic food containers and kitchen tools like tongs and ladles and spatulas been singled out as potentially problematic?

[00:00:45] Kaushal Nanavati, MD: Well, there was a study that came out, and it really focused on the fact that black plastic tools are often made from recycled plastics, including what we call e-waste or electronic waste. And e-waste plastics can contain things like heavy metals, flame retardants and other potentially hazardous substances.

So in the study it talked about the increased risk potential for things like cancer. Now, I do have to kind of give full disclosure on the study is that initially the data that came out projected a much higher correlation for cancer risk. And so the authors looked at the data, and they realized that their actual calculation was off by a factor of 10. And so they did correct their information. But the correlation is still there, and the risk is still there. So I think it's a very, very important discussion to actually have and just to inform people on.

[00:01:46] Host Amber Smith: Well, I think everyone has black kitchen tools. Should we be getting rid of them?

[00:01:51] Kaushal Nanavati, MD: Well, I think the question really there is, what can we do? So if you don't have them, you don't necessarily need to get them. But really the thing with black tools are that, you want to think about what it is that they have. So there are certain types. So plastics that are marked with recycling codes number three, number six, number seven, may actually leach more harmful potential chemicals. So what we tell people is there are alternatives.

So fundamentally, within plastics, tools that are clear or lighter colored tend not to have as much of the e-waste. So that's one thing to keep in mind. But there are also alternatives, right? So wooden tools are safe. They're biodegradable. You just have to be careful about avoiding splintering, and then how well you clean them as far as harboring bacteria. Silicone tools, if it's a food grade silicone, they're durable, they're heat resistant and safer. And then even glass or stainless steel containers are ideal for food storage versus plastic.

So, there's fundamentals that we can do at home to think about how we can optimize, or rather minimize our exposure to potential chemicals that could lead to harmful effects when you have consistent exposure over the long term.

[00:03:13] Host Amber Smith: Are these tools safer to use if you're not dealing with hot food?

[00:03:17] Kaushal Nanavati, MD: So, well, with cold use, you may release fewer chemicals. You have to think about if there's wear or scratches in the tool itself, then that could sometimes leach some of the hazard compounds over time. So, you know, a one time use when you're visiting somebody isn't really the thing as much as what you use on a day-to-day basis at home in terms of serving spoons, utensils, that type of stuff.

[00:03:42] Host Amber Smith: Now, if you take the step to toss your black plastic tools, should they go in recycling or trash?

[00:03:50] Kaushal Nanavati, MD: So it's really a very interesting question because they don't really recommend recycling because recycling environments don't really know what to do with them. Generally the recommendation is that you throw them out in the garbage, and then they get disposed of that way.

[00:04:08] Host Amber Smith: Now the other thing is those black plastic food containers that you often get with takeout food. Are those safe to reuse?

[00:04:16] Kaushal Nanavati, MD: So, again, if they're not scratched up and banged up and kind of worn down, for storage, it is different. If you're using them to do things like microwave, even though some of them might say "microwave safe," we generally suggest using glass containers if you're going to do anything as far as reheating. I wouldn't suggest using those containers.

[00:04:40] Host Amber Smith: This is Upstate's "The Informed Patient" podcast. I'm your host Amber Smith. I'm talking with Dr. Kaushal Nanavati. He's a doctor of family medicine and director of Integrative medicine at Upstate, and we're talking about how to stay healthy in a world full of plastics and microplastics.

So I'd like to ask you about microplastics, these tiny shards of plastic that are in the air and the water. They're byproducts of our world, which is just full of plastics. We're all exposed to these, and it seems more and more studies are showing potential harms. What can you tell us about these?

[00:05:16] Kaushal Nanavati, MD: So microplastics are found in really everywhere, right? So from food, including fruits and vegetables, seafood, bottled water, honey, milk. I mean, wherever you look, things that are stored in plastics, as the researchers do more and look into more things, they're finding microplastics in the air and in the soil and within the body and multiple organs. The microplastics can cross the blood brain barrier, so they can impact the brain and development of young people. Breast milk, the placenta, testicles, heart, the liver, the kidneys. Clothing, cosmetics, cleaning products and also nail polish and that type of stuff. So they're pretty much everywhere. Trash, dust, tires, all of those things.

And what are the harms, right? So really when you think about it from the digestive tract, we think about inflammation that can be triggered, and that can affect the gut bacteria, which can affect nutrient absorption, toxin release, even things like abdominal pain and bloating, changes in bowel habits. Breathing issues. They can get into the lungs resulting in coughing or inflammation, shortness of breath for some people. For the brain, because they can cross the blood-brain barrier, we worry about things like neurotoxicity with repeated exposure over time.

And, we think about reproductive issues, endocrine, hormone related issues, as that can be affected as well. So, there's really a multitude of issues. And, part of the concern, really, is that they're ever present. Plastic is used around the world. And at this point it's not that we can necessarily completely avoid exposure. It's looking at minimizing the potential of exposure and where we can take individual steps to help ourselves, and to help our environment, to help our community.

I think that's really the way people want to think about. There's a famous thing about thinking seven generationally. And if you think how you want the world to look like seven generations from now, and we make some of the decisions that will leave it better for seven generations. That's a wonderful way to kind of approach the steps that we take on a day-to-day basis.

[00:07:31] Host Amber Smith: Do you think the microplastics are behind the rise in lung and colon cancers in young people? Because we've seen a huge increase in that.

[00:07:39] Kaushal Nanavati, MD: It's a good question. I don't know that the data clearly details that this is a primary cause. There's a lot of correlation that's been seen, and I think more research is being done to clarify how much of an impact microplastics have. Clearly they do lead to what we call oxidative stress and inflammation, both of which have the potential to trigger cell damage that could lead to pre-cancerous change. So a correlation is known. Causation, there's still more data coming. And clearly there's not a health benefit to exposure for sure.

[00:08:14] Host Amber Smith: How would we know if we have microplastics in our body?

[00:08:18] Kaushal Nanavati, MD: That's a great question. At this point, for most of us, we've been exposed to them. And unfortunately we don't really have tests like for a lot of things, even chemical exposures. We have blood tests and urine tests that can look for some exposures. With microplastics, we don't really have any standardized testing as of yet. There's a lot of research being done. What can we do to help ourselves, right? If we've all been exposed at some point, let's say, what can we do?

There's really not a specific method to remove microplastics specifically. However, coming back to if people have heard me come on the show before, the fundamentals are still fundamental, right? So what can we do? Having a fiber rich, antioxidant rich type of diet can help reduce the potential damage, the secondary effect. Staying well hydrated. And again, when we talk about staying well hydrated, it's not drinking from the plastic bottles. It's using the bottles that we use are glasses that are actually glass, or the stainless steel containers that are free of bisphenol A and some of these other chemicals that are plastic related to reduce the potential of inflammation, to reduce the potential of oxidative stress, and in fact, to help the body heal, and to stay healthy in the first place so that we can try to avoid the problems coming on in the first place.

[00:09:39] Host Amber Smith: Will that help us get rid of the microplastics from our body?

[00:09:43] Kaushal Nanavati, MD: That's very difficult. It'll reduce the potential of the microplastic doing as much damage. Microplastic has been found in feces, and so the body does get rid of some of it. Oftentimes a microplastic gets deposited into fat cells in the body as well. And so staying healthy is very, very important. Staying fit is very important as well. But we don't really have, like, I can't tell you that there's a pill or there's some medicine that gets rid of microplastic from the body at this point.

[00:10:15] Host Amber Smith: Do you think it would be realistic to live a life without plastic? It seems like it's everywhere.

[00:10:20] Kaushal Nanavati, MD: It is everywhere. So what can you do to reduce exposure? So first thing is to live it without (plastics) is very difficult around the world because of environment and the fact that it's found in air in other places, however, trying to use natural reusable materials such as glass or stainless steel, or even bamboo is used for utensils. Those are probably the ways to do it. Avoiding single use plastics, like those water bottles, that a lot of people get, they'll buy bottled water and they'll drink from that. What we don't know is how long that bottled water has been sitting there in a warehouse. We don't know how much the water's been exposed to the plastic container that it's in. Plus, plastic is very difficult if at all to degrade. So if we're using single use plastics, we're just creating more plastic pollution. So that's important.

And then on the broader scale in terms of institutional, community governmental policies, supporting policies that reduce plastic production and waste. I know that they're working on biodegradable plastic that's made from natural elements that biodegrade more easily. Over time with plastics engineering, if we're able to create storage materials that are biodegradable, that also have the ability to maintain food integrity. That would be ideal.

[00:11:47] Host Amber Smith: Well, Dr. Nanavati, thank you so much for making time for this interview.

[00:11:50] Kaushal Nanavati, MD: I appreciate it. I think it's a very important topic, and I appreciate you guys putting a spotlight on it.

[00:11:56] Host Amber Smith: My guest has been doctor of family medicine and director of integrative medicine at Upstate, Dr. Kaushal Nanavati. "The Informed Patient" is a podcast covering health, science and medicine, brought to you by Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, and produced by Jim Howe, with sound engineering by Bill Broeckel and graphic design by Dan Cameron. Find our archive of previous episodes at upstate.edu/informed. If you enjoyed this episode, please invite a friend to listen. You can also rate and review "The Informed Patient" podcast on Spotify, Apple podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you tune in. This is your host, Amber Smith, thanking you for listening.