Harmful Chemicals and Plastic Matter in Food Linked to Risk of Chronic Diseases in Men

Do you usually consume foods packed in plastic? Experts now suggest that potentially harmful chemicals found in plastic products, such as phthalates, may pose severe threat to human health. Researchers at the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute joined hands to investigate the presence of harmful chemicals in around 1500 male participants. The urine samples of close to 99.6% of the participants contained phthalates. Traces of phthalates in human body have often been linked to triggering a range of ailments.

"We found that the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure increased among those men with higher total phthalate levels," Zumin Shi from the University of Adelaide was quoted by IANS.

Experts noted that the presence of such chemicals in the body was mainly due to consuming foods contained in plastics. A typical western diet is rich in processed and refined food items that, almost always, come packaged in plastic. Some of the previously conducted studies had shown that consuming soft drinks and pre-packaged foods may lead to high phthalate levels in the body. The hazards of using plastic in packing or serving everyday meals have long been debated upon with many technologists and scientists devising plausible ways to do away with the use of plastic in the culinary and gastronomic space. While a team of German experts invented leaf-derived, biodegradable plates as a viable and eco-friendly substitute to plastic cutlery, experts from the Skipping Rocks Lab, London, UK created 'edible water balls' that can be consumed as is without the need to package them in plastic bottles.

All this is nothing but a strong signal to move to a world with less dependence on plastic, lest it begins to take a serious toll on our health.

Inputs from IANS