Analysis and
Health
Many people are worried about the health effects of ultra-processed foods and microplastics, but could these two issues actually be linked?
By Carissa Wong
Fast food is often ultra-processed
Shutterstock/siamionau pavel
Two of the biggest health concerns of the modern age – ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and microplastics – have one thing in common: we don’t actually know if or how they harm our health. But researchers are proposing a bold new idea: that these problems are actually linked, and UPFs contain especially high levels of microplastics that worsen mental health.
“We know ultra-processed foods have microplastics. We know that ultra-processed foods are also associated with depression and anxiety. We thought that it would be helpful to put out the hypothesis that potentially microplastics could be mediating that association, with the caveat…
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