can you detox from plastic? the reality of harmful chemicals at every turn
8 minute read
dr. aviad elgez recommends replacing plastic containers with glass ones, and cautions against cooking with plastic utensils or non-stick pans, opting for stainless steel pots and pans, for example.
getty images
stay up to date on this topic
this article was produced by the healthing editorial team with the support of a grant from aquaomega. while aquaomega made the production of this article possible, they did not have any editorial influence or control over the content, including review prior to publication. this is the second of a two-part series on the health impacts of plastics; read part 1 here.
you’re exposed to hundreds of chemicals and pollutants every day, just by breathing the air. so, it can feel overwhelming to think about what these substances can do to your body—and the items within your home that are part of the problem. experts say that getting informed and aware is the first step to limiting your exposure.
for example, does that body wash you’re using in the shower smell incredibly good, like invigorating grapefruit or mint?
while it might be uplifting for your bathing ritual, that body wash is likely one of the ubiquitous personal care products and cosmetics that contain phthalates. these are chemicals used in manufacturing to make plastics softer and more flexible, and found in everything from shower curtains and upholstery to food containers. they’re also used in the formulation of personal care products to help fragrances last longer and to keep nail polish from chipping.
“if it really smells incredibly strong and maybe good, like a detergent or fragrance or body wash, that most likely means that there is some sort of phthalate in it,” says dr. aviad elgez, naturopathic doctor at the enviromed clinic in toronto. he has done extensive training in environmental toxins and how to identify them and reduce symptoms from exposure, and is often referred patients by other naturopathic doctors.
“whenever you see something called parfum, that’s actually phthalates. if you’ve ever smelled something really good, that’s natural, does it last for a long time? no. have you ever sprayed or put on perfume and it lasts on your clothes, and four weeks later you can still smell it?” he explains that phthalates add scents that appeal to consumers and have a slow-release mechanism for the scented product.
advertisement
“you put this stuff on your skin, and you’re literally putting on liquid plastics that you absorb,” he says.
breaking the chemistry down further, phthalates are not a part of the chain of chemicals, or polymers, that make up plastics. this means they can be released more easily from products like food packaging, toothbrushes and toys, leeching into your body. when phthalates are used for fragrance in personal care and cosmetics, you are directly exposed to them in the air and on your skin.
phthalates are a type of endocrine-disrupting chemical, so they affect hormones involved in most bodily processes. research has linked exposure to the development of type 2 diabetes. evidence has also shown that high, consistent exposure to phthalates increases obesity risk, particularly in children and midlife women, in part because phthalates affect the hormones that regulate fat tissue.
infertility linked to phthalates
fertility is another area where phthalates are having an impact. for men, higher phthalate levels are correlated with lower sperm concentration and lower sperm motility. a recent review of the science in reproductive biology and endocrinology calls phthalates the “silent saboteurs of male fertility.” as the authors write, “given the potential risks to reproductive health, the evidence supports a precautionary approach advocating stricter regulation of phthalate exposure in everyday products.”
in women, higher exposure can lead to a longer time to get pregnant and miscarriage. in an extensive 2024 review, spanish researchers concluded prenatal exposure to phthalates can impact fetal development, birth weight and may contribute to preterm birth.
that’s just one problematic chemical. the environmental working group (ewg) has identified 12 toxic chemical risks in personal care products and food packaging, with phthalates, parabens (used as preservatives), and bpas (bisphenols, used to make plastics hard and durable) ranking high. these compounds are linked to hormone disruption, reproductive harm and even cancer, appearing in products because of lax regulation, says ewg. the group provides consumer guides, such as skin deep and the dirty dozen guide to food chemicals, to help identify safer alternatives.
advertisement
“we literally have to become like toxicologists,” dr. elgez says of the need to educate consumers and the medical community. “there are thousands of toxins out there, usually in the hundreds that we’re exposed to every day, but there’s possibly thousands. all of them are incredibly well studied and well researched to an extent. we know the toxin effect. we know how they affect our system. how do we test for them? how do you treat them? where are the sources? what do the symptoms look like? they all get detoxified differently.”
while the information is published, he says most doctors wouldn’t get this information, and it will take another 50 years for medical training to catch up to the current science.
he encourages people to read product labels and look for cleaner, environmentally-friendly products.
“try to get non-scented products or ones that don’t have perfume, the ones that say phthalate-free on them,” he says.
another important awareness message is about food and beverage containers and packaging—those plastics can have negative health impacts, so again, it’s buyer-beware.
just consider the plastic water bottle, made with bisphenols. while bisphenol-a (bpa) has been targeted for its health impacts, there are numerous forms of the chemical bisphenol that can be substituted for bpa in manufacturing. dr. elgez explains that these chemicals are known as “obesogens,” which interfere with hormones and are linked with diabetes and weight gain. a 2024 paper in the international journal of obesity looks at obesogens as the common thread for the global rise in obesity.
plastic water bottles contributing to diabetes, obesity
“people don’t think that their plastic water bottle is actually a factor (in diabetes and obesity). they think that it’s maybe just the food that they’re eating. but no, it’s also the plastic that’s making you insulin-resistant,” he says.
advertisement
food containers are also something to consider, given that everything from microwave meals, yogurt, pudding cups and frozen foods is typically packaged in plastic. the chemicals are released more easily into food by changes in temperature, so if you’re heating something up in the plastic packaging, or microwaving leftovers in plastic storage containers, this can increase exposure. then there’s the plastic-lined single-use coffee cups that you’re drinking hot beverages from. you’re drinking plastic along with caffeine.
what’s really going on? plastic materials used in food packaging, cosmetics and many everyday products can break down into harmful microscopic fragments when heated, worn down or chemically processed.
dr. paul hrkal, naturopathic doctor at the pain and wellness centre in vaughan, ont., says the ongoing low-dose exposure is revealing its impact in prostate cancer, the most common cancer among canadian men (one in eight will develop prostate cancer during their lifetime).
researchers at the nyu grossman school of medicine examined prostate tissue collected from 10 patients undergoing surgery to remove the gland. plastic particles were identified in 90 per cent of tumour samples and in 70 per cent of benign prostate tissue samples.
the key finding was the difference in concentration with tumour samples containing about 2.5 times more plastic than healthy tissue (about 40 micrograms of plastic per gram of tissue compared with 16 micrograms per gram). as science daily reports, this is the first western study to measure microplastic levels in prostate tumours, comparing them directly with levels in noncancerous prostate tissue.
“the conclusion is that first of all, everybody has plastic in them and it seems like the ones with the actual cancer have higher levels of this plastic,” dr. hrkal notes, adding that prostate cancer is a hormonally sensitive condition that could be prone to the disruption of hormone signaling by chemicals like bisphenols and phthalates.
advertisement
plastic detox can be ‘overwhelming’
like dr. elgez, he’s concerned that people aren’t aware of the potential health impacts and will keep on purchasing and consuming plastic that’s putting them at risk for serious health issues. and if they do start reading up about it, they’ll become overwhelmed.
“it can easily become a exercise in frustration and ultimately becoming despondent, like ‘i guess it’s just everywhere and i can’t deal with it,'” he says. “but it’s a good thought experiment and a good practical exercise to literally just reflect on how are you using plastic.”
he recommends replacing plastic containers with glass ones, and cautions against cooking with plastic utensils or non-stick pans, opting for stainless steel pots and pans, for example. “it’s really the heating and cooking of those foods that really aggravates the plastic leaching.”
as well, as dr. elgez points out, oils and fats in plastic packaging can increase exposure, like cheese wrapped in plastic or olive oil in a plastic bottle. choose glass bottles and cheese in foil or non-plastic wrap.
“plastic leeches into food. it really leeches very well with oil,” he says, especially in products that have been stored for a long time in their package. there’s quite a list here, including peanut butter, mayonnaise, salad dressing and vegetable oil.
canned foods are typically lined with a plastic product as well, which leeches into the food.
“in a perfect world, we have clean fish, clean meat, clean food, clean oils, clean air, everything, right? that’s a perfect world. so you do the best you can to avoid exposure,” he says. that means using your own reusable water bottle and coffee cup, and buying whole foods without packaging as much as possible.
“you can’t live in a bubble, you just can’t.” he helps patients reduce exposure by rotating foods to get a wide range of whole foods in their diet, and choosing more natural personal care and cleaning products.
advertisement
“your liver processes toxins and then it goes into the kidney, you pee them out, it goes into the stool bile, you poop them out. the problem is a lot of those toxins get recycled in the stool and you need things like fibres or binders to get them out,” he explains of nutrients that help liver and kidney function. certain supplements like glutathione and detoxing with exercise, saunas and colonics can all help.
taking steps, even small ones, are the best way to reduce exposure. “if you keep on getting the exposure, you can do all the colonics you want. you’re not going to get better.”
share story
