The Detoxification of Microplastics

In order to develop detoxification strategies for microplastics that are medically realistic we must start with an understanding of the following:

1. How do plastic particles enter the body?
2. How and where do they travel through the body?
3. Where do they accumulate?
4. What are the body’s elimination processes, and can they remove particles? 

Plastic particles enter the body primarily through the digestive tract when they are consumed in contaminated foods and drinks. Secondarily, they enter through the respiratory system from sources like dust and air pollution. They can also enter through the skin from sources such as cosmetic products. The more we know about these routes of ingestion, the more care we can take to keep microplastics out of the body, thereby reducing the burden of bioaccumulation and need for detoxification.

How and where plastics travel through the body is dependent on the size of the particle and the route of ingestion. Nano particles are most dangerous, as they can penetrate into the deepest tissues and organs, while microparticles can often pass through the GI tract and be eliminated.

For a detailed understanding of how and where particles travel through the body, we need to know their internal entry points once they have been ingested. The most important are:

1. Gut-liver axis
2. Lung-heart axis
3. Lung-brain axis

The gut-liver axis is the entry point for particles moving through the digestive system; they first cross the mucus membrane of the GI tract, enter into the hepatic portal system and then continue to the liver.

The lung-heart axis is the entry point for inhaled particles to penetrate into blood circulation through the respiratory system; they first cross the mucus membrane of the lungs, enter into the heart and then move into the general cardiovascular system.

The lung-brain axis is the entry point for inhaled particles to penetrate into the brain through the respiratory system; they first enter into the heart and then travel to the brain through cerebral circulation, or penetrate directly into the brain through the sinuses and olfactory system.

Knowing these entry points gives us important guidance for using natural medicine to protect ourselves as much as possible, and to reduce the need for detoxification. One of the most critical uses is protecting the gut mucus membrane; microplastics are confirmed as pro-inflammatory agents in the digestive system, which in turn causes weakening of membrane integrity, which in turn allows more particles to penetrate into the gut-liver axis. There are many categories of foods, herbs and nutraceuticals that can be used to restore the integrity and immunity of the gut and its microbiome, and reduce the amount of microplastic traveling into the liver.

Research is also revealing where and how the particles accumulate and concentrate in the body. To date, microparticles have been found in a range of human tissue samples including stomach, colon, feces, lung, sputum, saliva, placenta, breast milk, blood, liver, kidney and brain.

Studies are confirming that plastic particles damage these tissues and organs in a variety of ways. These include causing inflammatory responses, binding with and transporting pathogenic microbes, binding with cholesterol and increasing its vascular toxicity, disrupting gut and respiratory microbiomes, releasing endocrine disrupting compounds, and numerous others.

By knowing about the body’s natural elimination mechanisms, we can establish some medically realistic expectations about what can and cannot be done to physically remove microparticles from the body. This is a subject where scientific medicine has different views than popular internet medicine, that makes claims about the detoxification of heavy metals, parasites and now microplastics, that are either overly simplistic or not physiologically possible.

The natural elimination processes include:

1. Elimination in feces through bowel movements
2. Elimination in urine through kidney filtration
3. Elimination through expectoration of phlegm from the lungs and mucus from the sinuses
4. Elimination through sweating

All of these processes can be gently and effectively supported using natural medicine, and it is plausible that these can all enhance the removal microparticles to some degree.

However, like the detoxification of metals and parasites, the actual process of moving toxins from their places of accumulation is far more complex than simply supporting the end stage of their elimination. These deeper levels of detoxification include converting toxins from fat soluble to water soluble forms for excretion through the kidneys, detoxification through the liver’s enzymatic pathways for elimination through the GI tract, movement into and filtration through the lymphatic system, and others.

Understanding these deeper physiological processes gives us further possible strategies for naturally supporting the detoxification mechanisms that could be effective for microplastics: there are many herbs that have been used for centuries that activate specific organs for these purposes, and an abundance of nutraceutical compounds that have now been confirmed as effective as well.

Natural medicine tends to view the process of detoxification as simply flushing unwanted compounds out of the body with various cleanses, but in many cases the full elimination of specific toxins is unrealistic, and can actually be harmful if done to extremes. The final level to consider in the process of detoxification, after avoiding exposure, blocking penetration, supporting deeper metabolism for clearance and enhancing end stage elimination, is how to maintain homeostasis with the toxins we cannot eliminate. Again, we find that both traditional herbology and contemporary nutraceuticals offer important resources for accomplishing this through various mechanisms, including reducing inflammation, adaptogenic strengthening and balancing of the endocrine system, and supporting the health and functioning of the immune system.

Interested in learning more about this vital topic?  Please join me for a free lecture this Wednesday, July 30th from 5pm to 6:30pm Pacific.  We will have time for a Q&A so that you may get answers to your most pressing questions about how microplastics are affecting your health, and what you can do about it!

Detoxification of Microplastics
Wednesday, July 30th, 2025 | 5pm-6:30pm PT