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From microplastics in our environment to the ingredients inside everyday products, we explore the science behind the things we encounter every day.
Start With Microplastics ↓The Things You Don't See Can Still Be Worth Understanding.
Plastics have become part of modern life—and tiny plastic particles have become part of our environment. Understanding what microplastics are, where they come from, and what scientists are still trying to learn can help separate evidence from headlines.
What Are Microplastics?
Microplastics are small plastic particles generally defined as measuring less than 5 millimeters.
Some begin small. Others form as larger plastic materials weather, wear, wash, or fragment over time. Even smaller particles are often discussed under the term nanoplastics.
Primary Microplastics
Plastic particles intentionally manufactured at microscopic or very small sizes.
Secondary Microplastics
Particles created as larger plastic materials fragment and degrade.
Nanoplastics
Plastic particles at an even smaller scale, an area of growing scientific study.
How Do Microplastics Reach Us?
As plastics are manufactured, used, weathered, washed, and discarded, small particles can move through environmental systems and become part of potential human exposure pathways.
Water
Microplastic particles have been detected in freshwater, marine environments, and drinking water.
Food
Researchers have investigated microplastic contamination across different foods and food systems.
Air & Dust
Airborne particles and indoor dust represent another potential route of exposure.
Everyday Materials
Packaging, textiles, household materials, and other plastic-containing products can contribute particles to the environment.
What Is Science Actually Finding?
Microplastics are an active area of research. Scientists are investigating environmental exposure, human exposure, particle characteristics, biological interactions, and possible health implications.
What We Know
Microplastics are widespread in the environment, and human exposure can occur through multiple pathways. Researchers have also reported plastic particles in human biological samples.
What Scientists Are Studying
Researchers are investigating exposure levels, particle size and shape, polymer type, associated chemicals, biological interactions, and possible relationships with human health.
What We Don't Know Yet
Important questions remain about real-world exposure, long-term effects, measurement methods, and which particle characteristics or exposure levels may be most biologically relevant.
Where Might Exposure Come From?
Microplastic exposure doesn't come from one single source. Researchers study a range of environmental and everyday pathways.
Water
Drinking water and environmental water systems.
Food
Food production, processing, preparation, and packaging.
Packaging
Plastic materials used around foods and beverages.
Synthetic Textiles
Fibers can be released through wear and washing.
Household Dust
Indoor environments contain particles from many materials.
Air
Researchers also study airborne microplastic particles.
What Can You Actually Do?
Avoiding plastic completely isn't realistic for most people. A more practical approach is to understand where plastics appear in everyday life and make reasonable changes where they make sense.
Use glass or stainless steel for hot foods and drinks when practical.
Avoid heating food in plastic unless the container is specifically intended for that use.
Reduce unnecessary single-use plastics when convenient alternatives work for your household.
Regularly clean indoor dust and ventilate living spaces when appropriate.
Focus on realistic, repeatable changes rather than trying to eliminate every possible source.
The Microplastics Deep Dive
What happens after exposure? What are scientists finding in human studies? How are microplastics measured? And what does the research actually tell us about potential health effects?
Read the Full Microplastics Deep Dive →Meet the Ingredients.
Understanding what surrounds us is one side of the story. Understanding the ingredients we intentionally choose is another.
Explore our Ingredient Deep Dives to learn where ingredients come from, how they work in the body, what researchers study, and what to look for when reading a supplement label.
Explore Ingredient Deep Dives →
Know More. Fear Less. Choose Better.
Wellness information shouldn't make you afraid of the world around you. It should help you better understand it—what we know, what we're still learning, and where thoughtful choices can fit.