🥤 The smaller the micro plastics, the more harmful

It’s estimated that we ingest up to 5 grams of plastic particles up (the weight of a credit card) every week.

What’s worse is that the microplastic we ingest stay within our gut longer than expected because it can’t be broken down by certain white blood cells (called lysosomes).

Rather than degraded, microplastics are passed on to new cell during cell division.

In addition, macroplastics could increase the migration of cancer cells to other regions of the body, possibly promoting the metastasis of tumours.

🥊 Punchline

Microplastics can influence cell behaviour and possibly contribute to the progression of diseases and therefore it can be assumed that micro plastics cause chronic toxicity. Further research is needed to investigate the long-term effects.

🔥 How obesity disrupts normal liver function

Being overweight can negatively affect metabolic activity: the biological process by which the liver converts food into energy.

Comparing obese with normal weight mice, researchers found that:

Metabolism was inhibited during feeding and activated when fasting in normal weight mice.

This is expected because when we eat, our liver builds up stores of energy which is then released as needed.

But the reverse was observed in mice as metabolism increased during feeding and decreased when fasting. This indicate a potential breakdown of the system that could lead to metabolic disorders such as weight gain, tiredness and lack of energy.

This is likely to fat accumulation in the liver and insulin resistance during obesity.

🥊 Punchline

The liver plays a vital role in your metabolism and obesity can negatively affect liver functions.

📈 Why gut health is linked to weight gain post menopause?

Why are women at a greater risk of obesity and Type 2 diabetes after menopause?

It’s down to a combination of lower female sex hormones and high-fat diet

In mice, the decrease in female sex with manopause is associated with greater permeability and inflammation of the gut and liver. This leads to weight gain, fat accumulation in the liver and the expression of genes linked with inflammation (all made worse by high-fat diets).

🥊 Punchline

The gut microbiome is sensitive to sex hormone changes in females and can further impact the risk of disease development. This is the first time such a causation was found. More research to come!