We Finally Know How To Detox Microplastics I Dr. William Li

0:00 What I do and what I recommend that you do is to wash your produce, right?

0:03 So, you go to the grocery store,

0:04 you buy all the healthy food in the produce section,

0:06 plant-based foods, you should definitely do that.

0:09 What you do um before you're going to prepare it

0:12 and eat it is wash it under cold running water, okay?

0:16 For at least 60 seconds.

0:17 So, what I do in my house, I get one of those big metal mixing bowls, right?

0:21 They're they're deep, they're big, wide,

0:24 and you can put your fruits and vegetables in there.

0:26 All right?

0:27 and then just fill them up and let the water run.

0:30 All right.

0:30 So, what you'll find is when So, don't overload it.

0:33 Make sure that the water can get get in there and wash things out.

0:36 You'll be amazed at the dirt that comes off your food.

0:39 This is this is like dirt that's been maybe from the farm certainly

0:43 in the container that they the box they were in maybe on a train

0:46 or a plane or a truck or wherever they go and then in the back

0:49 of the grocery store and then loaded onto the shelf where you bought it.

0:53 And even farmer farmers market,

0:55 you've got um schmutz that you actually want to wash it off.

0:58 60 seconds of of cold running water will

1:02 actually take care of most of the stuff.

1:03 And according to USDA guidelines,

1:06 that will actually make the food wash the bacteria

1:08 off of most of the food as well.

1:10 Okay.

1:11 Most foods will have had some contact with plastic somewhere along the point

1:16 from where they were in the field to um to your plate.

1:20 So, this is your opportunity to clean it off.

1:22 And by the way, avoid storing or even buying your food in plastic, right?

1:27 So, skip the plastic bags that are in the produce section.

1:30 Instead, buy a reusable cloth bag that you can bring back.

1:34 It's also more sustainable, better for the environment rather than keeping

1:37 on buying plastic and throwing the plastic away, right?

1:40 That that's going to wind up somewhere,

1:42 somewhere that we don't want it to wind up.

1:44 Uh, and some of it's going to wind up in your body.

1:46 Get a cloth bag, reuse it.

1:48 It's better for the planet and better going to be better for your body.

1:51 Another thing to avoid is using ditch those plastic food storage container.

1:55 I used to have them all over the house.

1:57 I grew up with them.

1:58 You know, my mom would actually say, "Oh my gosh,

2:00 this is so convenient for us to store.

2:03 Inexpensive, lightweight, strong, colorful,

2:06 stacked easily." You know what that was?

2:09 Then, this is now.

2:10 We now know that plastic storage food containers

2:13 will shed the plastic right into the food.

2:15 Now, the lid is actually okay.

2:16 So get what I say is get a glass bowl,

2:19 Pyrex ball or metal and then a plastic top is fine.

2:24 All right, as long as it's not like contacting the food.

2:26 All right, so those are things that you should actually think about.

2:30 What about foods uh that you bring home that are

2:33 thin skin uh like apples or cucumbers for example?

2:38 You know what?

2:38 If you have a soft brush, all right,

2:42 not a plastic brush but like a with bristles.

2:45 All right.

2:45 Or made with bamboo like they have these bamboo scrapers.

2:49 Rinse them.

2:50 Uh brush them off and then dry them with a clean real cloth towel.

2:55 Not one of those plastic microfiber towels, real cotton towel.

2:59 All right.

3:00 So, these are things that we didn't really used to think about much,

3:03 but in the old days, like parents when they were kids and grandparents,

3:08 they always dried things with a towel.

3:10 All right?

3:10 And they probably washed their food as well,

3:12 and they didn't have the plastic to store them in.

3:14 All right.

3:15 So, listen.

3:15 It's frankly impossible to avoid all microplastics

3:19 because we even breathe them in the air.

3:20 Remember I told you tires turns out to be

3:22 from the road spinning around just flaking off plastic

3:25 everywhere everywhere turns out to be one of the biggest

3:29 sources of microplastics and we just inhale it.

3:32 But every step you can take knowingly about the way you buy your food,

3:37 the way you wash your food, the way you store your food, okay?

3:40 And the containers and and the cookware, right?

3:43 Don't don't be cooking your food with a plastic spatula.

3:47 Get wood or get metal.

3:49 All right.

3:50 Every step you can take will lower your reduce

3:52 your exposure and that can make a difference over time.

3:56 Now, let's talk about some really cool things

3:59 that have been discovered because now we're on to microplastics.

4:02 We're also trying to figure out ways of actually getting rid of microplastics.

4:06 So, uh researchers have actually looked at how you

4:09 can get rid of microplastics that are in your food.

4:11 you can't get rid of them, right?

4:13 So, what happens if they're in a food and you're eating them?

4:15 Is there something we could eat along with the food that could

4:19 actually help prevent the microplastics from getting into our blood vessels?

4:23 Answer is yes.

4:23 And you know what that that something is

4:25 that can help lower microplastics being absorbed to your body.

4:28 It's something you should be eating anyway.

4:30 It is dietary fiber.

4:32 Dietary fiber is good for us because number one,

4:36 it keeps your bowels moving so you're more regular.

4:39 Number two, and this is the more important reason,

4:41 dietary fiber feeds our healthy gut bacteria.

4:45 Good gut health is very important.

4:48 And when the bacteria are wellfed,

4:50 they release substances called short- chain fatty

4:52 acids into our bloodstream that lowers inflammation,

4:56 improves our brain health, improves our metabolism,

4:59 and helps us heal faster as well.

5:01 Okay, so dietary fiber should be eating that anyway.

5:04 But here's another reason.

5:05 Now we beginning to discover that dietary fiber which

5:08 also by the way forgot to mention lowers cholesterol.

5:11 That new research from Hanan University in China suggests

5:14 that not eating dietary fiber can flush out microplastics.

5:18 Pretty cool.

5:19 All right.

5:19 So I told you about the problem and here is a potential solution.

5:23 So there are ways that fiber,

5:26 dietary fiber can help your body get rid of microplastics.

5:29 Three different ways.

5:30 Number one, fiber when you're eating it actually

5:32 binds to microplastics are already inside your gut, right?

5:36 So you're chewing, eating regular food, you're going to be eating some plastic.

5:39 You eat food with dietary fiber that the fiber from the food will

5:43 bind to stick to the microplastics so

5:47 they don't get absorbed into your bloodstream.

5:49 That's pretty cool.

5:50 Number one.

5:50 Number two, dietary fiber will strengthen the lining of your gut.

5:55 So think of your gut as a tube.

5:57 All right?

5:57 Like a big garden hose.

5:59 That's your gut.

5:59 All right?

6:00 About 40 feet of it from your mouth to your anus.

6:02 And your your gut is a tube.

6:04 And the lining of that tube has to be really strong.

6:08 Right?

6:08 Now, if your lining is not strong, okay,

6:11 you got holes opening up and the lining of the gut

6:14 and then the stuff from the inside comes out.

6:16 That's called leaky gut.

6:17 Pretty common actually.

6:18 You know, leaky gut syndrome.

6:20 More common than we thought.

6:22 Um, as a doctor, I can tell you we

6:24 were not really taught about this in medical school.

6:26 Now we're realizing it actually is pretty common.

6:29 That lining is pretty sensitive.

6:31 And uh guess what?

6:33 Dietary fiber strengthens that lining, tightens it up.

6:37 Less leaky gut, less likely any microplastics in your food

6:40 that's in your gut are going to just dissolve out.

6:42 So the fiber binds to the microplastics and just keeps it going,

6:46 moving down so you can get rid of it.

6:47 You poop it out.

6:48 It tightens the lining of the gut so it's stronger.

6:51 So you've got less leakiness of the gut where micro microplastics can leak out.

6:56 And the third thing is that the fiber will feed the bacteria and that bacteria

7:01 will actually help your body counter any

7:03 plastics that do get into your bloodstream, right?

7:06 And that and the plastics can cause inflammation as I mentioned

7:09 to you and well-fed gut bacteria

7:12 from dietary fiber will lower that inflammation.

7:14 So the if any microplastics are causing a problem your your diet your dietary

7:19 fiber will feed your gut microbiome

7:20 which will then counter the inflammation right.

7:24 So fiber blocks removes and protects okay against microplastics.

7:29 It's really another reason that you should be eating more dietary fiber.

7:33 Here are some pro tips from me on how you can

7:36 protect yourself against microplastics based on what I told you so far.

7:40 Number one, eat a diet that is very fiber richch.

7:43 All right.

7:44 Fruits, vegetables, mushrooms got dietary fiber.

7:47 Avocados got dietary fiber.

7:49 Legumes, white beans, black beans, kidney beans, they all have dietary fibers.

7:54 Chickpeas, lentils, good source of dietary fiber.

7:57 Whole grains.

7:58 Okay, there lots of reasons whole grains good for you.

8:00 Dietary fiber is one of them.

8:02 And now here's another reason.

8:03 It can actually help protect you against the harms of microplastics.

8:08 nuts and seeds, you know, tree nuts, walnuts, pecans,

8:12 almonds, pistachios, macadamia, all those types of tree nuts,

8:16 Brazil nuts, the dietary fiber protects you against

8:20 microplastics among other thing beneficial things they're doing.

8:23 All right?

8:24 And then soluble fiber that you would find in oats, flax seeds, lentils,

8:28 apples, day old rice after you refrigerate it,

8:31 baked potatoes after you refrigerate them.

8:33 They're all turning regular starch into resistant starch,

8:37 which then feeds the gut microbiome.

8:39 They are effective at binding the toxins including dietary fiber.

8:43 Another thing that you can do is to stay hydrated.

8:46 I always tell people to to, you know, stay hydrated.

8:49 Water is, you know, our body is made of anywhere from 50 to 70% water.

8:54 You want to stay very, very well hydrated.

8:56 Okay?

8:57 And guess what?

8:58 Fiber that protects you works best from your diet when

9:02 you have enough hydration because hydration keeps things moving smoothly.

9:06 All right?

9:06 Keeps your blood flowing smoothly.

9:08 So, you want to stay hydrated.

9:09 Get a water filter because you want to make sure your water

9:12 is actually clean or find a really clean source of water.

9:15 And you want to get dietary fiber.

9:17 It's best to get it from food and it's best to mix it up because your body,

9:20 your gut bacteria, they like to have different kinds of dietary fiber,

9:24 not just the same source every single time.

9:26 So, you can take a supplement that has fiber in it.

9:29 All right?

9:29 Um, but it's much better to mix it up.

9:31 Um, and it's better for your body anyway.

9:34 Foods that are very diverse help your gut microbiome,

9:37 which then lowers inflammation,

9:39 which is a way to counter any inflammation that microplastic would cause.

9:42 Let me just kind of give you a little recap

9:44 of all the stuff we talked about in this video.

9:46 First, microplastics.

9:48 Avoid them because they can get in the body

9:50 and now they've been discovered in the brain, human brain.

9:53 All right?

9:54 You can avoid them by uh avoiding plastic containers, plastic bags,

9:58 plastic bottles, plastic um cooking utensils,

10:01 plastic plates, plastic cups, right?

10:03 You go to the ball game, go to a party,

10:05 go then think about all those red plastic cups that avoid that.

10:09 All right?

10:10 Eat more fiber to help flush out any uh

10:13 microplastic that are going to be in your food anyway.

10:15 You can't avoid it, but you can lower the risk.

10:17 And then when it comes to heavy metals,

10:19 cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury in your water,

10:22 try steeping some tea and you can actually

10:24 drink the tea and get the beneficial polyphenols,

10:27 lowering inflammation, improving your your metabolism,

10:30 cutting off blood supply, starving cancers, all that stuff.

10:34 Better for brain health, good for gut health as well.

10:36 And now here's another reason to drink tea.

10:38 It actually steeping tea, black tea, powdered tea,

10:42 or in a cellulose bag can actually bind away take out of the water heavy metals.

10:48 If you found this video helpful,

10:50 hit the like button and subscribe if you haven't already

10:53 and then share the video with somebody that you know,

10:56 get them to subscribe so we can actually all get this information out.

10:59 This is practical information uh that can benefit our health.

11:02 These are simple steps that we can take.

11:04 That's it for this video.

11:05 I will see you in the next one.

11:07 Dr.

11:08 Lee out.

11:09 Hey, if you like that video, then you're going to love this one.

11:14 Check it out.