Hot food served in plastic containers, like those used for takeout meals, is linked to a higher risk of congestive heart failure, even with minor exposure.
The findings come from a study published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety journal. Researchers discovered that particles leaching into food or liquid from plastic can result in “changes in cardiac muscle tissue” that reveal cardiovascular disease. Notably, the study’s authors found that even minimal exposure was potentially hazardous.
To conduct the study, researchers fed rats water exposed to boiling water in plastic containers. The researchers used water boiled at different intervals: one minute, five minutes, and 15 minutes. After three months, analysis of the rat’s feces showed their gut biome had transformed, and their heart tissue was excessively damaged.
“The results indicated that ingestion of these leachates altered the intestinal microenvironment, affected gut microbiota composition, and modified gut microbiota metabolites, particularly those linked to inflammation and oxidative stress,” the study said, per People magazine. “Additionally, this exposure resulted in damage to the heart muscle tissue of the rats, alongside increased markers of myocardial injury, inflammation, and oxidative stress.”
Last year, The Dallas Express detailed a study that found microplastics and nanoplastics found in our body can lead to heightened risk of severe medical conditions, like heart attacks. Researchers said that participants in the study with plastics found in the plaque in their arteries possessed roughly twice the risk of having a heart attack, a stroke, or dying from any cause.
Regardless of how long the water was boiled, the hearts of the rats in the latest study were equally damaged. This may mean that “even minimal exposure to heated plastic takeout containers” exposes one to the risk of heart complications.
“It leads to changes in myocardial tissue, gut microbiota, and metabolites, all closely tied to [cardiovascular disease],” per the study.
While the authors said more research is needed, in the meantime, they recommended that people “avoid using plastic containers for high-temperature food, reduce the use of plastic products in daily life, and implement timely plastic pollution control measures.”