Ah Wirecutter, NYTs way to leverage the affiliate link. This article just exists to sell you things.
It'd be better if we had a source that really helped people to understand the facts around the different types of plastics. Surely not all leach microplastics if they're used in medical settings for IVs and catheters.
I don't really buy that plastics are the enormous health issue that people claim they are.
We've been eating TV dinners for what, over sixty years now, yet people are claiming that plastic is responsible for stuff like gender dysphoria which barely existed outside of drag until about five or ten years ago.
Obesity is even more laughable. The fat and thin people I know don't differ in whether they use tupperware or eat takeaways. They just eat different amounts.
We probably shouldn't fill the environment with this stuff, but I think that worrying about heating up leftovers in your microwave is an overreaction.
We used mercury in fur clothing and lead in gasoline also because they were nontoxic.
We are seeing population-scale effects exactly identical to what we see in animal models and in Petri dishes. Hormone disruption, which you’d expect to see metabolic disorders (like obesity), changes in sexuality (in animals we see a reduction in sexual dimorphism — plausibly connected to gender dysphoria), and fertility problems.
We don’t know for certain this stuff is bad, but I am absolutely sure that your confidence is unwarranted.
sure, the plastic molecules are non-toxic, they don't have any chemical reactions with organic molecules. they're inert. safe.
but when they clump together, or when large sheets of them fall apart, you get particles. microplastics. still inert, no chemical reactions. but they get stuck in places like tiny blood vessels or tiny pockets in your intestine. not inert. not safe. not toxic, but not good
I thought some of the tips were interesting which is why I posted it. For example, the cutting board thing. I had never thought about it but obviously if you are using a plastic cutting board and cutting food on it with a knife, you are almost certainly getting plastic in your food.
Yeah 4 of the 5 are just variations of "don't put food and drink in plastic containers".
But I've got another one: use rock salt instead of sea salt. This might not be feasible; most or all salt I see in sea salt, but it seems fairly obvious to me that rock salt is unlikely to contain any plastic, whereas sea salt is likely to contain plastic.
Can't live without spring water and only a specific brand at that. I tried tap water and even filtered water but it tastes so horrible that I am barely able to drink 2-3 cups a day.
> 7. Use wood or bamboo cutting boards
I use the quartz (previously marble) countertops for cutting. My spouse hates me for it. Easier to maintain than wood boards (I obviously don't mind the scratches, it wasn't that shiny to begin with). Not sure about safety.
Maintaining a wooden cutting board isn’t that hard. Wipe it off with soapy water after use (the same as your countertops I hope) and then occasionally (monthly, or less often) add mineral oil to the board whenever the board looks “dry”.
It also has the upside of not absolutely destroying your knives like using knives on a quartz countertop will do. You’ll save more time not sharpening knives than you would maintaining a wooden cutting board.
[+] [-] roflburger|1 year ago|reply
It'd be better if we had a source that really helped people to understand the facts around the different types of plastics. Surely not all leach microplastics if they're used in medical settings for IVs and catheters.
[+] [-] nojs|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] lolitan|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] mediumsmart|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] throwaway22032|1 year ago|reply
We've been eating TV dinners for what, over sixty years now, yet people are claiming that plastic is responsible for stuff like gender dysphoria which barely existed outside of drag until about five or ten years ago.
Obesity is even more laughable. The fat and thin people I know don't differ in whether they use tupperware or eat takeaways. They just eat different amounts.
We probably shouldn't fill the environment with this stuff, but I think that worrying about heating up leftovers in your microwave is an overreaction.
[+] [-] timellis-smith|1 year ago|reply
Given the massive prevalence of plastic on just about all our food, if it was really such a threat I would expect life expectancies to have dropped.
Personally I regard this all as fear mongering.
[+] [-] llamaimperative|1 year ago|reply
We are seeing population-scale effects exactly identical to what we see in animal models and in Petri dishes. Hormone disruption, which you’d expect to see metabolic disorders (like obesity), changes in sexuality (in animals we see a reduction in sexual dimorphism — plausibly connected to gender dysphoria), and fertility problems.
We don’t know for certain this stuff is bad, but I am absolutely sure that your confidence is unwarranted.
[+] [-] unknown|1 year ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] paulryanrogers|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] qbxk|1 year ago|reply
but when they clump together, or when large sheets of them fall apart, you get particles. microplastics. still inert, no chemical reactions. but they get stuck in places like tiny blood vessels or tiny pockets in your intestine. not inert. not safe. not toxic, but not good
[+] [-] genman|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] rufus_foreman|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] mcv|1 year ago|reply
But I've got another one: use rock salt instead of sea salt. This might not be feasible; most or all salt I see in sea salt, but it seems fairly obvious to me that rock salt is unlikely to contain any plastic, whereas sea salt is likely to contain plastic.
[+] [-] la64710|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] scotty79|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] toxicdevil|1 year ago|reply
Can't live without spring water and only a specific brand at that. I tried tap water and even filtered water but it tastes so horrible that I am barely able to drink 2-3 cups a day.
> 7. Use wood or bamboo cutting boards
I use the quartz (previously marble) countertops for cutting. My spouse hates me for it. Easier to maintain than wood boards (I obviously don't mind the scratches, it wasn't that shiny to begin with). Not sure about safety.
[+] [-] Kirby64|1 year ago|reply
It also has the upside of not absolutely destroying your knives like using knives on a quartz countertop will do. You’ll save more time not sharpening knives than you would maintaining a wooden cutting board.
[+] [-] kozd|1 year ago|reply