Your diet also includes a bit of that plastic container.

你的飲食中也有一些塑料容器。

These are known as microplastics.

這些被稱為微塑膠。

They're in our food, our water, and even in the air we breathe.

它們存在於我們的食物、水，甚至我們呼吸的空氣中。

And while research into microplastics has focused on their environmental impact, new studies are showing the alarming toll they take on our health.

儘管對微塑膠的研究主要集中在其對環境的影響上，但新的研究顯示，微塑膠對我們的健康造成了驚人的損害。

Microplastics are basically little plastics.

微塑膠基本上就是小塑膠。

They're essentially invisible, but they're everywhere.

它們基本上是隱形的，但卻無處不在。

We have let plastics get essentially out of control in our environment.

我們已經讓塑膠在我們的環境中失去了控制。

Now we're all consuming them.

現在，我們都在吞食它們。

Tracy is director of UCSF's Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment.

Tracy 是加州大學舊金山分校生殖健康與環境項目的主任。

Her team recently analyzed over a dozen animal studies on microplastics' links to cancer, infertility and more.

她的團隊最近分析了十幾項關於微塑膠與癌症、不孕不育等聯繫的動物研究。

So what is it about microplastic that makes it so harmful to our health?

那麼，到底是什麼原因讓微塑膠對我們的健康如此有害呢？

Most plastics are made from polyethylene, which comes from oil.

大多數塑膠由聚乙烯製成，而聚乙烯來自石油。

And yeah, that kind of oil.

沒錯，就是那種油。

Then it's mixed with a cocktail of chemicals that make our bendy straws bend and our cling wrap cling.

然後，它與一種化學物質混合，使我們的吸管變彎，保鮮膜變緊。

Since the 1950s, the world has fallen in love with plastics to make anything and everything in our lives.

自 1950 年代以來，全世界都愛上了用塑膠來製造生活中的任何事物。

Plastic has become so ubiquitous because it's supposed to be indestructible.

塑膠之所以如此普遍，是因為它被認為是堅不可摧的。

Dishes that bounce when they drop to the floor.

掉到地上會彈起的盤子。

But we now know that's not really true.

但我們現在知道，事實並非如此。

Washing our polyester and nylon clothes creates microplastics, which leach into the water system and then to our food.

清洗聚酯和尼龍衣物會產生微塑膠，這些微塑膠會滲入水系統，然後進入我們的食物中。

Driving on tires shreds microplastics into the air.

在輪胎上行駛會將微塑膠碎裂到空氣中。

Heating plastic bottles sheds microplastics into our drinks.

加熱塑料瓶會將微塑膠帶入飲料中。

Which is why researchers have found microplastics everywhere, like in human bloodstreams, our waste, and maybe most surprisingly, in placentas, meaning microplastics can impact our health even before we're born.

這就是為什麼研究人員發現微塑膠無處不在的原因，比如在人體血液中、我們的廢物中，也許最令人驚訝的是在胎盤中，這意味著微塑膠甚至在我們出生前就會影響我們的健康。

Now fetal development thrives on hormones connecting with their receptors to grow certain organs.

胎兒的發育依靠荷爾蒙與受體的連接來生長某些器官。

But chemicals and microplastics can interfere with that process by either mimicking hormones or changing how much of those hormones are produced.

但是，化學物質和微塑膠可以通過模仿荷爾蒙或改變荷爾蒙的分泌量來干擾這一過程。

For example, male fetuses need lots of testosterone to develop their sex organs.

例如，男性胎兒需要大量睪酮來發育性器官。

But phthalates, a class of chemical used in certain plastics, can get in the way.

但鄰苯二甲酸鹽，即某些塑膠中使用的一類化學物質，會對人體造成影響。

They reduce the synthesis of testosterone through different mechanisms so that when the child grows up later, it may not be that they don't produce sperm, they may produce less sperm.

它們通過不同的機制減少睪丸激素的合成，所以當孩子長大後，他們可能不是不產生精子，而是產生的精子更少。

Or their sperm may not all be as functional as they would have been if they hadn't had this exposure.

或者說，他們的精子可能並不都像沒有接觸過這種情況時那樣具有功能性。

Some studies on phthalates suggest they can even increase erectile dysfunction.

一些關於鄰苯二甲酸鹽的研究表明，它們甚至會增加勃起功能障礙。

If that wasn't alarming enough, because food and drinks are major sources of microplastics, the effects they have on digestive systems are looking grim.

如果這還不夠令人震驚的話，由於食品和飲料是微塑膠的主要來源，它們對消化系統的影響也很嚴重。

Scientists have long studied the biological mechanisms that can increase your risk of cancer.

長期以來，科學家們一直在研究可增加患癌風險的生物機制。

Smoking, or chowing down on lots of red meat, increases oxidative stress.

吸煙或大量食用紅肉會增加氧化壓力。

This process creates proteins called cytokines, which cause inflammation.

這一過程會產生名為細胞因子的蛋白質，從而引發發炎。

And study after study links these two things with higher rates of cancer.

一項又一項研究表明，這兩樣東西與較高的癌症發病率有關。

The UC team's review found that consuming plastic has similar effects.

加州大學團隊的研究發現，食用塑膠也有類似的影響。

In one study, researchers noticed an increase in both oxidative stress and inflammation in mice's intestines after they were fed microplastics.

在一項研究中，研究人員注意到，在給小鼠餵食微塑膠後，小鼠腸道中的氧化應激和發炎都有所增加。

Now, more research needs to be done on humans, but the UC team's review suggested that microplastics are probably hazardous to human health.

對人類還需要進行更多的研究，但加州大學團隊的研究表明，微塑膠可能會危害人類健康。

Unlike so-called forever chemicals, which are found in a ton of products, many microplastics and their chemicals are cleared from our bodies, like through bathroom breaks.

與存在於大量產品中的所謂「永久性化學物質」不同，許多微塑膠及其化學物質會從我們的身體中清除，比如通過上廁所。

But because we use so much plastic, our bodies never really get a break.

但是，由於我們使用了大量塑膠，我們的身體從未真正得到休息。

I think once we have more evidence, we're just going to see that there's way more health effects that we haven't identified yet that are coming from these microplastics.

我認為，一旦我們掌握了更多的證據，我們就會發現，這些微塑膠會對健康產生更多我們尚未發現的影響。

We are trying to mitigate them before more harm is done.

我們正試圖在造成更多傷害之前減輕這些傷害。

Avoiding plastics altogether is impossible.

完全避免使用塑膠是不可能的。

I wish I knew how to quit you.

我真希望我知道怎樣才能戒掉你。

Why don't you?

為什麼不呢？

But there are ways to reduce your microplastics intake.

不過，還是有辦法減少微塑膠的攝入量的。

Just don't microwave them plastic.

只要不要用微波爐加熱塑膠。

That's actually kind of a big one that people don't realize.

這其實是人們沒有意識到的一個重要問題。

One study showed some staggering numbers.

一項研究顯示了一些驚人的數字。

For example, three minutes in the microwave is enough to loosen plastic's molecular bonds and release millions of microplastics.

例如，在微波爐中加熱三分鐘就足以鬆開塑膠的分子鍵，釋放出數百萬個微塑膠。

So when you can, store and heat your food in non-plastic containers like glass or ceramics.

所以，可以的話，用玻璃或陶瓷等非塑料容器儲存和加熱食物。

Experts also advised drinking tap water instead of bottled water, eating more fruits and vegetables since microplastic chemicals accumulate in animal fat,

專家們還建議飲用自來水而不是瓶裝水，多吃水果和蔬菜，因為微塑膠化學物質會在動物脂肪中積聚，

and be sure to clean your house with a wet mop since microplastics love to cling to dust.

而且一定要用溼拖把打掃房間，因為微塑膠喜歡附著在灰塵上。

So what do you do to avoid microplastics?

那麼，如何避免微塑膠呢？

Let us know in the comments.

請在評論中告訴我們。

And if you want to know what sugar does to your body, check out our other video, which breaks it all down.

如果你想了解糖對身體的危害，請觀看我們的另一部影片，它將為你一一解析。