Ordering Takeout? It Might Be Wrecking Your Gut Health, According to a New Study

Your takeout food might come with an extra ingredient: tiny pieces of microplastic. And, according to a new study, they’re disrupting your gut health.

In August, researchers from Shanxi Medical University in China published their findings in the journal Environmental Pollution, offering an in-depth picture of how microplastics in commonly used plastic packaging are affecting human gut health.

To assess these impacts, the researchers focused on a primary source of takeout orders: college students, who the team noted “frequently consume takeout food, contributing to over 50% of total takeout orders.” They also observed that university students are a particularly at-risk group, as “people who order takeout food 4–7 times weekly may ingest 12–203 pieces of [microplastics] through containers. Additionally, environmental sampling of indoor environments detected [microplastics] in university dormitories and classrooms. University students face compounded [microplastic] exposure risks through oral ingestion and inhalation.”