Love takeout food? How its plastic packaging can give your heart a hard time

Do you love ordering food online or frequently get takeout? It might be time to reconsider, as your favourite meals could be contributing to heart failure.

A surprising new study conducted by Chinese researchers, involving over 3,000 people and experiments on rats, suggests that regularly eating from plastic takeout containers might significantly increase the risk of congestive heart failure.

But how exactly is eating from plastic containers linked to poor heart health? Let’s take a closer look.

The study

The researchers behind this peer-reviewed study took a two-part approach to explore how plastic containers might be affecting health.

First, they investigated the frequency with which over 3,000 people in China used plastic takeout containers and whether this was linked to heart disease. Then, they conducted experiments on rats, exposing them to plastic chemicals by boiling water in carryout containers to extract chemicals from the plastic.

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“The data revealed that high-frequency exposure to plastics is significantly associated with an increased risk of congestive heart failure,” the authors stated.

While researchers in the new paper didn’t check which specific chemicals were leaching from the plastic, they noted the link between common plastic compounds and heart disease.

Scientists warn that common plastic can contain up to 20,000 different chemicals, many of which, such as BPA, phthalates, and Pfas, are known to pose health risks. These chemicals are often found in food and food packaging and have been linked to a wide range of health issues, from cancer to reproductive harm.

For instance, studies have shown that women with higher levels of BPA in their blood are three times more likely to suffer miscarriages and experience lower egg production. This is because BPA binds to estrogen in the body, a hormone that regulates vital functions like growth, fetal development, and reproduction, meaning BPA can have far-reaching effects on health.

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Similarly, men with elevated BPA levels have been found to have lower sperm counts.

In fact, industry estimates suggest that the average Indian consumes approximately 11 kg of plastic products in various forms each year.

Havoc on gut microbiome

The Chinese study also uncovered how plastic exposure can disrupt the gut microbiome—the collection of microorganisms that inhabit the human gut—and impact the circulatory system.

To investigate this, the researchers poured boiling water into plastic containers for varying amounts of time—one, five, and fifteen minutes—because plastic chemicals leach much more rapidly when exposed to hot contents. They then allowed rats to drink water contaminated with these leachates for several months and later analysed the rats’ gut microbiome and metabolites in their faeces. The results were alarming.

“It 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 authors explained.

Upon examining the rats’ heart muscle tissue, they found significant damage. Interestingly, there was no statistical difference in the damage among rats exposed to water that had been in contact with plastic for one minute compared to those exposed for five or fifteen minutes. This suggests that even short-term exposure to plastics can have a harmful effect.

How to stay safe?

While the study doesn’t offer on how consumers can protect themselves, public health advocates have asked people to avoid taking food in plastics and opt for alternatives such as glass, stainless steel, or ceramic containers as they do not leach harmful chemicals into food.

They also recommend avoiding microwaving in plastic. Even plastics labelled as “microwave-safe” can release harmful substances when heated. It’s advisable to transfer food to a microwave-safe glass or ceramic container before heating.

Limiting processed foods which often contain higher levels of microplastics can also help. Choosing whole, unprocessed foods can help minimise intake.

With input from agencies