this post was submitted on 28 Mar 2024
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That's assuming you could somehow stop new microplastic from entering the body
I mean, there is the argument that if they bioaccumulate in the blood, it's worth removing periodically even if it doesn't stop new intake
No because you're making blood from nutrients with microplastics mixed in. That's how it would hypothetically accumulate there in the first place. If it were being filtered out of the blood by another organ then I could see a case for scraping/removal but if it's the blood then it's coming directly from your food and drink and will be the same ratio even after bloodletting and/or regeneration.
Let's say you keep dripping slightly muddy water into a bucket. Over time, the mud will settle and accumulate in the bucket, while the clearer water will overflow. Now suppose you cut a slit at the base of the bucket. Now the mud will flow out through it and the water in the bucket will become less muddy, even though new muddy water is still dripping in. Here the bucket is your bloodstream, the slightly muddy water is your food, and the mud is microplastic.
Blood doesn't work like that, as it is constantly moving and being replaced. It is not a bucket.
The problem is that things like microplastics cannot be removed easily. (This is called bioaccumulation.) But if you bleed and lose some blood, the new blood will take time to accumulate.
If it flows out when the blood moves then it wouldn't accumulate there in the first place. I'm not sure what you're having difficulty with here.
It doesn't flow out when the blood moves, because the bloodstream is a closed loop (more or less). It can only flow out if you lose blood.
The blood supplies to and through every single organ the vast majority of which are much more likely to catch and accumulate particles than the stream or vessels themselves.
That's true.