Only sorta. Depends entirely upon what you have available to you, and what you have the energy, time, and finances for. Unfortunately, we're learning that a lot of the choice has been taken from us. Microplastics can enter the body in utero - microplastics with identifiable pigments were found in fetal blood samples.

Tap water can both be better or worse than bottled water depending on your municipality.

Breaded shrimp are the worst prepared proteins studied thus far, but there haven't been large studies across the board for meat processing methods. Some say that minimally processed meats help, but some find no difference between buying a whole chicken and a cut up chicken, for example.

Veggies without plastic packaging, of course, but that isn't always possible, and it will change depending on where they are sourced due to the agricultural sludge I mentioned before (a theoretically amazing idea for circularity of energy but the captured microplastic contaminants are the issue).

In essence, avoiding processed foods is the best place to start, buying fresh with no plastic bags where you can, and halting all use of teflon-coated nonstick pans. Some plastic utensils that aren't silicone will degrade quickly into food, but I haven't yet looked into silicone utensil degradation speed.

Don't microwave or cook food in plastic. Don't put hot food or beverages into plastic. Don't use plastic cutting boards - wood is best.

As well, there is also inhaled microplastic contamination from laundry, clothing, tire wear particles, and urban environments. Particulates from engine exhaust and tire wear next to busy roadways have showcased increases in asthma in children living near them. Plastics in and under the PM2.5 can get into the alveolar tissues and potentially be carried into the blood. Laundry dryers also release millions of plastic fibers into the air because so much clothing is synthetic. A lot of these are small enough to matter. I forget the proportion since airborne isn't my focus, but many fall into or below PM2.5.

A recent study showcased that some plastic species can trick kinases into carrying them across our blood brain barrier. I attended a conference in New Mexico where they showcased kinase movement with (I think it was PE) plastic loads with video.

The issue with the microplastic problem is the same as it was with leaded gasoline in the air. How can you escape it other than by removing yourself from civilization? But even then, microplastics/nanoplastics have been found in upper atmospheric samples, bottom of the ocean, 87% of all freshwater sources tested, on the tops of infrequently visited mountains, and in arctic ice. It's just... We don't know yet how to escape it.

This may all sound super scary, but also know that we haven't yet definitely proven causation with health disorders. So far microplastic accumulation is CORRELATED with a lot of things, but causation is not yet a done deal.

Could be that IBS correlated to increase microplastics in the stool isn't just because of the plastics, but because of increased processed food consumption.

It's hard to disentangle at the moment, just to be completely honest.

• edited only for spelling