They protect the environment, but they destroy health – plastic water bottles under a magnifying glass

A trend has been observed for several years Stay away from single-use plastic bottles In favor of reusable solutions, partly for economic reasons, but more often because of concern for the environment.

One visit to a nearby gym is enough to find out how common this phenomenon is, especially among people who train regularly – the vast majority of them use such solutions, because they are certainly more convenient and cheaper than even Glass counterparts.

As it turns out, nature may and will be grateful to us for that, but our health is not necessarily, because reusable plastic bottles They release hundreds of chemicals into the waterThere is an additional risk of washing them in the dishwasher. At least that’s what researchers at the University of Copenhagen found when they analyzed the remaining water in such 24-hour bottles, new and used, for 24 hours.

by Mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography They analyzed the substances contained in the water from the bottles before and after washing them in the dishwasher, as well as in the traditional way, that is, by rinsing five times with tap water.

Scientists found in water a reusable bottle 400 different materials derived from plastic And more than 3,500 chemicals from detergents. Even worse, most of them are unrecognizable, and as a result we don’t know how toxic at least 70 percent of them are.

Among the chemicals known to researchers, among others photonics, that is, molecules known to have toxic effects that can act as carcinogens or endocrine-active compounds that affect the functioning of the endocrine system. There was no shortage of plasticizers and antioxidants either DEETa substance that most of us associate well with mosquito and tick repellants.

Interestingly, according to the researchers, only a small part of the detected substances were intentionally added to the bottles, and most of them were formed during use and production, when some substances changed into others – the researchers believe that DEET was created as a result of the transformation of plasticizers during the consumption of the material. Either way, as consumers, we should basically be concerned about that We have no idea if and how these substances will affect our health.

This is another study that shows how dangerous plastic packaging is to our health – Literally a few days ago we wrote about the fact that it spoils the metabolism and thus leads to weight gain and obesity.. Scientists suggest that the problem may be huge, and although they do not know exactly what substances are on our health, they will personally use them in the future. steel bottlesThis is perhaps the best summary.