Health
Seafood samples contain high levels of microplastics in US state, say researchers
Microplastics were detected in almost every seafood sample found off the coast of the western U.S. in a recent study, researchers claim.
The study, led by Portland State University (PSU), identified “anthropogenic particles” — which are materials produced or modified by humans — in the edible tissue of six different species of fish.
Those included black rockfish, lingcod, Chinook salmon, Pacific herring, Pacific lamprey, and pink shrimp, according to a PSU press release.
MICROPLASTICS FOUND IN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF AMERICAN MEAT, WATER, PLANTS: STUDY
Specifically, the peer-reviewed study found microplastics — “tiny particles that shed from clothing, packaging and other plastic products” — in 180 out of 182 samples of seafood that were either purchased at a store or obtained from a fishing boat in Oregon, the release stated.
Microplastics were detected in almost every seafood sample found off the coast of the western U.S. in a recent study, researchers claim. (iStock)
The highest concentration of particles occurred in pink shrimp, and Chinook salmon contained the lowest.
“We found that the smaller organisms that we sampled seem to be ingesting more anthropogenic, non-nutritious particles,” said microplastics researcher and study co-author Elise Granek in the release.
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“Shrimp and small fish, like herring, are eating smaller food items like zooplankton. Other studies have found high concentrations of plastics in the area in which zooplankton accumulate, and these anthropogenic particles may resemble zooplankton and thus be taken up for animals that feed on zooplankton.”
“What we put out into the environment ends up back on our plates.”
Susanne Brander, an ecotoxicologist and associate professor in Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, added, “It’s very concerning that microfibers appear to move from the gut into other tissues such as muscle. This has wide implications for other organisms, potentially including humans.”
The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Toxicology.
Is it safe to eat seafood?
The study authors do not recommend that people specifically avoid seafood, as microplastics have been widely found in other food products, Granek noted in the release.
“If we are disposing of and utilizing products that release microplastics, those microplastics make their way into the environment, and are taken up by things we eat,” she said.
Microplastics — “tiny particles that shed from clothing, packaging and other plastic products” — were found in 180 out of 182 samples of seafood. (iStock)
“What we put out into the environment ends up back on our plates.”
The high prevalence of microplastics in the seafood samples does not automatically mean that consuming seafood poses an immediate health risk, according to Bing Wang, PhD, associate professor of food safety risk assessment at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“’Safe’ is a relative term in toxicology,” Wang told Fox News Digital. “Toxicity depends on dose and exposure duration — and currently, we lack a definitive understanding of linkage between the oral intake of microplastics and nanoplastics and the adverse effects in human health.”
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Experts agree that the nutritional benefits of seafood, such as high-quality protein and omega-3 fatty acids, play a crucial role in a healthy diet, according to Wang.
“There is no current evidence to suggest that seafood consumption poses an immediate danger to human health,” she added.
Sources of contamination
For this study in particular, Wang said it’s crucial to recognize that beyond microplastics, nanoplastics are also present in the environment and food supply.
“Unlike microplastics, which may pass through the digestive system with minimal absorption, nanoplastics are small enough to cross biological barriers, including the intestinal lining, potentially reaching the bloodstream and accumulating in organs,” she cautioned.
In PSU’s findings, 80% of microplastics detected among the samples were derived from clothing or textile fibers, but there are other sources of contaminants.
Since the 1960s, plastic production has increased by approximately 8.7% annually, according to Andrew Ortiz, a PhD student in the department of food science and technology at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The study authors do not recommend that people specifically avoid seafood, as microplastics have been widely found in other food products. (iStock)
“Much of the contamination comes from everyday human activities, such as improper disposal of plastic products, littering, and inadequate waste management systems, which lead to plastics entering waterways and eventually reaching the oceans,” Ortiz told Fox News Digital.
Completely avoiding microplastics is challenging, Wang emphasized.
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“They are pervasive in the environment and present in various food sources, not just seafood,” she said.
“While this study is the first of its kind in the Oregon region, its findings align with global research on microplastic contamination in seafood,” said Wang. “In fact, the levels reported in this study are within the global average.”
“There is no current evidence to suggest that seafood consumption poses an immediate danger to human health.”
“Given that humans already consume microplastics from multiple sources — including water, air and packaged foods — the presence of microplastics in seafood should be considered within this broader context rather than as an isolated risk,” she added.
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The PSU study was funded by Oregon Sea Grant at Oregon State University.
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Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
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After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
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This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
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Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
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By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
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Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
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Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests.
The observational study, led by Jorge Nieva, M.D., of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine, was presented this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in San Diego. It has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Researchers looked at dietary, smoking and demographic data for 187 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer at age 50 or younger.
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They found that among non-smokers, there was a link between healthier-than-average diets – rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and the chance of lung cancer development.
Young lung cancer patients ate more servings of dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains compared to the average U.S. adult, the researchers found.
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests. (iStock)
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association.
“Commercially produced (non-organic) fruits, vegetables and whole grains are more likely to be associated with a higher residue of pesticides than dairy, meat and many processed foods,” according to Nieva. He also noted that agricultural workers exposed to pesticides tend to have higher rates of lung cancer.
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“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” Nieva told Fox News Digital.
The disease is becoming more common in non-smokers 50 and younger, especially women – despite the fact that smoking rates have been falling for decades, the researcher noted.
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association. (iStock)
“These patients tend to have eaten much healthier diets before their diagnosis than the average American,” he went on. “We need to support research into understanding why Americans – and women in particular – who no longer smoke very much are still having lung cancer,” he said.
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The study did have some limitations, Nieva acknowledged, primarily that it relied on survey data and was limited by the participants’ memories of their food intake.
“Also, the survey participants were self-selected, and this could have biased the findings,” he told Fox News Digital.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking.”
The researchers did not test specific foods for pesticides, relying instead on average pesticide levels for certain types of food. Looking ahead, they plan to test patients’ blood and urine samples to directly measure pesticide levels, Nieva said.
Although the study shows only an association and does not prove that pesticides caused lung cancer, Nieva recommends that people wash their produce before eating and choose organic foods whenever possible.
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“This work represents a critical step toward identifying modifiable environmental factors that may contribute to lung cancer in young adults,” said Nieva. “Our hope is that these insights can guide both public health recommendations and future investigation into lung cancer prevention.”
“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but is by no means certain,” a doctor said. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said the study is “interesting,” but that it “raises far more questions than it answers.”
“It is a small study (around 150) and observational, so no proof,” the doctor, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
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“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but it is by no means certain,” Siegel went on. “How much exposure is needed? How much of it gets into food and in which areas? This requires much further study.”
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Kayla Nichols, communications director for Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, a distributed global network, said the organization agrees with the study’s conclusion that more research should be done on the rise in lung cancer, particularly in individuals eating diets higher in produce and fiber.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” the researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“There is a bounty of existing research that already links pesticide exposure to increased risk of multiple types of cancers,” Nichols, who was also not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. She called for more research on chronic, low-level exposures to pesticides, as well as more effective policies to protect the public from pesticide residues on food.
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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, as well as industry partners including AstraZeneca and Genentech, among others.
Fox News Digital reached out to several pesticide companies and trade groups for comment.
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Colorectal cancer, once considered a disease of older age, is becoming a crisis for younger adults. New research shows one group getting hit the hardest – those without a college degree.
A recent study from the American Cancer Society analyzed data from over 101,000 adults aged 25 to 49 who died from colorectal cancer between 1994 and 2023.
While death rates remained stable for college graduates, they climbed significantly for those without a bachelor’s degree, the findings showed.
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For young adults with a high school education or less, the mortality rate rose from 4.0 to 5.2 per 100,000 people, while the rate for those with at least a bachelor’s degree stayed flat, at approximately 2.7 per 100,000.
This does not mean that a degree offers some kind of biological protection, researchers cautioned.
Colorectal cancer, once considered a disease of older age, is becoming a crisis for younger adults. (iStock)
The difference is likely driven by the conditions in which people live and work, which often correlate with education levels, the researchers noted.
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The study suggests that the higher death rates are likely driven by differences in the prevalence of risk factors, including obesity, physical inactivity, smoking and diet, which are “known to be elevated among children and young adults with lower [socioeconomic status].”
Because the study relied on death certificates, researchers couldn’t say exactly why college graduates had better outcomes.
Because the researchers didn’t have the patients’ actual medical records, they couldn’t see things like frequency of screenings or treatment options, which would impact survival outcomes. (iStock)
Certificates typically list the cause of death, age, race and education level, but they do not include a person’s full medical history.
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Because the researchers didn’t have the patients’ actual medical records, they couldn’t see things like frequency of screenings or treatment options, which would impact survival outcomes.
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Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death for men under 50 and the second leading cause for women in the same age group, according to recent statistics.
While colorectal cancer death rates remained stable for college graduates, they climbed significantly for those without a bachelor’s degree, the findings showed. (iStock)
Because the disease is highly treatable when caught early, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lowered the recommended screening age from 50 to 45 in 2021.
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Common signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer can include a change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of the stool, that lasts for more than a few days, according to the American Cancer Society.
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Other signs that warrant seeing a doctor include blood in the stool or a persistent feeling of needing to go to the bathroom but being unable to go.
The research was published in JAMA Oncology.
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