Microplastics get into the gut and pose cancer risk, researchers say

Berlin (dpa) – Plastic pollution is likely contributing to the onset of colon cancer due to tiny particles getting into the human gut and wreaking havoc with the microbiome, researchers say. Scientists speaking at a medical conference in Berlin said they found "altered microbial metabolic activity" in stool samples of people exposed to polystyrene and other "common microplastic types." Some of the plastic particles were found to affect lysine, a vital amino acid the body gets from food, as well as lactic acid, which the body produces as it breaks down carbohydrates during physical activity. The plastics were also found to cause changes to the gut that "reflected patterns previously linked to diseases such as depression and colorectal cancer," the researchers said. The researchers said that