Can microplastics in food cause inflammation in the gut?

What's actually in it

Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic that end up in your food. They don't just sit there. These particles act as carriers for harmful substances like PFAS (chemicals used to make products resist grease and water), heavy metals, and antibiotics, according to a 2026 study in J Hazard Mater.

When you ingest these plastics, they can travel through your system and interact with your organs. They are linked to changes in how your body regulates macrophages (a type of immune cell) and can affect the gut-liver axis, which is the communication path between your gut and your liver.

What the research says

A 2026 study in Toxics highlights that microplastics are tied to diabetes risk through their impact on immune regulation in the gut. These particles do more than just pass through you; they actively disrupt biological processes.

The impact starts early. A 2026 study in FASEB J found that polystyrene microplastics can disrupt the transfer of healthy bacteria from breast milk. This impairs how a baby's gut is colonized and damages their immune development from the start.

While other additives like aspartame are also known to cause cellular stress and barrier damage in gut cells, as shown in a 2026 study in Allergy, microplastics present a unique threat by acting as a delivery system for other toxins into your digestive tract.