Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know - Continued On Page 20 18 LIFESTYLE May 22, 2026 3 Simple Ways To Reduce Your Body’s Exposure To Plastic Chemicals W hen it comes to plastic-related particles and chemicals, people often feel helpless and overwhelmed. Plastic contamination feels so pervasive, inevitable and frustrating, espe- cially since the research is limited on how to reduce your exposure. That’s why a new randomized controlled trial pub- lished in Nature Medicine immediately caught my eye. Researchers at the University ofWestern Australia found that in just seven days, a few specific lifestyle changes - from consuming a low-plastic diet to using low-plastic personal care products - could reduce the amount of plastic-associated chemicals in urine by as much as 60 and 35 percent, respectively. In the conversations around plastic concerns, we often focus on microplastics - the microscopic plastic particles that shed especially under heat or acidic conditions. But there’s also plastic-associated chemicals, such as phthal- ates and BPA, to reckon with. That’s a switch I myself have made in most products in my own household in recent years (Why does my kitchen cleaning spray need a scent? Do I really need my dish soap to smell like a Hawaiian breeze?) Products you leave on your skin such as lotion are even more important. These kinds of chemicals can leach out from plastics and migrate into our food and personal products, eventu- ally entering the bloodstream and later showing up in our urine. Many are endocrine-disruptors, meaning they interfere with hormone signaling, and they’ve been inde- pendently associated with heart and metabolic disease. “There is no doubt that day-to-day exposures to these chemicals are harmful to humans,” said Andrea Gore, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Uni- versity of Texas at Austin who was not involved in the study. That consensus among scientists is echoed by the Endocrine Society. You should know two things about this study before we dive in: First, it’s a randomized controlled trial in a field flooded with sometimes alarming headlines based on observational and other data. Randomized trials are rare and badly needed. Second, it was small (there were 60 participants across all groups) and by all accounts, pretty short - a duration of seven days. Long-term data will be important - but that brevity is also what makes its find- ings so striking. We’re seeing measurable changes to the body occur within days of making changes. While a single week of exposure to these chemicals is unlikely to have a measurable impact on health, accord- ing to Matthew Campen, a toxicologist at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, the implications of the study matter. “Sustained behavioral changes and improvements in dietary quality would lead to long-term reductions in exposure and therefore health risks,” he said. Data like this gives me a sense of optimism and agency - we may have more power than we think. THE BIGGEST SOURCE OF PLASTIC CHEMICALS IN YOUR DIET To pull off this experiment, the researchers did some- thing most of us could never achieve in real-life: They painstakingly sourced food for participants from produc- ers that minimize all plastic touchpoints from the farm to plate - no highly processed foods, no plastic food packag- ing and no canned goods. They literally had meal kits delivered in insulated cardboard boxes lined with sheep’s wool instead of plastic. It was a commitment. The groups who ate this carefully controlled diet showed meaningful reductions in several urinary plastic chemicals within a week. Researchers identified three specific factors that seemed to drive the biggest reduc- tions: • Avoiding plastic packaging - even on fresh foods like produce. • Cutting down on canned foods and beverages - can liners are often coated with BPA or its chemical sub- stitutes, which can leach into food. • Reducing ultra-processed foods, which accumulate plastic exposure across every stage of industrial pro- duction and packaging. “It can feel very overwhelming that we are exposed to so many chemicals but this kind of result shows that individuals can be empowered to make lifestyle changes that might make a difference - as long as we keep it up,” said Gore. Consider just one small change you could take away from this data. For instance, a separate part of this study was an observational cohort that found that for each canned item consumed daily, there was a 14.3 percent increase in urinary BPA. You may not be someone who eats canned food - like a can of beans or canned tomato sauce - every day. But you may be someone who drinks one or more canned beverages - like soda or sparkling water - daily. Is there room to swap for glass containers or swap out one such beverage for an alternative? PLASTIC CHEMICALS FROM PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS In a different arm of the study, a separate group of participants swapped their regular personal care prod- ucts - things such as toothpaste, tampons and shampoo - for alternatives chosen by the researchers to minimize plastic. After seven days, one specific phthalate called mono-n-butyl phthalate dropped by about 35 percent in that group compared with the control group. That’s a meaningful reduction from personal care products alone - without any changes to diet. What makes this finding a bit more complicated, however, is that it is difficult to know what drove that reduction - was it from packaging or the formulation of the products or, more likely, some combination of both? What we do know from broader research is that synthetic fragrances are a common source of phthalates. Lucas encourages people to choose products that do not contain a fragrance as an easy place to start making changes. While addressing the plastic packaging issue is even more tricky, Lucas suggests trying shampoo and condi- tioner bars, or creams packaged in tins - though admit- tedly, these are harder to find in a standard supermarket. WHAT I WANT MY PATIENTS TO KNOW It would be a major pitfall to frame exposure to micro- plastics, and their related chemicals, in our environments as an issue of individual choice - doing so would be “up- side-down environmental health policy,” said Campen. The most profound and sustainable impact is going to require systems level change. (I’m reminded of the great public health success story in regulatory frameworks sur- rounding lead exposure, for instance). But in the mean- time, this study adds yet another compelling reason to cut back on ultra-processed foods and to reconsider a few specific factors in our groceries such as plastic packaging or canned items when alterna- tives are accessible. From “You’ve Been Pooping All Wrong,” by Trisha Pasricha, MD, MPH, to be published Tuesday by Av- ery, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House. Copyright © 2026 by Trisha Pasricha LLC. -TheWashington Post By Trisha Pasricha, MD, MPH PHOTO:THEWASHINGTON POST There Is No Home Like A Conscious Home, And No Family Like Humanity T here is a familiar song many of us have heard, perhaps in childhood or at some quiet moment of reflection: “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.” These simple words, written long ago by American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne, still echo across time because they touch some- thing universal within us. No matter how far we travel, how much we achieve, or how many places we explore, the idea of “home” continues to hold a special place in our hearts. Yet, when we pause and reflect, especially on occasions like International Day of Families, an honest question arises: what does home truly represent today? And are we nurturing it in the way it deserves? If we look around, we see that the concept of family has undergone a profound transformation. In some parts of the world, traditional systems still exist, but at times they become so rigid that they suppress individuality, restrict freedom, and create emotional suffocation. Prac- tices that deny choice or dignity, especially for women, leave deep scars that travel across generations. At the same time, in more modern and individualistic societies, another imbalance appears; relationships have become fragile, families fragmented, and loneliness has quietly settled into people’s lives. Children are growing up with- out a sense of emotional security, and elders are feeling increasingly disconnected. In many regions, in evolving societies, economic pressures and changing priorities are slowly loosening the bonds that once held extended families together. Yet, despite all these differences, one truth remains unchanged - the longing for a loving, safe, and meaningful home never disappears. Amidst all these changing definitions, a deeper concept that deserves attention, is that of a conscious home. Such a home is not defined by wealth, structure, or status, but by the quality of energy that flows within it. It is a space where fear does not dominate, where com- munication is honest, and where respect is natural rather than forced. In such an environment, each individual feels ‘seen’, ‘heard’, ‘valued’, and ‘free to grow’. Whether one draws inspiration from spiritual traditions, cultural By Rajyogi Brahma Kumar Nikunj Ji