How to reduce your body’s microplastics, phthalates, and BPA

QUICK TAKES

1. A published clinical study just showed you can cut your body's plastic chemical load by 40–50% in one week. The PERTH trial asked participants to change their diet, kitchenware, and personal care products for seven days and measured the results in urine. Phthalate metabolites dropped roughly 40–50%. Bisphenol metabolites dropped around 50%. Below, I walk you through exactly how to replicate this experiment in your own home.

2. The evidence that this matters is no longer fringe. An umbrella review published in 2024 analyzed every major class of plastic-associated chemicals. The conclusion was unambiguous: not one group could be considered safe based on current evidence. Phthalates alone are linked to pregnancy loss, lower IQ in children, reduced sperm quality, insulin resistance, early cardiovascular changes, and more.

3. BPA-free doesn't mean safe. When manufacturers pulled BPA from bottles and cans, they largely replaced it with chemical cousins — BPS, BPF, and others — that appear to share the same hormonal disruption mechanisms. "BPA-free" on a label tells you almost nothing about whether the product is safe. Glass, stainless steel, and ceramic remain the only reliable alternatives.

4. Your kitchen may be dosing you more than your food is. Using plastic spatulas and cutting boards, storing fatty or acidic foods in plastic, and of course, heating food in plastic containers, all increase chemical migration into what you eat. Swapping to glass, stainless steel, and wood in the kitchen is one of the highest-leverage changes you can make — and it costs less than a single urine test for environmental toxins.

5. "Fragrance" on a label is a legal trade secret — and a major phthalate source. Manufacturers are not required to disclose what's inside "fragrance" or "parfum." These terms can represent dozens of undisclosed chemicals, including phthalates used as scent fixatives. This applies to shampoos, lotions, cleaning sprays, candles, dryer sheets, and air fresheners.

FROM THE AUTHOR

Plastics and their associated chemicals have been a concern in environmental health research for decades, but the evidence has matured considerably. We are no longer talking about theoretical risk — we are talking about chemicals linked to a striking range of adverse health outcomes: infertility, metabolic disease, neurodevelopmental problems in children, and more.

The detailed science — an updated review of what microplastics, phthalates, and bisphenols actually do in the body— is in this month's Deep Dive on the practice blog. I encourage you to read it if you want the full picture.

But the more actionable story is here. A study just published this year — the PERTH trial — demonstrated that ordinary people, making targeted changes to food, cookware, and personal care products for just 1 week, can dramatically reduce the measurable burden of these chemicals in their bodies. The steps below are modeled directly on that protocol. You don't need special products, expensive testing, or a complete lifestyle overhaul to get started. You need about a week of focused attention and a willingness to experiment.

Favorite Finds

• Harray, A.J., Lucas, A.D., Herrmann, S.E. et al. Low-plastic diet and urinary levels of plastic-associated phthalates and bisphenols. Nat Med (2026).

• Lucas A, et al. Randomised controlled trial of a low plastic diet and lifestyle intervention for adults with cardiometabolic risk factors: the Plastic Exposure Reduction Transforms Health (PERTH) trial - a protocol. BMJ Open. 2025

• Holding my breath for part 2 of the PERTH study where they will review health outcomes for the patients in the trial.

• Here are some good brands I use in my home.

• The website I Read Labels for You has been my favorite for many years.

• Wax-wrapped cheese such as Plymouth Cheddar. Pretty outstanding!

• Mate of Steel are stainless steel bottles compatible with Soda Stream

YOUR ONE-WEEK PERTH EXPERIMENT: HOW TO DO IT

The PERTH trial used three levels of intervention. You can start with Step 1 alone and get meaningful results, or go all-in on all the steps for the week if you want the full effect. I broke down the third level into two separate steps.

STEP 1: AUDIT YOUR FOOD

Food — especially processed, wrapped, and canned food — is the dominant exposure route for both phthalates and bisphenols. In the PERTH trial, dietary changes alone produced significant reductions in urinary metabolites.

During your trial week, eat:

• Loose produce, whole grains, dry legumes from bulk bins or paper packaging

• Meat, fish, and eggs handled briefly and stored in glass

• Cheese if you can find some that is not tightly wrapped in plastic; yogurt and other dairy products in glass or ceramic

• Sauces, tomatoes, and beans from glass jars rather than cans; if you must buy canned goods, Eden Foods might be the “least bad.”

• Foods you prepare yourself from whole ingredients and store in glass containers

Minimize or set aside:

• Canned foods and drinks (the lining is a major bisphenol source)

• Ultra-processed foods exposed to plastic in their manufacture and packaging

• Microwave meals, instant noodles, plastic-wrapped snack bars (none are wrapped in foil, though the plastic has a metallic color)

• Any food heated in its plastic packaging

A practical move: take everything in soft plastic or cans and put it in a box labeled "after the experiment." It's not about throwing things out — it's about making fresh, unpackaged food the default for seven days. Over time, you can find replacements for your favorite “problem” foods.

One note on paper-wrapped foods: paper or cardboard lined with a shiny, non-stick, waterproof coating is not a safe alternative — that coating is often plastic or PFAS-containing. It’s a real problem that most paper or cardboard would fall apart if exposed to food for a prolonged period.

STEP 2: DE-PLASTIC YOUR KITCHEN

The PERTH protocol went beyond food — it also replaced the tools food touches during preparation and storage.

Walk through your kitchen and identify:

• Plastic storage containers and lids, plastic wrap that touches food, plastic mixing bowls

• Plastic spatulas, spoons, ladles, colanders, cutting boards

• Non-stick pans, plastic-lined kettles, coffee makers with plastic internals

Replacements to prioritize:

• Storage: Glass jars and containers. Start by reusing glass jars from foods you already buy if you don’t have enough.

• Cookware: Stainless steel, cast iron, or enamel. Oven-safe glass baking dishes.

• Utensils: Wood, bamboo, or stainless steel. Silicone is acceptable for limited contact with food, but ranked lower than the others.

• Reheating: Move entirely to glass or ceramic. Don’t microwave food in plastic, even containers labeled "microwave safe" — that label refers to structural integrity, not chemical migration.

For the trial week, commit to three rules:

1. Nothing plastic touches hot food.

2. No plastic cutting boards or utensils for prep.

3. Leftovers go into glass or stainless, not plastic containers.

STEP 3: CLEAN UP YOUR CLEANING PRODUCTS

Household cleaners and fragranced sprays are a meaningful phthalate source that most people don't think about. The PERTH intensive arm removed these from participants' environments.

Gather all cleaning products and look for:

• "Fragrance," "parfum," or "perfume" anywhere on the label

• "Fresh scent," "odor neutralizer," or similar language — these frequently hide fragrance chemistry

For the trial week:

• Set aside fragranced cleaning sprays, plug-in air fresheners, aerosol fresheners, scented candles, and dryer sheets

• Replace with fragrance-free basics: unscented dish soap, simple fragrance-free laundry detergent (eg. Branch Basics or Humble Suds), white vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide

• If you want to vet products more thoroughly, I recommend the site "I Read Labels for You" over rating apps — app criteria are often superficial and inconsistent

STEP 4: REVIEW YOUR PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS

This is often the step people resist most, but it was part of the intensive PERTH arms and contributed to the largest overall reductions. Personal care products are a significant phthalate and paraben exposure route through both skin absorption and inhalation of fragrance aerosols.

Empty your bathroom and check labels on:

• Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bar soap

• Lotions, moisturizers, serums

• Sunscreen, deodorant, shaving products

• Perfume, body spray, hair spray, dry shampoo

• Toothpaste, mouthwash

• Makeup, nail products

• Period products

Practical rule for the trial week: If "fragrance," "parfum," or "aroma" appears anywhere in the ingredient list without full disclosure of components, set it aside and use something simpler.

But also: most liquids contain antimicrobial substances called parabens, that pose their own health risks.

Swaps that cover most people:

• Buy a single shampoo bottle from I Read Labels For You preferred list, such as Pure Haven’s Greens

• Dr. Bronner bar or liquid soap

• Moisturizer from Pure Haven

• Mineral-based sunscreen with simple ingredients, such as ?

• Crystal or baking-soda-based deodorant like ?

• Fygg toothpaste or other with a very strict ingredient list (hydroxyapatite toothpastes are just as good for cavity prevention as fluoride toothpaste).

Skip perfume for the week. This is not forever — it's an experiment.

WHAT TO TRACK

Rate your symptoms before you start: on a scale from 0-3 (none to severe), considering overall well-being, nasal or respiratory symptoms, skin symptoms, joint or muscle aches, digestive comfort, sleep quality, mood, mental clarity, overall energy).

Lab testing: Urinary phthalate and bisphenol metabolite panels are available. They cost approximately $350 and I can order them for established patients of the practice if you want a before-and-after picture. This is optional — the PERTH trial showed the population-level effect convincingly, and you don't need your own data to justify making these changes.

AFTER THE WEEK: WHAT TO KEEP

You won't maintain every change. That's fine. The goal is to identify the swaps that fit your life with the least friction and make those permanent. For most people, that ends up being: glass storage instead of plastic containers, a few different kitchen tools, one or two different cleaning products, and a shorter personal care routine. The dietary piece — minimizing canned and heavily processed food — matters most and overlaps with everything else you're already doing for metabolic health.

The Deep Dive goes into the underlying science in detail, with full references, so you can understand why these specific changes target these specific chemicals.