Since July 14, 1907, Leo Hendrick Beckeland completely synthesized plastic, plastic products because of low manufacturing cost, strong corrosion resistance, durability, waterproof, light weight, insulation, It is easy to be molded into various shapes and other characteristics, and is widely used in various fields, including high-end fields such as defense technology, aerospace, and communications.
Nowadays, plastic products have penetrated into all aspects of our lives, from industrial production to food, clothing, housing and transportation, plastic products are everywhere.
While enjoying the convenience, the increasingly serious problem of plastic waste is also threatening the living environment of mankind, and the first of these is infants and young children.
A few days ago, the topic " has 20 times the microplastics content in infants and toddlers stool than adults " has attracted the attention of many netizens, and has topped the hot search list for a while.
New York University By analyzing the stools of 6 babies and 10 adults, it is found that the content of microplastic in babies is much higher than that of adults, which is even higher than that of adults. 10-20 times.
The research has aroused many people's attention once it was released. Our lives have long been surrounded by plastic, especially for infants and young children. The daily use of baby bottles, tableware, crawling mats, toys, molar sticks, etc., are all plastic products.
What exactly is microplastics?
In 2004, Thompson and others of Plymouth University in the United Kingdom published a paper on plastic fragments in marine waters and sediments in the journal Science. They first proposed the concept of "microplastics". Microplastics are those with a diameter less than 5 Millimeters of plastic particles and fragments.
National marine environment test results show that microplastics are found no matter in sea water, seabed or seabed sediments. They circulate through the food chain and finally enter the human body at the top of the food chain.
In daily life, microplastics are more common in dust, food and bottled water. Infants and young children like to crawl on the ground, chew on plastic toys, tableware, milk bottles, etc., so they are more exposed to the plastic environment because of the microplastic content in the body Taller than adults.
Will microplastics harm the health of babies?
According to a report from the World Health Organization, most of the microplastics, regardless of the size of the particles, will be excreted directly with the feces and will not be absorbed by the body. At present, the scientific community has not yet reached a conclusion about the impact of microplastics on human health.
However, a large number of cell and animal experiments have proved that microplastics may cause inflammation, cell shutdown and metabolic problems. A professor of pediatrics at New York University in the United States said that microplastics will affect the early development of infants and young children. As parents, we have to pay attention.
How to reduce children's intake of microplastics?
Change the habit of using baby bottles
Glass baby bottles are too heavy and easy to break, so many parents will choose plastic baby bottles. However, studies have found that PP ( polypropylene) feeding bottles will release a large amount of microplastics during use, and the higher the temperature, the more the release will be. If you always use this material to brew formula milk, The baby's daily intake of microplastic particles is as high as 1.58 million.
In order to prevent this problem, parents may wish to brew the formula in a non-plastic container, wait until the temperature of the milk drops to hand temperature, and then pour it into the bottle to avoid high temperature release. There are many micro-plastic particles, the same way if the baby's tableware is made of plastic, the same method can be used.
Try to avoid plastic tableware as much as possible
plastic tableware is lighter,It is easy for babies to use. Secondly, plastic products are not easy to be broken, wear-resistant, and washable, so they are loved by many mothers.
But plastic products are not resistant to high temperatures, especially tableware may need to be heated repeatedly, and the quality of the products on the market is uneven. Parents may wish to avoid plastic products when choosing tableware for their children.
Stainless steel tableware is not fragile, safe and easy to clean; resin tableware is high temperature resistant, light, not fragile, healthy and non-toxic; wooden tableware is stable in material, green and healthy, these are all good choices.
Choose safer plastic products
Nowadays, plastic products have penetrated into all aspects of our lives, and it is not realistic to avoid using plastic products altogether. So if you must choose, how to choose safer plastic products?
At present, the common plastic products on the market mainly include: PP, PES, PPSU and TRITAN , PC. Considering heat resistance, stability and safety, the grade we choose should be PPSU > PES >Tritan> PP>PC.
There are many cute PC water cups on the market. Many parents buy them because of the low price. However, the bisphenol A material in PC plastic may cause endocrine disorders in children and affect their growth and development.
Our country has already strictly banned the use of PC materials to produce baby bottles. Parents must be careful when buying water cups, and do not buy PC materials for children to use.
also need to be cautious when buying toys
At present, most of the children’s toys, crawling mats and other children’s products on the market are made of plastic.Although these products do not directly touch the baby's food, parents also need to pay attention when buying them. After all, babies in the oral phase know the world with their mouths.
When parents buy baby's supplies, if they are plastic products, they must look at them to see if the color of the items is too bright and there is no debris, etc.; smell the plastic material for a pungent odor; touch more and touch the plastic to indicate Whether it is smooth and firm.
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