this post was submitted on 29 Mar 2025
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[–] WolfmanEightySix@piefed.social 58 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I’d never have thought rubber or petroleum would be in a food.

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 28 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Well in the case of chewing gum, it basically IS plastic.

[–] WolfmanEightySix@piefed.social 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Most commercial gums use a "synthetic gum base." It has been made with latex, chickle, all manner of crap.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Isn't natural plant gum latex too?

I think it is more accurate to say latex is a natural plant gum.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 41 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Because... they're made of microplastics?

... Must be a coincidence.

[–] FenderStratocaster@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I'm ignorant. Have micro plastics been proven to be harmful?

[–] calum@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

At the very least, significantly more microplastics were found in corpses of people who had dementia and the volume has increased between 2016 and 2024.

Correlation vs causation will require more research but it surely can't be harmful begin to reduce exposure where we can as we didn't have microplastics resident in our body for most of human history. I'd hazard an educated guess that accumulating any inorganic material inside your body isn't good for you.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 week ago

There are hints about them having carcinogen properties and promoting cerebral disorders (they do cross the blood-brain-barrier). But since human health is complex, not much evidence yet.

[–] notastatist@feddit.org 4 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Yess, as they accumulate in the body at least.

[–] Threeme2189@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 week ago

How is that proof that they're harmful?

That's not evidence of anything though.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 26 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I've already been assuming micro plastics are in literally everything on the planet after it's been found in so many things in recent years. At this point, it would be more surprising to know what doesn't have micro plastics in it.

I'd also like to see more studies on the effects of micro plastics being in everything. Shits in our fucking balls but we don't know if it's harming us. Everything sure wants to make you scared of it, though. I just wanna know if we really should be. I mean, I don't think it's good but still.

[–] kinther@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

Ouch my balls

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 4 points 1 week ago

I think there was a thing done that said they found microplastics in our brains

[–] Buffalobuffalo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 24 points 1 week ago (1 children)

But which gum? I'm chewing gum right now and would prefer diet plastic gum if possible.

[–] ArmoredThirteen@lemmy.zip 30 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Almost all modern gum base is made from rubber/plastic. If you want plastic free gum you'll likely have to switch to one that specifically advertised as such. Most people talk about Simply Gum; I've never tried it personally and don't know much about the company

[–] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 42 points 1 week ago (3 children)

"Surprisingly, the natural based gums gave off the same amount of microplastics" so I'm not sure it's worth switching from the one you like. The better way to reduce your intake is not to start a new piece, instead keep chewing the old one that's releasing fewer and fewer particles. The best choice would be to stop chewing gum, but it helps me eat less, also there's apparently microplastics in foods too, and in everything else including our eyeballs.

Do you have any shabiri grapes?

[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago (2 children)

How do gum bases not made of plastic give off plastic? Chicle and other natural gum bases come from plants.

[–] papertowels@mander.xyz 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Your question made me wonder - what if the plants had micro plastics lol.

[–] bizzle@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

They do, and it's affecting photosynthesis 😅

[–] papertowels@mander.xyz 2 points 6 days ago

Yaaaaaaaaay

[–] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago

I don't know, I just quoted the study.

My theory as a non-scientist would be that the plastics aren't from the gum at all, but the gums and tongue which are apparently already full of them, according to random things on the Internet.

But that just shows how stupid it is to ask me

[–] Obi@sopuli.xyz 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Crazy how different people react differently to things, I don't chew gum often but I did try it again when I started controlling my diet and for me it just seems to activate my hunger, like my brain thinks "I'm chewing something, time to prepare the stomach for receiving food!".

[–] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

I understand that. In this case of course I have just eaten dinner which probably subverts that.

[–] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 week ago

So awesome

/s

[–] workerONE@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago (2 children)
[–] randint@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I just pulled this out from my ass, but I would guess yes, they do. But you rinse your mouth after brushing your teeth so I would guess it's not that bad? Since you're (mostly) not ingesting the microplastic particles from the toothbrush. But again I'm going off of nothing.

[–] iheartneopets@lemm.ee 14 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Current advice is actually to not rinse after brushing, as you're meant to let the fluoride of the toothpaste sit against your teeth for thirty minutes.

Unfortunately, I would recommend not losing sleep over either source of microplastics (chewing gum or toothbrushes), until tires and synthetic clothing are done away with by society. Those are much MUCH bigger, inescapable sources of microplastics

[–] CitizenKong@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Isn't it mostly tires? Which is just another reason humanity has to be cured of this insane car-craziness.

[–] iheartneopets@lemm.ee 5 points 1 week ago

Tires are there biggest ones, yeah, but number two is shedding from synthetic clothing creation and laundering

[–] BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I think micro plastics are in all the water everywhere.

[–] iheartneopets@lemm.ee 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

We're talking about their major sources, not where they're now consequently found

[–] shekau@lemmy.today 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] iheartneopets@lemm.ee 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Because that's what tires are made out of, and they wear away as you drive (that's why you need to replace tires every so often as the treads wear away). That material doesn't just disappear, it gets ground down and dispersed into the environment as they're used.

It's one reason why electric cars aren't a great solution for anyone but car manufacturers—the tires. They'll cut down on fossil fuel use and fuel emissions, yes, but that's not the only way cars pollute.

EDIT: Also, thank you for asking! Always happy to explain :)

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

yea i heard that trick too, unfortunately it can cause perioral dermatitis in people, especially some toothpastes. because it tends to seep out of your lips and sits in the corner irritating the lips.

[–] Aggravationstation@feddit.uk 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Instructions unclear, pulled toothbrush out of ass.

[–] Vandals_handle@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Are you a sea cucumber?

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 1 points 1 week ago

you have to worry how abrasive some are.

[–] slumberlust@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

If this interests you, consider the book Ultra Processed People.

[–] Tomassci@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 week ago

That's why I go to the source and chew plastics.

[–] reksas@sopuli.xyz 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

good thing i stopped using chewing gum ages ago, always chewed it way too long and it turned disgusting.

[–] FuckFascism@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

Yummy, I love eating micro plastics...😋