VICTORIA, CANADA — A new study by the University of Victoria in Canada has found that you could potentially double the amount of microplastic particles you ingest by drinking bottled water.
The researchers mentioned in the study that they focused on the American diet to calculate the amount of microplastic particles present in food items such as honey, seafood, salt, sugar and tap water.
According to the study, boys and men ingested and inhaled approximately 81,000 and 121,000 microplastic particles a year, respectively.
While girls and women were exposed to roughly 74,000 and 98,000 plastic particles annually.
The researchers determined that the amount of microplastics present in the body was related to how one typically consumes water.
Individuals who drank bottled water could be ingesting an additional 90,000 microplastics in a year, according to the study.
In comparison, those who only consumed tap water only ingested an additional 4000 microplastics annually.
The authors of the study concluded that the overall consumption of microplastics for Americans is likely to be much higher.
However, there are some limitations to the study.
According to CNN, Professor Richard Limpitt at the National Oceanography Centre in the UK, criticized the study saying that the authors failed to differentiate between nanoplastic particles and microplastic particles.
Adding that the size of the plastic particles has a "massive impact on the data presented and the conclusions reached."
