The impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on health include systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, and even cancer. New research suggests that kimchi, a traditional Korean dish made of fermented cabbage, may help rid the body of nanoplastics.1
Researchers gave mice a specific bacteria known as Leuconostoc mesenteroides that was derived from kimchi. Their findings suggest that the bacteria binds to the nanoplastics in the intestines causing the mice to excrete roughly twice as many nanoplastics than the mice that didn’t receive the bacterium. The mice treated with the bacterium also demonstrated reduced intestinal inflammation.1
Probiotics, such as those found in kimchi, are living microbes. Their protective effect is thought to come from the ability to either bind to or degrade toxic materials such as heavy metals and plastics. The good bacteria can also improve the microbiome, modulate the host immune system, form biofilms that cause binding of the microplastics, and have antioxidant effects.
Microplastics Found in Bloodstreams, Breastmilk, Placenta
Microplastic exposure is all around us. The plastics largely come from broken down plastics from items such as plastic bottles, bags, and synthetic fibers; however they may also be used intentionally as part of formulations for skin, beauty, body, or pharmaceutical products. Microplastics exist in drinking water, the soil, the air, and food. In 2022, researchers found the particles in human bloodstreams for the first time. They have also been found in human breastmilk, lungs, and placentas.2
There are several mechanisms within the body by which microplastics are thought to be harmful, including chemical disruption or physically blocking circulatory, respiratory, or digestive systems. One study performed on mice found that in just three weeks of exposure to microplastics through drinking water, the particles began to accumulate in every organic and caused the mice to exhibit behaviors akin to dementia in humans.2
“Given their inert chemical property, microplastics cannot be metabolized and degraded inside the human body. Cytotoxicity and inflammation represent the main adverse health effects. Increasing evidence has linked MP exposure to detrimental health effects including neurotoxicity, cardiovascular disease, and others, possibly through… oxidative stress, DNA damage, metabolic disorder and apoptosis,”1 cite the authors of the study about the effect of kimchi on microplastics.
The authors were able to conclude that kimchi likely has a protective effect against microplastics because they used lactic acid bacterium that was derived from kimchi. However, it may not be isolated to kimchi alone and more research on other fermented foods would need to be done.
Fermented Foods Increase Microbiome Diversity, Lower Inflammation
Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, milk kefir, miso, beet kvass, kombucha, and yogurt have long been dietary staples in many traditional cultures. Fermented foods boast many health benefits including increased microbiome diversity, lowered inflammation, and increased nutrient bioavailability.
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Click here to view References:1 Teng X, Zhang T, Rao C . Novel probiotics adsorbing and excreting microplastics in vivo show potential gut health benefits. Front Microbiology Jan. 10, 2025.
2 Hobley N. Microplastics in products harm human health and the environment. The Vaccine Reaction Feb. 20, 2024.
3 Baker A, Hobley N. Study: receipt of multiple childhood vaccines ‘most dominant modifiable risk factor’ for autism. The Vaccine Reaction Nov. 16, 2025.
