The Plastic Trap Killing Your Gains (And How to Escape It)

[00:00:00] Have you ever noticed that some runs feel 10% harder than they should? Same pace, same effort, but you’re still just kind of sluggish. This water bottle might be part of the problem, whether you realize it or not. You’re probably drinking chemicals that mess with your recovery every time you take a sip.

[00:00:16] And this episode, I’m going deep on micro plastics. They’re everywhere. Our water, food, clothes, and even the air that we breathe. But what’s really happening inside our bodies? How bad is it? And as runners. How do we deal with it without losing our minds? I’ll be going over why your training might feel harder than it should.

[00:00:35] The hidden factor affecting your recovery that most runners ignore. How concerned we should realistically be without fear mongering. No fake news, no bro science. Just real evidence, the simple steps we can take to reduce our exposure. A free download cheat sheet bundle to help you navigate the landmine of microplastics in your life.

[00:00:52] By the end, you’ll have a clear no BS understanding of microplastics and what you could do to protect. Your health and your performance. I’m Daren D Lake, 30 year long running coach and hardcore run science data nerd. My goal is to get 1% better each day by optimizing random things like microplastics in my life.

[00:01:09] And I wanna show 10,000 runners how to do it too. Let’s get into the episode. So what’s really happening? The science of microplastics. So way back in 1967, an amazing movie came out called The Graduate, and there’s this iconic scene where the main actor, Dustin Hoffman. Is at a party talking to a businessman near the pool.

[00:01:28] The guy says to Dustin Hoffman that he’s got one word, plastics. There’s a great future in plastics. Turns out almost 60 years later, he was right, just not the way that anyone expected. Now, plastic literally is our future and our present. And it’s everywhere, including our bodies. What are microplastics?

[00:01:46] They are tiny, almost invisible plastic particles, smaller than the width of a human hair, and they come from larger plastic items that break down over time, like plastic water bottles, packaging, and yes, your favorite running shorts, shirts, socks, and shoes. And here’s where it gets a bit crazy. One study found that bottled water contains up to a hundred times more microplastics than tap water.

[00:02:08] And according to research from the University of Newcastle, microplastics have been found in human lungs, bloodstream, brain, and even placenta. However, the widely reported claim from that same study that we consume a credit card’s worth of plastic weekly has been thoroughly debunked by multiple scientists and fact checkers as a severe overestimate based on flawed mythology, wagon Indian University research is found.

[00:02:29] People consume. At most, the mass of a few milligrams a day, meaning it would take 25,000 years to consume a credit card’s worth. So this is fact checked by MythBusters. The real number is likely more a thousand times smaller than that. Viral credit card’s worth microplastics are also being washed out of our clothes and running gear is some of the worst because it’s made of elastic, which is just plastic that wraps around your body.

[00:02:50] In a comfortable way, but what does that actually mean for your body and for us as runners? Here’s what we know about microplastics. In health studies from Harvard Medical University and other institutions show that microplastic particles can cause inflammation, cell death, and DNA damage in laboratory settings, research shows that plastic additives like BPA can trigger inflammatory responses in the brain and disrupt hormone signaling pathways.

[00:03:13] For runners, this translate to slower recovery between workouts. Training zones that feel off and that frustrating plateau where everything just feels harder than it used to. The World Health Organization, the who currently states that there’s a limited evidence that microplastics cause significant health problems in humans.

[00:03:28] And you might be like, why is the science so unclear and vague on this? Just tell me, is it good? Is it bad? Am I gonna die? Blah, blah, blah. The reason is that the challenge is with microplastic research scientists can’t ethically feed people plastic particles to see what happens. So most studies are observational.

[00:03:43] Tracking large populations over time and spot patterns that takes decades, which is why the science feels so unclear right now. What matters most for runners, the chemicals attached to the plastic particles like BPA and Pthalates are proven endocrine disruptors that can affect recovery and metabolism.

[00:03:59] Studies in serum plasticizers can lead from fabrics with heat and friction, exactly what happens on a sweaty hot run. So here’s the thing, if you’ve been wondering why your easy runs don’t feel easy anymore. Or while you’re not bouncing back like you used to, this invisible inflammation could be the missing piece.

[00:04:14] Your body is working overtime to deal with the endocrine disruptors that might be happening while you’re trying to recover from training. But there’s good news. There’s some simple fixes that can get you back to feeling strong or preventative. If we find out later that micro plex is really bad, you don’t need to throw out your entire gear closet or live in a bubble or move to Mars, which I’ll talk about in a second.

[00:04:32] Just a few strategic swaps that target the biggest sources, what we can do, practical steps for runners. We can focus on four things. One, the gear we wear. Two smart watch bands and wearables. Three water bottles and food containers, and four, sweating it out. Uh, let’s talk about the first one, the gear we wear.

[00:04:51] Most running clothes are made from polyester, nylon, and spandex, which again is basically plastic in a stretchy form. These fabric shed microfibers, which has microplastics in them, especially during washing, wearing, and friction. So what you wanna do for running clothing? You wanna find Marino wool based layers if possible.

[00:05:09] Obviously on the cooler days, you can look for things called Smart Wool Marino. That’s one brand. It’s between 70 and 90 USD online or whatever shop you wanna go to. Washing protection. So you can use guppy friend washing bags. They’re about 35 to 38 USD or. Core ball, which catch 80% of microfibers in your water so you don’t wash it out into the sewage and alternative fabrics.

[00:05:32] Patagonia’s recycled polyester releases 85% fewer microfibers than regular polyester blends and all the Lycra that you’re wearing for running and for water bottles. ’cause obviously we’re drinking this stuff. Try to go for a stainless steel. Hydro Flask 21 ounce or Yeti Rambler, $35. Or you could find whatever you want.

[00:05:51] Stainless steel’s pretty cool. Now there’s a lot of brands out there. You can go with glass, which, uh, I’m not a fan of. It’s not my favorite because I have a small kid and I’m in gym locker rooms a lot and pools and saunas and ice plunge. And if you drop that, it’s like, come on, everyone’s barefoot. Can’t do that.

[00:06:06] So a brand is life factory is 22 ounce. Sorry, I’m for you. Metric people, uh, has a silicone sleeve. Just find anything with a glass silicone sleeve. And what you wanna avoid is. Any single use plastic bottle, were used more than once. If you heat things up, obviously some people just want to remove plastic altogether.

[00:06:24] BPA a free doesn’t mean that it’s microplastic free. That’s a huge, huge thing. Remember, I’m gonna say it again. BPA free and all that stuff does not mean it’s microplastic free. BPA is just that chemical that was coming off of plastic bottles. They got rid of that, but it’s not getting rid of microplastics and pthalates and all that other stuff.

[00:06:40] Why the running gear and water bottle matters? Getting rid of a few things here and there can add up and it makes a difference. Quick side note, according to research washing, your quick dry running clothing actually helps slow down microfiber breakdown over time. So use that guppy bag or equivalent, and it’s the brand new gear that sheds the most microfibers and microplastics.

[00:06:58] So keep wearing your favorite shirts and shorts as long as you can until you can’t bear the nasty smell anymore. And if you’re like, Hey, Daren. This is a lot. I get it. Let me make all this easy for you to keep up. Go and download my free cheat sheet and quick start guide about all the fixes I’ve said in this video and that I will say that you can take with you on your smartphone or you can print it out old school and make sure avoiding all that ick that’s coming from our modern ways of living.

[00:07:23] While you’re there, you’ll get a free run, longer and farther, 30 day base training plan because. Why not? I’m here to help the world and get you to run faster or farther or whatever you want. Get it at the QR code here. Link below or on the show notes. Also, if you want to help a self-coach runner fight microplastics and get 1% better each day, all I ask is that you watch this to the end, it tells the algorithm guys that this should be shown to them, and if you want to do more, you can like this.

[00:07:47] Hit that thumbs up, share this out, or comment below if you think microplastics ingestion is something to be concerned about or it’s alternative facts. Let’s get back into the episode. Smartwatch bands and wearables. So silicon and plastic bands break down with heat, sweat, and UV exposure. Every long run in the sun speeds up that process.

[00:08:06] So what do you wanna do? Move to stainless steel, titanium and recycled fabric bands. So your watch bands clean your smartwatch regularly with water and microfiber cloth. Soap can degrade plastics faster, so try to stay away from that. Rotate bands if you wear them. Daily to reduce long-term degradation and why this matters.

[00:08:24] Heat and sweat speed up the breakdown of plastics on your skin so that that wild, funky smell on your wrist, heart rate monitor, or your running gear, it’s not just sweat, it’s literally plastic breaking down and releasing chemicals right where you can smell it. Kind of gross. Third thing we can do is water bottles and food containers.

[00:08:40] Heat and plastic are a bad combo. Warm liquids cause microplastics to shed into water bottles and gel packets faster. Hot liquids are even worse, like canned soup. There’s actually a plastic lining inside of the cans and a lot of those, and the hot soup goes in and then in. Soups actually have the highest amount of microplastics in them, so you might wanna stay away from them or do soup a different way.

[00:09:04] So what to do? Use glass of stainless steel bottles for daily hydration. Don’t reuse single-use plastic bottles. Again, those thin plastics degrade quickly. Avoid leaving plastic water bottles in your car where heat accelerates it breaks down or in a window. Where the sun is hitting it. And number four thing that we can do is sweat it out using heat for detox.

[00:09:21] So microplastics themselves may not exit through sweat, but some of the toxic chemicals attached to them like BPA and pthalates can what to do? Get into a sauna two to three times a week. Four 20 to 30 minutes if you can. As long as you can. 10 to 15 is fine if you’re starting out high intensity workouts also are great that get your sweating up and they help you drinking proper amounts of fluids in electrolytes that also.

[00:09:42] Can flush things out. Get on a bit of the detox train with sulfur rich foods like broccoli sprouts, real food, broccoli sprouts, and supplements work well and cabbage. So why does this matter, Dr. Andrew Huberman and Dr. Rhonda Patrick, who I love, both of them both emphasize that sweating helps your body excrete endocrine disrupting chemicals.

[00:10:00] Okay, we got the four basic ways to possibly get rid of microplastics in your body covered. But what happens when we zoom out and look at what the future holds for runners like us? How screwed are we really? And what comes next? So the truth we don’t know yet, but here’s what we do know. Focus on the highest impact changes for the least effort.

[00:10:19] Don’t spend all your time, money, and mental energy trying to eliminate every single plastic particle in your life. That’s impossible, and it will drive you insane. For runners, the big winds are simple clean water and reducing the plastic sweat combo during runs. These are high leverage changes that can actually matter, not perfectionist rabbit holes that waste your life.

[00:10:36] But here’s the context. Scientists haven’t found direct large scale evidence of microplastics causing disease in otherwise healthy individuals. As Andrew Huberman often points out environmental factors matter, but so does overall resilience and metabolic health. The good news change is a comment.

[00:10:51] Biodegradable fabrics companies are experimenting with algae and plant-based fibers to replace polyester like Patagonia and other cool startups, microfiber capturing tech. So new washing machines with built-in filters could soon reduce plastic pollution, plastic-free packaging. Most brands are testing compostable wrappers for energy gels and snacks.

[00:11:10] So are we really screwed? Probably not. I’m an optimist, possibly a little bit, but it’s worth paying attention to and living your life as practical as you can. And as Andrew Huberman again pointed out, you’d literally have to leave Planet Earth to avoid microplastics completely. They’re probably even floating around in space by now.

[00:11:27] It’s like that moment at the end of walking dead, season one. When Rick finds out from the CD, C guy, he whispers to him that everyone already has the virus. Sobering, yes. But also liberating. We’re all in this together, so let’s focus on the stuff that actually moves the needle. And if you haven’t already, make sure you go and download my free cheat sheet and quickstart guide about all the fixes I’ve said in this video that you can take on the go.

[00:11:48] And remember this stuff, I know it’s a lot. And while you’re there, you’ll get a free run, longer and farther, 30 day base training plan, and a triple bonus ’cause it’s a bundle. Also, get signed up to my five minutes or less. Email newsletter that will hit your inbox every week. I talk about things like VO two max strides, running form threshold, mental fitness and health, and we have some fun in there.

[00:12:08] Get it at the QR code here, link below or in the show notes. Microplastics are what we might have control over and what we can see, but there’s another invisible enemy lurking in the air that you breathe on your lungs. Go and check out the next video about air quality and the negative effects it has on you.

[00:12:22] Get a blow or link in the show notes. Peace.