Reducing exposure to harmful chemicals and microplastics might seem overwhelming, but there are several high-impact changes that can make a real difference.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick, a renowned biomedical scientist, recently shared her expert guidance on practical steps everyone can take to minimize contact with endocrine-disrupting chemicals lurking in everyday items.
From water filters to coffee cups, her recommendations offer actionable solutions that don’t require upending your entire lifestyle.
The stakes are higher than most people realize—these substances are linked to hormone disruption, neurodevelopmental disorders, and even cancer.
Jump to:
- Install a Reverse Osmosis Water Filter
- Never Heat Plastic—Ever
- Ditch Plastic Water Bottles
- Eliminate Black Plastic Products
- Replace Non-Stick Cookware
- Increase Dietary Fiber Intake
- Use HEPA Air Filters
- Minimize Shellfish Consumption
- Avoid Receipts—Especially with Hand Sanitizer
- Be Cautious with High-Fat Dairy
- Practice Imperfect Avoidance
Install a Reverse Osmosis Water Filter
Patrick identifies water filtration as the single most important step for reducing chemical exposure. A reverse osmosis system filters out 99% of microplastics along with bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S, phthalates, and PFAS—the so-called “forever chemicals.”
One of the first and foremost things that people should do is get a water filter. The best one you can get is a reverse osmosis water filter. You can get a countertop one that filters out 99% of microplastics and it’s filtering out bisphenol A, bisphenol S, the phthalates, the forever chemicals, PFAS.
These chemicals are associated with serious health concerns including autism spectrum disorder and ADHD. Countertop models provide an accessible entry point, while whole-house systems offer comprehensive protection.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
There’s one caveat: reverse osmosis removes everything, including beneficial trace minerals like manganese and selenium. Patrick recommends adding these back using mineral drops or supplements specifically designed for filtered water.
Never Heat Plastic—Ever
Heat dramatically accelerates chemical leaching from plastic into food and beverages. Patrick urges eliminating all plastic items that might encounter heat, including Tupperware containers, spatulas, and cooking utensils.
The Coffee Cup Trap
Disposable coffee cups present a hidden danger most people overlook. Despite appearing to be paper, these cups are lined with plastic that leaches chemicals when filled with hot beverages.
You’re talking 55-fold more BPA into your beverage than if you were drinking just water from like a plastic bottle. 55-fold.
That’s an astounding increase. Patrick notes that Blue Bottle Coffee uses polylactic acid lining derived from sugar cane as a safer alternative, but most major chains haven’t made the switch.
Her advice? Bring your own mug or reconsider to-go coffee entirely until companies adopt safer materials.
Ditch Plastic Water Bottles
Even when stored properly, plastic bottles pose risks. Temperature fluctuations during shipping and storage—sitting in hot trucks, warehouses, or cars—cause plastic degradation and chemical migration into water.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
The reality is don’t drink out of the plastic bottles. Get rid of them.
Patrick emphasizes that avoiding heat exposure only addresses part of the problem. Supply chain realities mean bottles experience temperature swings long before reaching consumers, making reusable glass or stainless steel containers the safest choice.
Eliminate Black Plastic Products
Black plastic deserves special attention as one of the worst offenders. Often manufactured from recycled electronics, these products contain brominated flame retardants—known carcinogens.
A 2018 University of Plymouth study examined black plastic kitchen utensils, toys, and other household items. Results showed they contained 30 to 40 times higher levels of brominated chemicals than safety standards allow.
Black plastic is often made from recycled electronics, hence the black color. And so these recycled electronics have the brominated chemicals in them.
Hot food in black plastic containers creates a particularly dangerous scenario. Patrick uses rotisserie chicken as an example—hot chicken placed in black plastic packaging accelerates chemical leaching in minutes rather than years.
Eliminate black spatulas, straws, takeout containers, and food storage items immediately.
Replace Non-Stick Cookware
Teflon and similar non-stick coatings contain PFAS—forever chemicals that persist in the body for four to five years compared to BPA’s two to three hour half-life.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
These chemicals are added to create water-repellent, stain-resistant, and non-stick properties. When heated, they transfer directly into food, disrupting hormones and increasing cancer risk.
I probably have forever chemicals in me from like when I was a kid. I remember my mom using that non-stick pan. That’s the worst thing that you can do is heat that non-stick pan because you’re getting those PFAS forever chemicals in you.
Switch to stainless steel, cast iron, or ceramic cookware. The investment pays dividends in reduced chemical exposure over decades.
Increase Dietary Fiber Intake
While avoiding ingestion remains paramount, fiber offers a defensive strategy against microplastics already consumed.
Both prebiotic and soluble fiber create a viscous gel in the digestive tract that encapsulates plastic particles, facilitating their excretion through feces. This mechanism helps remove microplastics before they accumulate in tissues.
Excellent fiber sources include legumes, oats, flaxseeds, chia seeds, vegetables, and fruits.
Use HEPA Air Filters
Microplastic exposure doesn’t only occur through ingestion. Airborne particles from tire friction, synthetic clothing, and countless other sources mean we’re constantly breathing microplastics.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Once inhaled, these particles reach the lungs and can even cross the blood-brain barrier, particularly the smallest nanoplastics. Research from São Paulo, Brazil revealed that microplastics accumulate in brain tissue at 10 to 20 times higher concentrations than other organs.
We have something in our nose called olfactory neurons. And those neurons have fibers that extend into our brain. And so essentially you breathe in the microplastics and they can get into the brain through the olfactory fibers.
Postmortem studies show people with Alzheimer’s disease have 10 times more microplastics in brain tissue compared to those without the condition.
Patrick uses Honeywell HEPA filters throughout her home and monitors particulate matter with an IQ Air device. Data clearly demonstrates that turning off filters causes immediate increases in airborne particles.
Medical-grade filters aren’t necessary—any quality HEPA filter significantly reduces exposure.
Minimize Shellfish Consumption
Ocean pollution means seafood carries microplastic contamination, particularly species consumed whole with digestive tracts intact. Shrimp, prawns, and similar shellfish accumulate microplastics in their intestines, which transfer directly when eaten.
While eliminating seafood entirely isn’t necessary, choosing fish over shellfish and varying protein sources reduces cumulative exposure.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Avoid Receipts—Especially with Hand Sanitizer
Thermal paper receipts are coated with BPA to enable printing. Touching receipts transfers this chemical to skin, but the risk multiplies dramatically with hand lotion or sanitizer.
If you have any kind of cream on your fingers or like sanitizer, everyone uses now ever since COVID, the hand sanitizer causes the BPA from the receipts to go into your circulation hundred-fold. Hundred-fold.
Retail and restaurant workers face particularly high exposure. Patrick recommends nitrile gloves for anyone handling receipts regularly—latex doesn’t provide adequate protection.
In a San Diego airport encounter, Patrick warned a barista about receipt dangers. When she returned weeks later, the entire staff had switched to wearing nitrile gloves.
Be Cautious with High-Fat Dairy
Forever chemicals and phthalates are lipophilic, meaning they’re attracted to fat. Contaminated water sources and agricultural fertilizers have introduced these chemicals into the food chain.
Cows excrete PFAS through milk and dairy products. Recent studies analyzing organic, grass-fed dairy—products typically considered premium choices—have found substantial forever chemical contamination.
They’ve gone around and looked at milk, organic grass-fed, the thing that you think’s the best, tons of forever chemicals in it because the cows are contaminated and they’re excreting it through their milk.
Butter, cheese, and whole milk all carry elevated levels due to their fat content. This widespread contamination makes complete avoidance impossible.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Practice Imperfect Avoidance
Patrick acknowledges the overwhelming nature of ubiquitous chemical exposure. Complete elimination isn’t realistic or necessary—the goal is meaningful reduction.
I call it imperfect avoidance because you have to eat, you have to live, right? But do what you can to reduce your exposure.
Takeout containers, bakery tissue paper, and countless other daily items contain these chemicals. Perfection isn’t the objective.
Focus on the high-impact changes:
- Water filtration with reverse osmosis
- Air purification using HEPA filters
- Eliminating heated plastic from cooking and beverages
- Replacing non-stick cookware and black plastic items
- Choosing reusable containers over disposable options
- Increasing fiber intake to support excretion
These steps collectively reduce exposure substantially without requiring drastic lifestyle overhauls. Small, consistent changes compound over time, protecting long-term health while maintaining practical daily living.
