Microplastics in Ovarian Follicular Fluid: What the Research Means for Fertility | Ep. 585

Episode 585

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Friday Podcast, episode number 585.
In today’s episode, we are diving into some interesting new research. I’m sharing a
very recent study, and it is the first study of its kind to be examining
microplastics in female ovarian follicular fluid. The title of the study is first
evidence of microplastics in human ovarian follicular fluid and emerging threat to
female fertility. So we are going to be diving into that study talking about the
implications and really kind of looking at what this potentially means for you and I
and for clients who are concerned about supporting their fertility. So without further
ado, let’s go ahead and jump in.
So as I mentioned, this, according to the researchers in the study, this is the
first time that microplastics have been officially discovered in ovarian follicular
fluid. And this could be a result of just improving the techniques of detection,
those types of things. So that makes this study in many ways a bit novel. And I
think a good place to start is to actually define what microplastics are. So
microplastics are simply tiny plastic particles that are very small, smaller than five
millimeters. And so think about the size of a sesame seed or less and they come
from the breakdown of larger plastic items and so when we are drinking water out of
plastic bottles or when we are eating food from plastic containers or even using
certain makeups or if you just think about where plastic is those micro plastics we
could be ingesting them we can be inhaling them those are some of the most common
ways that we would be exposed to them. And so this study, like I said,
is interesting and novel because it’s the first time that they’re specifically
identifying it in the follicular fluid of women. And so essentially what the
researchers did is they studied 18 women who were undergoing assisted reproductive
treatment. So they were getting in vitro fertilization IVF and they then examined the
follicular fluid. And out of the 18 women, they found microplastics in 14 out of
the 18 samples. That in and of itself is very significant finding because it is
showing us the kind of confirming that yes, they are everywhere and they’re kind of
making their way through our body at various levels to the point that they are even
found in our follicular fluid. And what’s interesting about follicular fluid is that
it does play an important role in supporting egg quality. I mean, if you think
about what that means, within the ovary, that’s where our follicles are contained.
And so within the follicle is the egg itself. So that fluid is what the egg itself
is being bathed in. And according to the researchers,
so I’ll take a little part from the study here, the follicle is the basic
structural unit of the ovary, which can be divided into the preantrophallicles and
antrophallicles. During the growth of the oocyte, the follicle is filled with
follicular fluid, which plays a crucial role in the maturation and development of the
oocyte. One of the things that Lily and I talked about in real food for fertility
was the connection between the quality of nutrition that you’re consuming and how it
can even impact ovarian follicular fluid and studies that show the connection between
the nutritional inputs that we’re putting in their body and of course the quality of
the ovarian follicle, the quality of the egg that results. So of course the
implications then, the question is this actually affecting fertility. And I would say
that that’s one thing that this study wasn’t conclusively able to do. And I think
it’s because it’s a preliminary study, sample sizes are very small. And of course,
this population in the study is specifically women who were already struggling with
conception, making that statement because they were all seeking IVF treatment.
And so I suppose what would be interesting would be more of a larger study right
on a larger scale of women who had no challenges with fertility women who did have
challenges with fertility women of various ages. And to see if we can add more of
more complexity, more diversity to this sample size or the the participants in the
study, then that would give potentially the opportunity to have a better understanding
of whether or not this is impacting fertility. Because obviously if you’re only
looking at one very specific group, you can’t necessarily draw any conclusions or
identify any correlations for issues of fertility per se. So that would be certainly
my comment on that. But what the researchers do in this study is they go through
the research that has been done in this area. So although we don’t have a lot of
research on how this specific issue, so microplastics in human follicular fluid,
how that could affect fertility for women, they do have a wide range of animal
studies that they review within this study to kind of go through what the
implications are from what we’ve seen in animal studies. And when we look at what
they’ve provided, which are a lot of different studies, particularly data rats,
it doesn’t look good, right? And I mean, if you think logically, if we had a high
level of microplastics throughout our bodies and our follicular fluid, you wouldn’t
naturally assume that that would be a positive thing. You wouldn’t naturally assume
that this would be good for us. We know that microplastics are not a nutrient. We
know that they’re not necessarily helpful. We know that they’re not supposed to be
there, right? like these are synthetic products that are created, that are not
necessarily,
they’re just not healthy. So I think intuitively we know that this isn’t great, but
I suppose then the question becomes, well, how bad is it? And what are the
potential downsides here? So what the researchers say is that, although there is
currently a lack of evidence of reproductive effects in humans, several studies on
animals demonstrate significant alterations in male reproduction. And so when they look
at the studies on male animals, whether it’s mice or rats, they’re seeing effects
such as reduced sperm motility, an increase in abnormal sperm,
so sperm that are not of normal morphology, and also a decrease in testosterone
levels. when they look at studies on female mice, they’re looking at reduced oocyte
maturation, decreased capacity for fertilization, and alterations in the development of
the embryos. So they’re looking at the impacts that it’s having, and what they’re
finding in these animal studies is that it is impairing reproduction. It is impairing
the capacity for fertilization, normal oocyte development, and of course, normal
hormone production. And it continues that way. So they’re looking at an increase in
oxidative stress. So when we talk about oxidative stress, I always think of if you
think about peeling a banana and letting it sit on the counter, it’s turning brown.
So there’s damage due to oxygen. And research tells us that when we have oxidative
stress, that that increases the risk of DNA damage, which, of course, is significant
when we’re looking at reproduction. The quality of eggs and sperm are largely related
to the percent to which the DNA is intact. And as we see higher levels of DNA
damage, particularly in the sperm and the egg, we do see an increased number of
potential complications and other issues. So of course, that raises the alarm.
If we’re seeing these effects in animals, what could this imply for human beings?
The researchers go on to say that, quote, in recent years, the negative effects of
microplastics on fertility have been extensively investigated in animal models,
revealing significant impacts on the female reproductive system. Studies on rats have
shown that microplastics accumulate in the ovaries and granulosa cells, which can
impair follicular growth and disturb the hormonal balance. Specifically, exposure to
microplastics leads to a decrease in levels of AMH and estradiol while increasing the
levels of FSH, resulting in irregular cycles and disruptions in follicular genesis.
So What the researchers are saying and what they go through in the study is the
growing body of research that they have in animal models showing that microplastics
are having a significant negative impact on fertility, whether we’re looking at the
effect on ovarian function, hormone production, or whether we’re looking at the impact
on sperm production, testicular function, and hormone production in male animals.
They’re showing an increase in inflammation. They’re showing an increase in oxidative
stress. So they are showing a variety of very specific effects that microplastics can
have on fertility.
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So in this study, I mean, they’re acknowledging the limitation. Their main role was
just to verify if they were present or not, which they did. So in their words,
they say, “The main purpose of this preliminary study was therefore to verify the
presence of microplastics in the follicular fluid of 18 women undergoing assisted
reproduction according to their protocol.” So now they have a way to actually test
the fluid. Obviously, microplastics are very tiny, so they need to have specialized
ways to gather this information and test the fluid to exclusively determine if
they’re there. But I suppose the question that remains now that they found it there
is that, so we’ve seen this in animal models, what is the actual impact in human
beings? And I guess the question for us, as we kind of take this all in stride,
is what does this mean for us? So there’s a variety of different toxins that we
need to be aware of. And in real food for fertility, for example, we have a whole
chapter on toxins where we go through some of the most common toxins that we’re
exposed to. So the issue of toxicity in general is something that we should be
aware of. And the question always remains to what extent is this affecting our
fertility, our hormones, our menstrual health, and then what can we actually do about
it? So I think because this is more of an emerging field, the information around it
is still being developed. And the primary approach when looking at this issue of
microplastics is likely avoidance to minimize our exposure as much as possible,
while also acknowledging that it is ubiquitous. And so it is possible that most of
us do likely have microplastics or have been exposed to microplastics. If we were
part of a study that they were doing a stool sample or a sample of a very
inflecular fluid, it’s likely that many of us would actually have some degree of it.
And the question would be if they started to do more extensive studies, what are
the common traits or practices or dietary habits or whatever have you of the women
who have higher levels of microplastics versus those who have lower levels? And if
we look at different types of toxins, but that are, whether it’s phthalate exposure,
whether it’s parabens or BPAs, when you look at the studies, the women that have
the highest levels are the women that have the highest exposures. And there are some
studies that would indicate that just by stopping using certain products, your
exposure goes down significantly. And therefore the amount that you have continually
in your bloodstream also goes down significantly. So what are some of the ways that
we can reduce our exposure?
I think for many of us, drinking water from plastic water bottles is likely one of
the greatest exposures potentially to microplastics as well as heating food in plastic
containers or storing food in plastic containers. The list goes on. I think that the
first step is just to become aware of it and to get curious about it. Any topic,
especially if it’s not one that you are well to kind of start thinking about,
well, where could I be exposed to it? Where am I being exposed? And when you first
start to look at it, it’s pretty scary. I mean, there’s a lot of, everything is in
plastic, right? Like there’s, whether it’s your, if you’re using lotions, if you’re
using makeup, if you’re using, if you’re drinking water, if you’re eating food. And
then there’s also the ways that these foods are processed. So I think the first
step is to become aware of it and to start thinking about it. And then I would
say the second step is now that we are a little bit more aware, we can gradually
start to shift our practices. So I don’t think it’s reasonable to say that I’m
never gonna use anything out of a plastic bottle again, but certainly we can start
thinking about, okay, what are some ways that we can minimize? We can look at our
food products that we’re consuming, and how many of those are in plastic containers,
and are there alternatives? Are there alternative options in glass bottles? Is there
a way for me to ensure that I’m drinking water out of a non -plastic container? How
do I store my food at home? Are there ways for me to avoid plastic when possible?
I do think that we can start there and even switching from more processed foods
that are typically packaged. So moving to more whole foods, real foods that have
less packaging. So it’s one of those things where I think it’s whenever I bring up
that topic of toxins with, with our clients, with our practitioners, I think it
really is about reducing reduction, not about trying to achieve perfection because
like I mentioned at the beginning, it is ubiquitous. These microplastics are found in
our water. They’re found in animals in nature. So it’s not that if we try to do
everything perfect, we would have no exposure at all. Some of the exposure may come
from inhalation. One of the ways to reduce our exposure is to reduce the dust in
our house to actually make sure that we’re dusting and cleaning because a lot of
these toxins and different whether it’s those tiny, tiny microplastics can kind of
settle in the dust in our homes. So my statement on that and thought on it is
awareness, education. First of all, we need to know it’s a problem. Then we need to
kind of look around and think, okay, well, where are my exposures? And then we can
think, well, how can I reduce that? And hopefully within the coming years, we’ll
have a better idea of, is there anything I can do to help my body to remove
these. That would be an interesting question that I don’t know that we have the
answer to. If we’re finding these microplastics in ovarian follicular fluid, is there
a way to reduce that? Is there a way to clear that? And if we do reduce our
exposure, does that mean that as our follicles are developing and each menstrual
cycle, we start at the beginning of the cycle where we have a small cohort of
follicles that are developing, does it have a meaningful difference if we make an
effort to reduce our exposure in the levels that we have? From this study, I could
come up with 10 to 15 to 50 additional studies that would be so interesting to
look at so we can get a better sense of what the potential effects could be on
female and male fertility. But I think for now, this study shows as just a little
bit of insight. So from what the researchers were saying in the study, they have
been looking at the effects of this in animal models for quite some time, but they
haven’t been able to even identify if human follicular fluid contained these
microplastics. Based on the study, it looks like they have identified the
microplastics in seminal fluid, the seminal fluid of males. And of course, it’s
concerning because we are seeing this trend of male fertility declining, especially if
we look at the research over the past 70 plus years. This then is just yet another
potential insult, and another potential toxin that we are aware of,
and then we have to look at what are the implications here. In conclusion, this
particular study has not identified any specific negative impacts that the presence of
microplastics in ovarian follicular fluid have. That was not the purpose of the
study, and so there’s not enough information for them to conclusively say, okay, this
is having this effect. But what they do in the study is they present what the body
of research of around this topic. So the body of research around the potential for
negative impacts of microplastics on fertility based on animal models, and animal
models. Then they leave that question there for further research. Hopefully, this has
given you a little bit of insight. It’s part of an ongoing conversation. We live in
a toxic world. There’s thousands of new chemicals that are developed every year.
There’s chemicals sprayed on our food. There’s chemicals in our clothing that we
wear. That’s another potential source of exposure to microplastics as well because a
lot of our clothes are made from synthetic fibers that are basically plastic. And so
the question is, to what extent is that having a negative impact? And there’s toxins
in our air. There’s toxins in our water. There’s toxins in our beauty products. So
it really is ubiquitous. And then the question, like I said, I don’t think any of
us can be totally 100 % clean. But the question then becomes, how can we reduce our
exposure. So along these lines, if you are interested in this particular topic,
the topic of toxicity and its potential effect on our reproductive function and
fertility, then I think you will appreciate next week’s episode. In next week’s
episode, I’m sharing my interview with Laura Adler, and she is an expert in this
area of toxin research and exposure. And so we get into a really interesting
conversation, not only about the sources of toxins and the potential ways to reduce
our exposure, but also about kind of the broader perspective of it, where there is
a certain amount of our exposure that we have control over, and that would be we
have control for the most part over what we’re eating, what products we’re using on
our bodies, what we’re putting into our bodies, how we choose to store our food,
how we choose to maintain our homes, right? So we have control over a certain
aspect of this topic, but by no means do we have control over what chemicals are
put in our public water system or what chemical exposures we have in the air.
And so there is a limit to what we can do. I don’t think that that means we
shouldn’t do the things that are within our control, but there has to be an
acknowledgement that some of our exposures are not 100 % within our control. And so
that kind of lends itself to broader questions around legislation and all of those
kinds of things. So we get into that topic, really interesting conversation. So
that’s going to be out next week. And so with that said, if you enjoyed today’s
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