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A new study in Brain Medicine suggests a link between microplastics in ultra-processed foods and neurological disorders like depression and dementia. Microplastics, found in high concentrations in processed foods, can bypass the blood-brain barrier, causing oxidative stress and damaging brain cells. This mechanism mirrors the negative effects of ultra-processed foods themselves. However, a complementary study offers hope, showing that extracorporeal apheresis, a blood filtration technique, may effectively remove microplastics from the body. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and explore this potential treatment.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.