Do you remember that study from a few years ago that said we ingest the equivalent of a plastic credit card every week? That seemed like an exaggeration, but science continues to back it up — in fact, things may have even gotten worse since then. Microplastics, those tiny fragments now ubiquitous in the environment, end up in our bodies every day through the food, air and even the water we drink.
It all started from a 2019 research by the Australian University of Newcastle, commissioned by WWF International, which estimated that each person ingests around 5 grams of plastic per week – the weight of a credit card – through contaminated food and drinks.
Six years later, an extensive review led by Concordia University in Montreal confirmed and expanded those fears. Analyzing over 140 scientific studies published between 2016 and 2024, researchers concluded that those who always drink bottled water ingest up to 90 thousand more microplastic particles every year than those who choose tap water, which contains on average between 39 thousand and 52 thousand.
Infectious disease specialist Matteo Bassetti has now also returned to the topic, advising in a recent video to avoid the daily use of plastic bottles, preferring glass or tap water. The expert stated that “bAlways drinking bottled water is like eating a credit card a week”.
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Bassetti’s statements
In his speech on social media, Bassetti explained some little-known aspects of the water found in plastic bottles.
Do you know what water goes in plastic bottles, or plastic bottles? In 64% it is the same tap water that you can have at home, perhaps with a small filter that allows it to be better.
And he then underlined a critical aspect:
But how much does this water fit inside the plastic bottle? On average between 1 and 5 years, it often stands in squares in the sun.
It is precisely under these conditions that the plastic overheats and some particles are released into the water. The result?
If use is periodic, we risk drinking an amount equal to a credit card in a week, it’s as if we were eating a plastic credit card.
The consequences are clear: “They create inflammation“, warned the doctor, who then provided practical advice:
It is clear that if we are somewhere around we can only use the plastic bottle, but we do not use plastic bottles every day of our lives even at home. We use tap water and above all, if we have the choice, we always choose glass which is certainly better than plastic and does not release the microparticles which, let us remember, make the whole organism inflame.
