A Simple Way To Remove Microplastics From Tap Water

Until just a decade ago, the idea that we might be sipping on microscopic plastic fragments every time we pour a glass of tap water would’ve sounded like sci-fi paranoia…but today that concept is unsettlingly normal. 

Global tests reveal that each liter of tap or bottled water can carry tens to thousands of these ghostly flecks….

microplastics and their even tinier cousins, nanoplastics. 

They’re invisible, uninvited, and omnipresent and while scientists are still debating exactly how much harm they do inside the human body, one thing’s abundantly clear: plastic doesn’t belong on the dinner table.

However… there maybe a simple DIY solution in your kettle that could help you cut down on these plastic fiends. 

Boil, trap, repeat

Scientists in China discovered that something as simple as boiling water could remove up to 90% of microplastics from your drinking water. 

The reason this seemingly works is because when hard water (rich in calcium and magnesium) is heated above 100 degrees celsius (212°F), it naturally forms flakes of calcium carbonate… the same white scale you see crusted inside your kettle. 

These flakes swirl through the boiling water and act like tiny magnets for plastic particles, binding them into clumps that settle at the bottom.

In the lab, this method trapped between 80–90% of microplastic particles (polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene) after just a five-minute boil followed by cooling. 

Hard water (with ~300 mg/L of calcium carbonate… common in places like San Antonio or Indianapolis for example) performed best, but even soft water saw a 25% reduction in plastic particles.

As a bonus step you could pour your boiled water through a coffee filter (even the cheap paper kind) to catch any suspended fragments that didn’t sink.

Quick kitchen protocol

• Boil your water for 5 minutes.
  

• Let it cool.
  

• Pour gently, leaving scale behind.
  

• Use a paper filter if you have one.
  

• Scrub the kettle weekly to remove trapped plastic.
  

• The article suggests that in soft-water areas, you could add a safe pinch of food-grade calcium.
  
  

My New Daily Breakfast (This Month)

• 60g rolled oats

• 2 tablespoons of chia seeds

• 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds

• 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

• ½ tablespoon flaxseeds

• 10g crushed almonds (better texture)

• 70g mixed berries (blueberries/raspberries; frozen)

My days are often quite busy so I want to make sure at least one of my meals is incredibly satiating, good for my gut and packs both protein & fiber.

The above clocks in around 22g fiber and 21g protein… not bad eh?

It keeps me full because the soluble fibers (from chia, flax, oats) absorb water and swell in the gut, forming a gel that slows down gastric emptying. This stretches the stomach walls, triggering mechanoreceptors that send fullness signals to the brain via the vagus nerve.
As a cheeky bonus, in the colon… fibers are fermented by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, which reduce inflammation, strengthen the gut lining, and improve insulin sensitivity and which can further signal satiety via hormones like PYY and GLP-1

The high protein content and the digestion of these stimulates the release of satiety hormones like CCK, GLP-1, and PYY. These hormones slow down gut motility, reduce appetite, and increase the feeling of fullness.

P.S If you want to learn more about the gut, microbiome science sign up to my newsletter dedicated to bring you short, snappy actionable tips on this:

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Fat Loss Without Changing What You Eat?

You’ve counted calories and maybe you’ve tried keto (much to your bowels ire) but what if there was a research-backed way to boost fat loss without changing your diet simply by tweaking the timing of your meals?

A 2024 randomized controlled trial published in Trials (PMID: 38419068) found that matching your meal timing to your chronotype (your internal body clock) led to significantly greater fat loss, even when calories stayed the same.

The study: 

150 adults (BMI ≥25), aged 18–65, were followed for 4 months.

Participants were split into morning types and evening types using validated tools. Then they followed diets where the same number of calories were eaten, but meal timing was adjusted based on chronotype:

Morning types:

• Ate ~50% of calories before lunch
  (40% breakfast, 10% snack)
  
  

Evening types:

• Ate ~50% of calories later in the day
  (40% dinner, 10% snack)
  
  

Results:

• Evening types lost 3.7 kg (vs 2.5 kg in control), and 2.8% body fat (vs 0.5%)
  

• Morning types lost 3.2 kg (vs 2.5 kg), and 1.6% fat mass (vs 0.5%)
  

• All without changing total calorie intake.
  
  

Researchers believe chronotype-aligned meal timing may influence gut microbes and metabolic activity, offering a simple, scalable way to improve metabolic health and reduce obesity risk.

Step 1: find your chronotype

You could use full tools like:

• Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ)
  

• Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ)
  
  

Or take a quick 3-question quiz:

Q1: If you had no obligations for a week…

When would you naturally go to sleep and wake up?

• Bed before 10pm / Wake before 6am → Morning type
  

• Bed after 12am / Wake after 8am → Evening type
  

• In between? → Intermediate
  
  

Q2: When are you most alert and focused?

• Early morning (6–9am) → Morning type
  

• Evening or night (4–9pm / after 9pm) → Evening type
  

• Afternoon (12–4pm) → Intermediate
  
  

Q3: How easy is it for you to wake up early (before 7am)?

• Very/quite easy → Morning type
  

• Difficult/very difficult → Evening type
  
  

If you scored:

• 2 points = morning answer
  

• 1 point = intermediate
  

• 0 = evening answer
  
  

5–6 pts = Morning type
3–4 pts = Intermediate
0–2 pts = Evening type

Step 2: time your meals like this

If you’re a morning type:

1. Eat your biggest meal early… front-load calories at breakfast and lunch

2. Avoid late dinners and aim to finish eating 3–4 hours before bed

3. Ideal calorie split: 40% breakfast, 10% mid-morning snack, 30% lunch, 20% dinner

If you’re an evening type:

1. Don’t force early meals if you’re not hungry in the morning

2. Time your main meal for mid-to-late afternoon or dinner

3. Keep snacks light and later if needed

4. Ideal calorie split: 20% breakfast, 10% mid-morning snack, 30% lunch, 40% dinner

Your chronotype is more than just about sleep.. it affects circadian rhythms, gut microbiota activity, hormone patterns, and metabolic function.

When you align eating with your internal clock, your body may store less fat, use energy more efficiently, improve insulin sensitivity and even support a healthier gut microbiome

Even though researchers haven’t fully mapped the mechanism, they believe this alignment may influence microbial metabolism, unlocking better weight and fat loss outcomes.

So my homework for you… find your chronotype using the quiz above and see if you get any benefit by shifting your meal timing to match. Importantly, track changes in weight, fat mass, energy, and digestion over 4–8 weeks!

P.S For an awesome deep dive into weight loss and weight gain…check out this recent podcast I did with Prof Giles Yeo

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