I've been buying and drinking bottled water all this time... Turns out it might be a culprit for high blood pressure?

Research findings suggest that regularly drinking water stored in plastic bottles may cause high blood pressure. Additionally, microplastics may pose a greater risk to our health than previously thought, warranting caution.

Recently, the international academic journal 'Microplastics' published the experimental results of a research team from Danube Private University in Austria's Department of Medicine.

The research team at Danube Private University in Austria had eight experimental participants drink tap water instead of water stored in plastic bottles or glass bottles for two weeks.

The research team measured the participants' blood pressure changes during this period. As a result, they found that diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly. The lowered blood pressure was maintained even after four weeks. The research team analyzed that reducing plastic usage decreases the number of microplastic particles in the bloodstream, which in turn lowers blood pressure.

Microplastics are usually created when plastics are exposed to ultraviolet light or broken down through physical friction. These tiny particles then exist in various parts of our body, such as the heart, liver, and blood vessels, through multiple pathways.

In particular, recent research findings indicate that microplastics can cause hypertension and increase the risk of developing heart disease, so extra caution is recommended especially for those with high blood pressure.