I’m a health expert – you eat a credit card worth of plastic a week but switching to tap water still won’t save you

HEALTH experts have warned that you are ingesting a credit card's worth of plastic a week and that even drinking tap water isn't helping.

Scientists have revealed that nanoplastics are ruining your gut and that people drinking from plastic water bottles are taking in as much as 90,000 plastic particles per year.

Recent studies show humans consume about 5 grams of small plastic particles (MNPs )every week, which is about the weight of a credit card, according to the .

The nanoplastics, which are less than 0.001 millimeters in size, and microplastics, which span 0.0001 to 5 millimeters, can change the gut microbiome composition.

The changes in composition are linked to metabolic diseases like diabetes, obesity, and chronic liver disease.

The adverse effects of the NMPs can be especially harmful to those who have chronic diseases, says Lukas Kenner, Department of Pathology MedUni Vienna in the Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"A healthy gut is more likely to ward off the health risk. But local changes in the gastrointestinal tract, such as those present in chronic disease or even negative stress, could make them susceptible to the harmful effects of MNPs."

Once ingested, the plastic particles trigger an immune response and activate inflammation in the gut.

The study found further evidence to suggest nanoplastics are associated with biochemical processes involved in the formation of cancer.

Surprisingly, some NMPs can be seen with the naked eye, but most go unseen.

Anyone drinking the recommended 1.5 to 2 liters of water a day from plastic bottles can ingest 90,000 plastic particles per year.

Drinking tap water has its own risks.

Those who drank the recommended amount of water a day from the tap ingested about 40,000 plastic particles a year depending on where they are.