Scientists found a $10 food that removes 87% of nanoplastics from your body

Nanoplastics are in your blood, your brain, and your organs. Scientists confirmed in 2025 that human brain samples now contain an entire spoon's worth of plastic particles — more than a decade ago. What was once a distant environmental concern is now a measurable presence inside your body, and researchers are scrambling to figure out what to do about it.

A new study published in the journal Bioresource Technology offers one of the most promising biological answers yet: a specific strain of bacteria found in kimchi can bind to nanoplastics in the gut and help your body flush them out before they accumulate in organs.

What nanoplastics are doing to your body

Nanoplastics measure less than 1 micrometer — smaller than most bacteria. Unlike microplastics, which your gut can often trap and expel, nanoplastics are small enough to pass through the intestinal barrier entirely. Once they cross, they travel to the liver, kidneys, and brain.

A 2025 review published in PubMed confirmed that micro- and nanoplastics accumulate in multiple organ systems and are associated with inflammation and functional disruption. Stanford Medicine reported in January 2025 that animal and cell studies link microplastic exposure to cancer, heart attacks, and reproductive problems.

We ingest nanoplastics constantly — through packaged food, tap water, bottled water, seafood, and even the air. A 2024 Columbia University study found that a single liter of bottled water contains, on average, 240,000 plastic particles, the majority of which are nanoplastics. Your gut is the first line of defense, and right now it has very few biological tools to fight back.

The kimchi bacteria discovery

Researchers at the World Institute of Kimchi (WiKim) in South Korea isolated a strain of lactic acid bacteria from kimchi called Leuconostoc mesenteroides CBA3656. They tested how effectively it could bind to polystyrene nanoplastics — one of the most common types found in human blood and tissue.

Under standard lab conditions, strain CBA3656 achieved an adsorption efficiency of 87%, nearly identical to the reference strain they compared it against (85%). But here is where it gets interesting: when conditions were changed to mimic the actual human intestine — the acidic, enzyme-rich environment where most probiotics struggle — the reference strain collapsed to just 3% binding efficiency. Strain CBA3656 held steady at 57%.

That gap matters enormously. Most bacteria lose their grip in gut conditions. This one does not.

What happened in the mouse study

The researchers fed strain CBA3656 to germ-free mice — mice with no existing gut microbiome, so the effects of the probiotic could be isolated cleanly. The results were clear: mice that received the kimchi bacterium excreted more than double the nanoplastics in their stool compared to mice that did not receive it.

The bacteria appear to work by latching onto nanoplastic particles in the intestine before they can cross into the bloodstream. By binding tightly and staying bound even under intestinal conditions, the bacteria essentially carry the plastics out of the body through waste.

The study was published in Bioresource Technology (Volume 447, 2026, DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2026.134234), which is ranked No. 1 in Agricultural Engineering with an impact factor of 9.0.

The catch: you cannot buy this strain yet

The exact strain — CBA3656 — is not available as a standalone supplement on any label right now. The scientific community has identified it, but it has not been commercialized into a product consumers can target directly.

What you can do is eat kimchi that is most likely to contain high concentrations of live Leuconostoc mesenteroides — the species the strain belongs to. That means:

• Traditionally fermented kimchi, not pasteurized shelf-stable versions (pasteurization kills the bacteria)
• Raw kimchi sold refrigerated, not in shelf-stable jars with a long ambient shelf life
• Kimchi from reputable fermenters who use traditional lacto-fermentation methods

The Leuconostoc mesenteroides species is naturally present in most real kimchi fermentation. Whether the specific CBA3656 strain is in your jar is impossible to know without testing, but eating live fermented kimchi gives you the best odds.

Why this matters more than it sounds

Most approaches to nanoplastic removal focus on filtration — advanced water filters, activated carbon, UV treatment. These help reduce what enters your body. But once nanoplastics are already in your system, there have been no practical biological strategies to accelerate their removal.

This research opens a different door: using food-derived microbes to intercept nanoplastics at the point of absorption. The researchers themselves called it "a new biological approach to address this emerging challenge."

Lead researcher Dr. Se Hee Lee noted: "Plastic pollution is increasingly recognized not only as an environmental issue but as a public health concern. Our findings suggest that microorganisms derived from traditional fermented foods could represent a new biological approach to address this emerging challenge."

The study adds to a growing body of evidence that fermented foods do more than support digestion — they may actively help the body manage environmental toxins.

How to use the Tallow app to find clean kimchi

Not all kimchi is the same. Many mass-market brands have additives, preservatives, or go through pasteurization that eliminates the live bacteria you are looking for. The Tallow app lets you scan kimchi products and see exactly what is in them — including whether they contain preservatives, added vinegar (a sign of fake fermentation), or other ingredients that should not be in real kimchi.

If you are trying to reduce your nanoplastic load, the ingredient label matters. Tallow can help you find the real thing.