Latest news with #ClarifyClinic
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
What science REALLY thinks of Orlando Bloom's wacky blood cleaning procedure
It's a wellness obsession that has hooked Hollywood A-listers and longevity gurus alike—getting rid of microplastics in the body. The particles—which have been linked to cancer—have been found in human blood, semen, lungs, breast milk, bone marrow, placenta, testicles and even the brain. Scientists have also discovered traces of the tiny plastics fragments, measuring less than 5mm, everywhere from the ice in Antarctica to the summit of Mount Everest. But when actor Orlando Bloom, 48, was pictured having a £10,000 treatment last month to remove microplastics from his blood, it thrust the subject back into the spotlight. The 48-year-old, who once wrote that his morning routine involved having 'brain octane oil' for breakfast and 20 minutes of Buddhist chanting, praised the London clinic's two-hour treatment. Bloom, who starred in film franchises like Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean, hailed it as a 'new way of removing microplastics and toxic chemicals from our bodies'. However, dozens of experts have since expressed scepticism regarding the claims of Clarify Clinic's, arguing that the basement clinic just off Harley Street, has little 'reliable evidence' for how effective the procedure is. Fresh research, however, has now suggested there may other anti-aging benefits to the method, known medically as a blood plasma exchange. So what is the truth? And should we really be worried about microplastics in the blood? A blood plasma exchange works by extracting blood from the arm, where it is then separated into its different components, red blood cells and plasma. Plasma is the pale yellow liquid that carries blood cells, proteins, and other substances throughout the body. This plasma is cleansed of 'forever chemicals, microplastics, inflammation and the poisons and toxins', according to Clarify Clinic's co-founder David Cohen, before it is put back in the body with the red blood cells. This is similar, in principle, to an approach used by the NHS to treat conditions such as myeloma, multiple sclerosis and some types of leukaemia to remove abnormal proteins and harmful substances from the blood. But like all medical procedures it carries potential risks. Common side effects can include nausea, fatigue and dizziness. More serious, although rare reactions include infections from bacterial contamination and patients can also suffer electrolyte imbalances that can make them ill. For this reason, the benefits of the procedure are believed to only outweigh the risks for life-threatening medical conditions. Additionally, using the technique as form of blood-washing for microplastics has not been tested in randomised trials. Professor Edzard Ernst, a world-renowned expert in complementary medicine at the University of Exeter, said: 'I am not aware of reliable evidence showing that the procedure has any of the claimed effects on human health. 'I am not even sure that it removes anything from the patient other than a lot of cash.' British medic Dr Michael Mrozinski, who boasts over 94,000 followers on Instagram account where he calls out 'medical misinformation' also took aim at the practice. 'Orlando Bloom paid thousands for a "microplastic detox" where his blood was filtered through plastic tubing, using plastic cannulas, into a plastic machine, to remove microplastics,' he said. 'You couldn't script this better if you tried. The wellness industry has officially eaten itself.' Dr Dan Baumgardt, a GP and senior lecturer in the school of physiology, pharmacology and neuroscience at the University of Bristol, also told The Times: 'Any procedure requiring intravenous cannulation and separation of blood constituents is not going to be risk-free. 'Simple cannulation carries a risk of infection, haematoma and extravasation [the leakage of fluid from a vein into the surrounding tissue], and with any procedure it's important that the risks don't outweigh the intended benefits.' A spokesperson for Clarify Clinic said: 'The biological plausibility of removing synthetic particles from circulation, and their known contributions to inflammation and toxicity, provides a clear scientific rationale.' No larger clinical trials assessing blood plasma exchange impact on microplastics, specifically, have yet been carried out. One recent trial, however, has found it could slow biological ageing. The small study of 42 participants, discovered that those who underwent the treatment over the course of a few months had lower concentrations of biological compounds that accumulate with age, compared with a control group. This essentially means they were ageing more slowly, keeping their biological age lower. Writing in the journal Aging Cell, US researchers said: this is the first study in humans to report a decrease in biological age by blood plasma exchange using well-validated epigenetic metrics of biological age.' The trial, however, was sponsored by Circulate Health, a plasma exchange startup. Although wary of the idea of microplastic blood detoxing, experts have repeatedly raised the alarm over people's increased exposure to microplastics. Invisible to the human eye, microplastics are tiny plastic fragments as small as two micrometres, or two-thousandths of a millimetre. These particles make their way into food, water supplies and even into the air as plastic products degrade over time. Studies have suggested that they could lodge in sensitive blood vessels and trigger heart attacks, or cause Alzheimer's disease if they get in the brain. However, other experts have argued scientists are still not measuring microplastic levels correctly. In a commentary published in the journal Nature earlier this year, four scientists said human tissue samples may be being contaminated from the plastic test tubes and dishes used in laboratories.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Orlando Bloom's just paid £10,000 to have his blood 'cleaned' - but here are 7 much cheaper ways to reduce the quantity of microplastics in your body
At 48, Orlando Bloom still looks as fresh-faced (and drop-dead gorgeous) as when he started out in Hollywood three decades ago. It's unsurprising, then, that the Lord of the Rings star is no stranger to rejuvenating – and often intrusive – procedures, from purging his body with frog poison to ingesting bentonite clay to cleanse his digestive system. But the actor's latest treatment might be his wildest yet. Bloom headed to London 's Clarify Clinic for a £10,000 procedure where a machine supposedly removed the microplastics from his blood.
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Orlando Bloom undergoes £10k treatment to remove microplastics and toxic chemicals from his blood
Orlando Bloom underwent a £10k treatment to remove microplastics and toxic chemicals from his blood at Clarify Clinic on Monday. The actor, 48, told his fans on Instagram he was getting the two hour procedure at the clinic in Cavendish Square, Marylebone. While he was connected to an apheresis machine with single use, sterilized, transparent tubing, he posed for a photo to promote the treatment. He wrote: 'Thanks for the help @clarifyclinics - a new way of removing microplastics and toxic chemicals from our bodies'. The treatment can effectively reduce inflammation by removing microplastics, forever chemicals, and toxins from your blood with CE marked Clari by Marker. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. A single session of the Clari procedure start at £9,750. Last week, Orlando teased the possibility of 'getting the band back together' for a new Pirates Of The Caribbean movie on This Morning. It's been eight years since the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie - 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales. Orlando shot to fame as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings franchise, and quickly parlayed that into playing Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. There has been talk of a sixth film ever since Dead Me Tell No Tales debuted, with a report in April claiming the next film would be a reboot, possibly without Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. While nothing has been confirmed about a sixth film by Disney yet, producer Jerry Bruckheimer hinted last year that there were two separate Pirates movies being developed, one with Johnny and one without. While promoting his new film Deep Cover with Bryce Dallas Howard and Nick Mohammed, he was asked about the future of the franchise. 'Well, I don't know, I can't say anything at the moment because I really don't know, but there's definitely...' and when asked if it was about 'availability,' he said it was, 'nothing like that.' Orlando recently appeared on This Morning, promoting his new film Deep Cover with Bryce Dallas Howard and Nick Mohammed, where he was asked about the future of the franchise 'I think they're trying to work out what it would all look like, I personally think it'd be great to get the band back together. 'That would be great, but there are always different ideas, and so we'll see where it lands,' Orlando revealed. The franchise clearly still holds a beloved place in Orlando's heart, since he responded to his co-star Keira Knightley's recent comments about the films. She told The Times back in November that the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was, 'making and breaking' her simultaneously. 'I was seen as s*** because of them, and yet because they did so well, I was given the opportunity to do the films that I ended up getting Oscar nominations for,' Keira said. She added that they were, 'the most successful films I'll ever be a part of, and they were the reason that I was taken down publicly. So they're a very confused place in my head.' Orlando responded in Entertainment Weekly, stating, ''It was such a huge moment in time that is almost like… it feels almost like another lifetime now.' 'I definitely understand where Keira was coming from, and she does wonderful things,' the actor said, 'I have a lot of positive takeaways.' The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise - spawned from the hit Disney theme parks ride of the same name - has grossed over $4.5 billion worldwide. It was also the first ever movie franchise to spawn two separate $1 billion films - Dead Man's Chest ($1.1 billion) and On Stranger Tides ($1.046 billion). While Johnny has disappeared from the spotlight for the past few years after his legal battles with Amber Heard, it would be interesting to see if he would in fact return as Captain Jack Sparrow for a new Pirates movie.
WIRED
02-04-2025
- Health
- WIRED
This Startup Says It Can Clean Your Blood of Microplastics
Apr 2, 2025 7:00 AM The elective medical industry is cashing in on plastic pollution fears, but the evidence of harm from microplastics is still deeply uncertain. Photograph: Courtesy of Clarify Clinics This is a non-exhaustative list of places microplastics have been found: Mount Everest, the Mariana Trench, Antarctic snow, clouds, plankton, turtles, whales, cattle, birds, tap water, beer, salt, human plancentas, semen, breast milk, feces, testicles, livers, brains, arteries, and blood. My blood, specifically. In early March I milked a few drops out of my fingertips and sent the sample to be tested for microplastics. I was in the London office of Clarify Clinics—a firm that offers to cleanse your blood of microplastics, forever chemicals, and other toxins, in treatments that start at £9,750 ($12,636). Each week around 10 to 15 people walk into the basement clinic just off Harley Street—a road famed for its private clinics and wealthy clientele. After a consultation, the patients settle down in an armchair for the treatment. Blood is drawn from a cannula into a machine that separates out the plasma from blood cells. That plasma is filtered through a column that is supposed to trap microplastics and other undesirable chemicals, before being mixed back with the blood cells and pumped back into the patient. All-in-all the process runs for up to two hours—enough time to process 50 to 80 percent of the blood plasma volume. 'Once it's running, you feel nothing. It's very comfortable,' says Yael Cohen, CEO of Clarify Clinic. 'Patients take calls, do Zooms, watch movies, sleep. The ones who sleep are my favorite.' They come for all kinds of reasons, Cohen says: Some are suffering with chronic fatigue, others with brain fog or long Covid. The clinic also runs treatments marketed toward people on Ozempic-style weight-loss drugs, looking to conceive, or ward off dementia. What Clarify sells them is the hope of easing their symptoms by ridding their blood of microplastics, or other potential contaminants such as PFAS chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and pesticides. But the science on how microplastics affect our health is still far from conclusive. A 2022 WHO report into microplastics concluded that there wasn't yet enough evidence to figure out whether they posed a risk to human health. We don't know microplastics are safe, the report concluded, but we also don't know the risks they might pose. 'The dose makes the poison,' says Frederic Béen, an environmental contaminants researcher at the Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment. 'That's the reason why it is important to determine accurately how much microplastics or any other type of environmental contaminants humans are exposed to.' There have been an onslaught of scientific papers that have tracked microplastics to every inch of the Earth's surface and deep within our bodies, but very few attempt to tease out the impact these have on our health. A 2022 review article found that microplastics were associated with harm to human cells, but didn't examine actual health outcomes in living humans. A study in 2024 found that people who had microplastics in the fatty plaque within their carotid arteries had a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes than people who didn't have microplastics in their arteries. But the 2024 study didn't establish any causal link between microplastics and health. The study was only observational, so it couldn't prove that the presence of microplastics caused the higher risk of death for certain patients. There were also differences between the two groups studied—patients with microplastics in their arteries were more likely to be men, have cardiovascular disease, and smoke. It could be that these factors—or another unknown influence—were actually causing the difference in risk of death between the two groups. The same uncertainties apply when it comes to measuring microplastics. I wasn't particularly scientific when I milked that blood from my fingertip. Plastic fibers from my clothing or packaging could easily have made their way into my sample, and the same is true when any sample is analyzed, whether it's from the environment or a human body. Béen and his colleagues go to extreme lengths to try to avoid contamination when they're analyzing blood samples for microplastics. All of the equipment they use to take samples is plastic-free, the air in their lab is filtered, and they only wear cotton when working with the samples. 'What we do is to make sure there is no plastic contamination, or to minimize it as much as possible given that microplastics are everywhere.' We live in such a plastic-saturated world that it's difficult to measure microplastics accurately, let alone link them to health outcomes. But Cohen says that her patients report higher energy levels or better sleep after trying the treatment. Cohen tracks her sleep quality on an Oura ring and says that before the treatment a score of 70 would be good for her, but in the six weeks after she tried the treatment she hadn't dropped below 90—which, according to the Oura website, indicates 'optimal' sleep. Most of the patients come to the clinic through word of mouth. 'People are posting it, they're talking about it,' Cohen says. Patients post their blood microplastic results online before and after the treatment. 'I think it's a badge of honor to be doing your future self a favor,' she says. Blood microplastic cleansing is just the latest in a long line of treatments based on uncertain evidence targeting wealthy individuals worried about their health. In the Bahamas, people pay tens of thousands of dollars for stem cell injections of unproven benefit. Longevity influencer Bryan Johnson has touted the benefits of total plasma exchange—removing plasma from the blood and supplementing it with proteins and antibodies on a regular basis. 'He's a big platform, and he is spending a lot of time and energy finding the things that move the needle the most,' says Cohen. In extreme cases of exposure to pollutants, some form of blood cleaning can be necessary. Earlier this year, residents of Jersey, an island in the English Channel, were recommended bloodletting after firefighting foams containing PFAS polluted drinking water supplies. High levels of PFAS exposure have been linked to some cancers and issues with brain development and thyroid function. Bloodletting would clean the blood over time by removing contaminated blood and allowing the body to replenish the blood naturally. But for most people we simply don't know what their blood microplastics levels are, or whether they are anything to worry about. My fingerprick test found around 190 microplastic particles per milliliter of blood, a result which apparently put me at the low end of the range of possible results. I emailed Cohen to tell her I was pleased with my results. 'Glad you were pleasantly surprised, but that's still around a million particles in your circulatory system!' she responded.
