Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Polyethylene glycol and the chiropractor
I was alerted to a video on Instagram that focuses on an individual in a hoodie holding up a bottle of a laxative he tells us should never be consumed and should be thrown in the trash. Then he introduces himself as Dr. Clint Steele, “brain and nervous system specialist.” That seemed a little off to me because that describes a neurologist, but his lingo just didn’t sound like that of a neurologist. “This guy is a chiropractor,” is the thought that sprang to my mind, having heard a number of members of that species make various outlandish claims. Of course, being a chiropractor doesn’t mean that his advice should be dismissed out of hand, but we need to exercise some skepticism since chiros have no training in pharmacology or chemistry. So let’s dig into what he wants us to throw out and why.
The bottle he waves around is Miralax, a laxative that contains polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the active ingredient. This is an “osmotic laxative” meaning that it draws water into the colon softening stool and allowing for easier expulsion. Milk of magnesia (magnesium hydroxide) is in the same category. Osmotic laxatives are gentler than the “stimulant laxatives” containing bisacodyl or senna that work by causing muscles in the colon to contract and push stool out. And why should Miralax be thrown out? Because it contains polyethylene glycol that will end up in our brain! Not only should Miralax be discarded, according to this sage, any product that ends in “lax” should suffer the same fate because it has the same ingredient. That is not true. Dulcolax, for example, contains bisacodyl as the active ingredient. But never mind that, what is the problem with polyethylene glycol?
At this point he starts waving around a Ziplock bag and describes it as being made of polyethylene, which is correct. Then he tells us that polyethylene has been found in the brain, and that levels are ten times higher in the brains of Alzheimer’s victims. This, he adds, means that they have as much plastic in the brain as is found in a plastic spoon, which he now emphatically brandishes. However, the study that attempted to quantify plastic in the brain has been widely criticized for the methodology used, and even if it is correct, it does not prove that the plastic causes the disease. Reverse causation may be at play, meaning that a diseased brain may be more prone to retaining plastics.
Now let’s get to the point. In theory, it may be possible for nanoparticles of polyethylene to chip off a Ziplock bag and enter the body. But this is not possible from polyethylene glycol! Despite its name, and contrary to Steele declaring that it has a base of polyethylene, PEG and polyethylene are totally different substances. Polyethylene glycol is a polymer of ethylene glycol, not of ethylene. Chiropractors have no training in chemistry, but even a chemical neophyte can look at the structures of the two substances and see that PEG cannot give rise to polyethylene. PEG is a safe laxative. Dr. Steele claims to improve people’s lives by improving their brain function. He is not a good example of his supposed skills in that endeavour.
Polyethylene glycol and the chiropractor
I was alerted to a video on Instagram that focuses on an individual in a hoodie holding up a bottle of a laxative he tells us should never be consumed and should be thrown in the trash. Then he introduces himself as Dr. Clint Steele, “brain and nervous system specialist.” That seemed a little off to me because that describes a neurologist, but his lingo just didn’t sound like that of a neurologist. “This guy is a chiropractor,” is the thought that sprang to my mind, having heard a number of members of that species make various outlandish claims. Of course, being a chiropractor doesn’t mean that his advice should be dismissed out of hand, but we need to exercise some skepticism since chiros have no training in pharmacology or chemistry. So let’s dig into what he wants us to throw out and why.
The bottle he waves around is Miralax, a laxative that contains polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the active ingredient. This is an “osmotic laxative” meaning that it draws water into the colon softening stool and allowing for easier expulsion. Milk of magnesia (magnesium hydroxide) is in the same category. Osmotic laxatives are gentler than the “stimulant laxatives” containing bisacodyl or senna that work by causing muscles in the colon to contract and push stool out. And why should Miralax be thrown out? Because it contains polyethylene glycol that will end up in our brain! Not only should Miralax be discarded, according to this sage, any product that ends in “lax” should suffer the same fate because it has the same ingredient. That is not true. Dulcolax, for example, contains bisacodyl as the active ingredient. But never mind that, what is the problem with polyethylene glycol?
At this point he starts waving around a Ziplock bag and describes it as being made of polyethylene, which is correct. Then he tells us that polyethylene has been found in the brain, and that levels are ten times higher in the brains of Alzheimer’s victims. This, he adds, means that they have as much plastic in the brain as is found in a plastic spoon, which he now emphatically brandishes. However, the study that attempted to quantify plastic in the brain has been widely criticized for the methodology used, and even if it is correct, it does not prove that the plastic causes the disease. Reverse causation may be at play, meaning that a diseased brain may be more prone to retaining plastics.
Now let’s get to the point. In theory, it may be possible for nanoparticles of polyethylene to chip off a Ziplock bag and enter the body. But this is not possible from polyethylene glycol! Despite its name, and contrary to Steele declaring that it has a base of polyethylene, PEG and polyethylene are totally different substances. Polyethylene glycol is a polymer of ethylene glycol, not of ethylene. Chiropractors have no training in chemistry, but even a chemical neophyte can look at the structures of the two substances and see that PEG cannot give rise to polyethylene. PEG is a safe laxative. Dr. Steele claims to improve people’s lives by improving their brain function. He is not a good example of his supposed skills in that endeavour.
