The Plastic We Eat: How an Ulcerative Colitis Survivor Built a Theory of Inflammation Around Environmental Contaminants

Introduction

Howard Simon suffered from ulcerative colitis for more than 20 years. The chronic inflammatory bowel disease caused persistent symptoms that medical practitioners treated as just that: symptoms. Doctors prescribed anti-inflammatory medications, immune suppressors, and other interventions targeting the inflammation itself without addressing why his immune system was attacking his digestive tract.

Simon, who holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and served as Strategy Manager at Xerox Corporation where he helped grow an intrapreneurial division from $1 million to $140 million in annual revenue, approached his disease with the same strategic thinking he applied to business problems.

“Believing that no one should have to suffer the ravages of such diseases, he set out to understand this condition,” his biography notes.

The investigation led to MMM Theory, a framework for understanding inflammation not as a symptom of various diseases but as a response to environmental contaminants. The theory evolved beyond Simon’s original focus on ulcerative colitis to encompass heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and the full spectrum of autoimmune conditions.

Twenty years after founding Rejuvenation Science, Simon has recovered from ulcerative colitis and regularly plays beach volleyball with people half his age. The company markets to medical practitioners who use Simon’s formulations and frameworks to address chronic inflammatory conditions.

But the most provocative element of MMM Theory centers on an environmental crisis that is only beginning to receive mainstream attention: microplastics. These hydrocarbon-based contaminants have become ubiquitous in human environments. They enter bodies through air, water, and food. And according to Simon’s framework, they trigger the inflammation that underlies chronic disease.

Rejuvenation Science is commercializing a microplastics blood test that will allow physicians to measure contamination levels in patients and assess treatment effectiveness. The test represents a diagnostic tool for a problem most people do not realize they have: they are eating, drinking, and breathing plastic.

The Root Cause Framework

Simon’s critique of modern medicine centers on the distinction between symptoms and causes. “Medical practitioners diagnose inflammation as a symptom of a variety of diseases, whether it’s heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, or any of the autoimmune diseases,” he explains. “By understanding the cause of the inflammation, rather than treating the symptoms, the doctors can treat the cause.”

The conventional approach treats inflammation with anti-inflammatory drugs, immune suppressors, and other interventions designed to reduce inflammatory response. These treatments can provide relief but do not address why inflammation is occurring.

MMM Theory proposes that environmental contaminants trigger inflammatory responses. The immune system detects foreign substances and mounts defensive reactions. When contaminant exposure is chronic and ubiquitous, inflammation becomes chronic and ubiquitous.

The framework reframes dozens of seemingly unrelated diseases as variations on a single theme: the body’s response to environmental contamination. Heart disease, Alzheimer’s, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions may have different manifestations but share common root causes.

This is not entirely novel. Environmental medicine and toxicology have long explored links between contaminants and disease. What distinguishes Simon’s approach is the focus on microplastics specifically and the development of commercial products and diagnostic tools based on the theory.

The Microplastics Crisis

Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than five millimeters. They come from degraded plastic products, synthetic textiles, tire wear, and industrial processes. They are found in ocean water, drinking water, air, soil, and food.

Studies have detected microplastics in human blood, lungs, placenta, and organs. The average person ingests roughly a credit card’s worth of plastic weekly through food and water. Airborne microplastics mean we also breathe plastic particles constantly.

The health effects remain poorly understood. Plastics contain and absorb toxic chemicals including endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, and neurotoxins. Whether microplastics cause direct tissue damage, trigger immune responses, or serve as delivery mechanisms for other toxins is still being researched.

Simon’s position is unequivocal: “Environmental contaminants trigger inflammation. Many of the environmental contaminants are hydrocarbon-based, which include plastics. Microplastics are becoming ubiquitous in our environments. Exposure to these microplastics triggers inflammation.”

If accurate, this suggests that the explosion of inflammatory diseases in developed countries over the past several decades correlates with increasing plastic production and environmental contamination. The global plastic production has increased from 2 million tons in 1950 to over 400 million tons today. If a fraction of that becomes microplastic contamination, the exposure levels are massive and growing.

The Blood Test Strategy

Rejuvenation Science is proceeding with commercialization of a microplastics blood test. The diagnostic tool will allow physicians to measure contamination levels in individual patients.

The strategic value is multifaceted. First, it provides objective evidence of contamination. Most people have no idea they carry microplastics in their bloodstream. Seeing test results creates awareness and motivation for intervention.

Second, it enables tracking treatment effectiveness. If interventions designed to reduce microplastic burden actually reduce measured blood levels, physicians can validate their approaches. If levels do not change, protocols can be adjusted.

Third, it creates a commercial foundation for Rejuvenation Science’s product line. Once physicians understand that patients carry measurable microplastic contamination, recommendations for air purification, water filtration, microbiome support, and other interventions become medically justified rather than speculative wellness advice.

The test also positions Rejuvenation Science at the forefront of an emerging medical field. As research into microplastics and health effects accelerates, early diagnostic capabilities provide competitive advantage.

The regulatory pathway for the test is unclear from available information. Blood tests can be offered as laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) with less FDA oversight than approved medical devices, but the rules are evolving. How Rejuvenation Science navigates this will affect speed to market and commercial potential.

The Prevention and Treatment Protocol

Simon outlines a three-pronged approach to reducing microplastic burden and inflammation:

Environmental Modification: “We can influence our environment and reduce our exposure to these micro contaminants through purifying the air that we breathe, through purifying the water we breathe,” Simon explains.

Air purification systems can capture airborne microplastics. Water filtration reduces ingestion of plastic particles. These interventions are straightforward but require upfront investment in equipment and ongoing filter replacement.

Microbiome Support: Simon emphasizes that microbiomes exist throughout the body, not just in the gut. “There’s a unique and individual microbiome in every organ and system in the body,” he notes.

Supporting these microbiomes aids in “releasing contaminants from your body and protecting the body from absorbing contaminants from the environment.” The mechanism presumably involves microbial degradation of contaminants and competitive exclusion of harmful substances.

Rejuvenation Science markets supplements designed to support microbiome health, though specific formulations and mechanisms are not detailed in available materials.

Exposure Reduction: Since contaminants enter through skin, ingestion, and inhalation, interventions must address all three pathways. This might include choosing products with minimal plastic packaging, avoiding synthetic textiles, and reducing consumption of foods known to contain high microplastic concentrations.

The protocol is preventive and adjunctive rather than curative. Simon positions it as empowering people to reduce their inflammatory burden, which then enables the body’s natural healing processes.

The Practitioner Marketing Model

Rejuvenation Science has marketed to medical practitioners for 20 years. The company exhibits at conferences including the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, sponsors speakers, and maintains a mailing list of practitioners.

This business-to-business approach differs from direct-to-consumer supplement marketing. The company created what Simon describes as “the top practitioner multivitamin as rated in the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements,” establishing credibility in professional markets.

The model makes strategic sense for several reasons. Practitioners provide ongoing patient relationships. Once a physician adopts Rejuvenation Science protocols, multiple patients benefit, creating recurring revenue. Professional recommendations carry more weight than advertising claims.

The company operates two websites: rejuvenationscience.com for practitioners and maximumvitality.com for consumers. The dual approach allows both professional and retail channels without confusing positioning.

The practitioner focus also enables feedback loops. Physicians using the products with patients can report outcomes, suggest improvements, and identify new applications. This creates continuous product development input from the field.

The Xerox Strategic Experience

Simon’s background at Xerox Corporation provides context for his business approach. As Strategy Manager of an intrapreneurial division, he helped grow revenue from $1 million to $140 million. This is not incremental growth. It is building a substantial business within a larger corporate structure.

The experience taught strategic planning, market development, and scaling operations. These skills transferred to building Rejuvenation Science, though the industries differ dramatically.

The Xerox role also involved working within established systems while driving innovation. Intrapreneurial divisions must balance autonomy with corporate alignment. Simon learned to navigate competing interests and build coalitions for new initiatives.

Applied to the supplement and practitioner marketing space, these skills enabled Rejuvenation Science to build relationships with established physicians while promoting unconventional frameworks like MMM Theory.

The Personal Validation

Simon’s recovery from ulcerative colitis provides powerful personal validation for his approach. After 20-plus years of suffering, he now plays beach volleyball regularly with people half his age.

The n-of-1 case study is scientifically weak but commercially strong. Entrepreneurs who solve their own problems bring authenticity that pure business ventures lack. Simon did not develop MMM Theory to make money. He developed it because nothing else worked for his condition.

This resonates with practitioners and patients who have experienced similar frustration with conventional approaches that treat symptoms without addressing root causes.

The beach volleyball detail is specific and memorable. It is not just “recovered” or “improved health” but a concrete activity that requires cardiovascular fitness, joint health, and physical resilience. The imagery of a man who suffered from chronic inflammatory bowel disease for two decades now competing athletically with people half his age is compelling marketing.

Critical Questions and Challenges

Despite the compelling personal narrative and emerging research on microplastics, significant questions remain:

Scientific Validation: Where is the peer-reviewed research validating MMM Theory? Personal recovery and practitioner testimonials are not substitutes for controlled studies.

Mechanism Specificity: How exactly do microplastics trigger inflammation? What cellular and molecular pathways are involved? Vague references to immune response are insufficient.

Competitive Landscape: If microplastics are indeed a major health threat, larger supplement companies and pharmaceutical firms will enter the market. What protects Rejuvenation Science’s position?

Blood Test Validation: Have the microplastics blood test methods been validated against gold-standard laboratory techniques? What is the sensitivity and specificity?

Treatment Efficacy: Do Rejuvenation Science’s supplements actually reduce microplastic burden or inflammatory markers in controlled studies? Anecdotal evidence is inadequate.

Regulatory Risk: How will FDA or other regulators view medical claims about treating inflammation and disease through supplements and environmental modifications?

Key Takeaways

1. Root Cause Focus: Simon’s distinction between treating symptoms and addressing causes reflects a fundamental tension in medicine. Business opportunities exist at this interface.

2. Personal Problem Solving: Entrepreneurs who solve their own health problems bring authenticity and persistence that pure market opportunities do not generate.

3. Practitioner Leverage: Building business models around professional recommendations creates recurring revenue and credibility that direct consumer marketing cannot match.

4. Emerging Science Positioning: Early positioning in emerging health threats like microplastics can create first-mover advantages if the science validates concerns.

5. Strategic Integration: Simon’s Xerox experience in scaling an intrapreneurial division from $1 million to $140 million provided frameworks applicable to building Rejuvenation Science.

Looking Forward

Howard Simon has built a 20-year business around a theory of inflammation that implicates environmental contaminants, particularly microplastics, as root causes of chronic disease. The microplastics blood test represents an effort to provide objective evidence for the framework.

If research continues supporting links between microplastics and inflammation, Rejuvenation Science is well-positioned. The company has practitioner relationships, product lines, and diagnostic capabilities that address an emerging crisis.

If the microplastics-inflammation connection proves weaker than Simon suggests, or if larger companies enter the market with superior resources, Rejuvenation Science may struggle to maintain differentiation.

The personal element remains powerful regardless of scientific debates. Simon suffered for 20 years, developed a framework, recovered, and now helps others. That narrative resonates with anyone frustrated by conventional medicine’s limitations.

Whether MMM Theory becomes accepted medical framework or remains alternative approach, Simon has built a sustainable business serving practitioners and patients who find value in the model.

And he continues playing beach volleyball with people half his age, which is perhaps the most persuasive evidence of all.

Discussion Questions

1. How should businesses based on emerging scientific theories balance marketing claims with evidence limitations?

2. What role should personal recovery stories play in evaluating health interventions and business models?

3. How can companies like Rejuvenation Science protect market position if microplastics become mainstream health concern?

4. Should supplement companies be required to provide clinical evidence before making inflammation-reduction claims?

5. What regulatory framework should apply to microplastics blood tests and related diagnostic tools?

6. How transferable are strategic skills from traditional corporate environments like Xerox to health and wellness entrepreneurship?

7. What ethical obligations do health product companies have when promoting theories not yet validated by mainstream medicine?

Official Website: rejuvenationscience.com

Interview Source: This case study is based on an interview conducted by Adam Torres on the Mission Matters Podcast.

Podcast Link: podcasts.apple.com