Key Clinical Points about PFAS Chemicals
The PFAS term encompasses thousands of per-and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals which are industrially produced for surface tension lowering or “non-stick” properties. PFAS offer water, oil, and stain-repellent capabilities and other friction-reduction benefits. PFAS are broadly used in aviation, automotive, and electronics industries, as well as in consumer goods such as cosmetics, paints, fast food packaging, carpets, floor polishes, herbicides, cookware, outdoor gear, and firefighting agents.
Due to widespread applications, humans are often chronically exposed to PFAS daily.
PFAS chemical can remain in the environment, humans, and wildlife for a very long time and therefore have become known as the “forever chemicals which impacts the body’s ability to metabolize or detoxify them and contributes to their adverse physiological effects.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) monitor and conduct exposure assessments of PFAS chemicals in urine and blood samples to identify American’s exposure to PFAS. One NHANES biomonitoring study found PFAS in 97% of samples from American adults and adolescents, while another detected PFAS in 60% of children age 3-11 years old. It is unknown what is a ‘safe’ level of PFAS exposure, and research is ongoing on the short- and long-term harms to humans from PFAS exposure.
As Americans of all ages and stages of the lifecycle are exposed to the harms of PFAS, many may benefit from monitoring their exposure to PFAS. This includes those who live in areas with known PFAS contamination or who may be exposed to PFAS through work.
PFAS are present everywhere in the environment and can have significant health impacts on the body. They’re found in our environment due to contamination from PFAS manufacturing and from direct exposure to products containing PFAS. The most notorious source of PFAS is non-stick cookware.
However, they’re also found in many other sources, including anti-stain coatings on furniture, food package linings, seafood and animal products, water-repellant clothing, dental floss, ski waxes, and contaminated water.
These are products that many people use often, and exposure can significantly impact an individual’s health.
There is increasing evidence that PFAS exposure has the potential to harm multiple systems, including endocrine, neurological, respiratory, immune, urinary, gastrointestinal, reproductive, and cardiovascular systems.
Understanding an individual’s PFAS levels is essential to tailoring lifestyle, dietary, supplement, and medication interventions to address any increased risk factors for disease from PFAS exposure.
Why Testing for PFAS Chemical is Important?
Exposure to PFAS is constant in modern society. PFAS bioaccumulation (build up) can increase the risk of long-term harms.
Toxins can bioaccumulate and persist in the body for decades, breaking down slowly or not at all. Toxic build-up can impair
detoxification, compromise immunity, and increase oxidative stress.
Testing for PFAS can reveal the status of toxic metabolites in the body.
Here is the test I recommend from Vibrant Wellness:
https://www.vibrant-wellness.com/test/PFASChemicalTest
Vibrant Welness PFAS chemicals panel is a urine-based test that measures the levels of 21 different PFAS chemicals present in the urine and will aid in identifying toxicity from environmental sources.
Knowing your PFAS exposure levels is important.
The Following Conditions May Involve Elevated PFAS Exposure Levels
- Immune dysfunction
- Infertility
- Inflammatory conditions
- Intestinal permeability
- Kidney disease
- Liver disease
- Low infant birth weight
- Memory impairments
- Neurological dysfunction
- Obesity
- Osteoporosis
- Pre-eclampsia
- Thyroid disease
- Ulcerative colitis
- ADHD
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Cancer
- Cognitive decline
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Dyslipidemia
- Gastrointestinal dysfunction
- Gestational diabetes
- Hormone imbalances
- Hyperlipidemia
- Hypertension
How to Test Your Water for
If you are concerned about PFAS and your utility does not yet test for them, or if you get your water from a well, you can have your water tested by an EPA-certified lab. Two companies that can test your water include: MyTapScore and Cyclopure.
How to Reduce Your Exposure to PFAS Chemicals
Drinking water
Use a water filter with activated carbon or reverse osmosis membranes to remove PFAS from drinking water. Reverse osmosis (RO) separation can be up to 99% effective at removing certain PFAS. These filters can be used in homes, hospitals, or buildings, and can be whole home systems, point of use systems, or filter pitchers.
Food
Reduce heat when using non-stick cookware, and avoid preheating it or using it in an oven above 400°F. Don’t use steel wool or other scraping cleaners on non-stick cookware, as this can release the coating into your food. Healthier options include ceramic and enameled cast iron cookware, both of which are durable, easy to cleanand completely inert, which means they won’t release any harmful chemicals into yourhome.
Clothing and textiles
Avoid buying clothing, curtains, upholstery, and carpeting that are labeled as water-, grease-, or stain-resistant, unless they are advertised as PFAS-free. You can also shop from companies that have committed to not using PFAS in their products. If you already own clothing or textiles that are treated with PFAS, you can vacuum frequently with a HEPA filter to remove household dust that may contain PFAS.
Microwave popcorn
PFAS may be present in the inner coating of the bag and may migrate to the oil from the packaging during heating. Instead, use “old-fashioned”stovetop non-GMO popcorn.
Personal care products containing PTFE, “fluoro” or “perfluoro” ingredients such as Oral B Glide floss
Other activities
When spending time in lakes, streams, or rivers, wash your hands before eating if you’ve touched foam, and avoid accidentally swallowing water. After being in these bodies of water, you should also rinse or shower, as should your pets.
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Strategies to Reduce PFAS from the Body
PFAS tend to remain unchanged in the body for long periods of time. PFOA and PFOS stay in the body for many years. It takes nearly four years for the level in the body to go down by half.
They are excreted through urine, menstrual blood, breast milk, and stool but not through sweat. Most of the detoxification is through the liver.
Nutraceuticals/Supplements That May Be of Value to Consider to Reduce PFAS Chemical in the Body
As of 2022, there is no known treatment to remove PFAS chemicals from the body. However, some studies suggest that certain supplements may help reduce the accumulation of PFAS in the body, including:
Folate
A B vitamin found in many foods, folate may help reduce the amount of PFAS in blood serum. This could help minimize adverse generational effects. The studies indicate folate has some ability to reduce the accumulation of PFAS in blood serum, thus minimizing adverse generational effects. Folate, or folic acid, is a B vitamin found in many foods
Probiotics
Some studies suggest that probiotics may help protect against the toxicity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS), but there is currently no direct evidence that probiotics affect serum PFAS levels.
Here are some probiotics that may help:
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB)
LAB can mitigate the toxic effects of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). LAB has high antioxidant activity and can bind to toxins, which can help protect the intestine and reduce inflammatory cell infiltration in the colon tissues of mice exposed to PFOS. LAB can also bind to and remove other toxic substances, such as cadmium, lead, manganese, benzo(a)pyrene, phthalates, and bisphenol A.
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
This probiotic can modulate the neurological toxicities of perfluorobutanesulfonate in zebrafish.
Cholestyramine
A cholesterol-lowering drug, cholestyramine may reduce the amount of PFAS in the blood of people who have been highly exposed by up to 60%
In a 2021 study, researchers found that cholestyramine significantly lowered serum PFAS concentrations, particularly for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). Another study found that rats treated with cholestyramine for 21 days had an 87% reduction in plasma PFOS levels compared to untreated rats.
Cholestyramine is an Anion Exchange Inhibitor (AER) that forms insoluble complexes with bile acid in the gut, which prevents reabsorption and increases fecal loss of cholesterol. It’s possible that AERs could also reduce the biliary reabsorption of PFAS.
Additional Detox Strategies to Reduce Total Toxic Burdent
There are numerous ways of reducing the overall total toxin burden on the body, which frees the body’s natural mechanisms to deal with PFAS buildup. There are multiple strategies to help the body break down unwanted chemicals and eliminate them
Far Infrared Sauna – Sweating is one of the best routes out of the body for toxic chemicals. While it has not been proven that saunas can help us eliminate PFAS, saunas can help reduce amounts of other toxins. Regular use of saunas eliminates more toxins, allowing the body’s immune system, liver, and other automatic detoxifying mechanisms to address PFAS.
Note – It is important to pay particular attention to hydration and electrolyte replacement if saunas are used regularly.
Toxin Binders: Many known oral supplements bind toxins to them and escort them out of the body. Activated charcoal is one of the most popular binders; it’s even used in hospitals to reduce the impact of drug overdoses The activated charcoal can’t be digested, so any toxins that bind to it in the stomach get eliminated along with the charcoal.
Caution: Activated charcoal can attract medications, metal-based vitamins, minerals, and health-giving substances. A physician should suggest activated charcoal’s appropriateness, timing, and duration, especially if you are taking heart medications. If activated charcoal is taken for long periods, nutritional supplements may be needed to go with it.
Ultraviolet light:There is some evidence that ultraviolet light can help degrade environmental PFAS (outside of the body) when in the presence of iodide
Dr. Grisanti’s Comments:
I recommend the following documentary
The Poison in Us All — Investigating the “ForeverChemicals” Scandal
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2023-11-08/the-poison-in-us-all
You can find more useful tips in the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) GUIDE TO AVOIDING PFAS CHEMICALS
//www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/EWG-AvoidingPFCs.pdf
PFAS Chemicals are challenging to reduce or totally eliminate from the body however with the information presented in this article there are possible answers to reduce the PFAS such as folate, probiotics and Cholestyramine. The overall focus is to be prudent to not be in a position to accumulate PFAS in the first place. Second it is important to reduce your overall toxin load of any and all chemicals.
With that said, I strongly encourage those reading to consider getting tested for Total Toxin Exposures.
The test I recommend is called Total Tox Burden Test from Vibrant Wellness
https://www.vibrant-wellness.com/test/TotalToxBurden
Attribution:
Authored by Ron Grisanti, D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S., DIANM, CFMP
Original article can be found at: https://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/public/2046print.cfm
