Plastics and PFAS (Forever Chemicals) are doing bad stuff in our bodies.
Now, researchers have found a way to help eliminate them.
From Dr. Mercola:
“Most people have no idea they’re carrying around a hidden chemical load that their bodies weren’t designed to handle.
But the reality is, we’re living in a world saturated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS.
These synthetic compounds are engineered to resist heat, water and oil — and they don’t just stay on the surface.
Once these substances enter your bloodstream, they’re incredibly hard to get rid of.
That’s why researchers are searching for real, practical solutions.
Many believe that detoxing PFAS is a lost cause — that once they’re in your body, they’re in for good.
But new evidence suggests otherwise.”
“Story at-a-glance:
A specific type of fiber called beta-glucan, found in oats and barley, was shown to reduce levels of harmful PFAS chemicals in the blood within just four weeks
Participants who consumed beta-glucan experienced significant drops in legacy PFAS compounds like PFOA and PFOS, which are linked to cancer and hormone disruption
The fiber group was the only one to show a meaningful reduction in the seven most high-risk PFAS chemicals identified by the National Academies of Sciences, including those that raise your risk for thyroid disease, cancer and ulcerative colitis
In a follow-up study using mice, animals exposed to high PFAS levels but fed beta-glucan had lower blood PFAS, improved fat metabolism and less liver stress compared to controls
The key to beta-glucan’s effect is its gel-forming action in your gut, which traps PFAS and interrupts their reabsorption cycle, allowing your body to eliminate them through stool.”
This is fantastic and incredible news to me.
I, like others, had thought this was a losing battle.
So wonderful to learn otherwise.
Link https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/07/17/fiber-everyday-foods-remove-forever-chemicals.aspx?ui=7ea4da0ed61b0f3628d7fb086ec638e7862152d19546d500356f05c69da3f629&sd=20110222&cid_source=dnl&cid_medium=email&cid_content=art1HL&cid=20250717_HL2&foDate=true&mid=DM1776442&rid=341816989
Did some research for sources:
https://www.amazon.ca/Sunny-Boy-NutraStat-Beta-Glucan-Concentrate/dp/B086G9JJGV/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
Also
PromOat® Oat Beta-Glucan
https://www.lantmannenbiorefineries.com/food-ingredients/products/oat-beta-glucan/promoat/
Have not tried either and receive no compensation.
And in case the link is outdated, the transcript:
“Most people have no idea they’re carrying around a hidden chemical load that their bodies weren’t designed to handle. But the reality is, we’re living in a world saturated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS. These synthetic compounds are engineered to resist heat, water and oil — and they don’t just stay on the surface.
Once these substances enter your bloodstream, they’re incredibly hard to get rid of. That’s why researchers are searching for real, practical solutions. Many believe that detoxing PFAS is a lost cause — that once they’re in your body, they’re in for good. But new evidence suggests otherwise.
It turns out your gut, not your liver or kidneys, is one key to turning this around. And the solution doesn’t involve harsh protocols or extreme diets. It starts with something as simple as how you digest your food — and whether the right kind of fiber is present to help carry these chemicals out.
If you’ve ever wondered why you’re dealing with persistent fatigue, inflammation, hormone problems or chronic digestive issues, PFAS could be part of the story. These chemicals hijack your system slowly and silently. But there’s now a realistic path to lowering that burden, and it starts by focusing on what’s happening in your gut.
Four Weeks of Fiber Lowered Toxic PFAS in the Blood
A study published in Environmental Health evaluated 72 adult men with elevated LDL cholesterol who were already enrolled in a trial testing oat beta-glucan’s effects on cholesterol.1
Beta-glucans are a type of soluble fiber found in oats and barley that form a gel-like substance in your gut, helping to trap and remove compounds like bile acids and, as this study explored, PFAS as well. PFAS chemicals, also known as “forever chemicals,” are notoriously hard to remove from the body, so the researchers wanted to know: could a fiber intervention make a dent?
- Participants received either a fiber-rich supplement or a placebo for four weeks —All participants followed the original protocol, consuming either an oat beta-glucan drink (1 gram (g) of beta-glucan and 1.9 g total fiber per serving, three times daily) or a brown rice drink with no active fiber. Blood samples were collected at baseline and after four weeks to measure 17 different PFAS types.
- PFAS levels dropped significantly but only in the fiber group for legacy PFAS —While short-chain PFAS decreased in both groups, likely due to their shorter half-lives, the study found that only the group consuming beta-glucan showed significant reductions in long-chain PFAS known to persist for years in the body.
These included perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) — two of the most studied PFAS compounds, both associated with increased cancer and hormone disruption risks.
- PFAS reductions occurred even in men with exposure levels typical of the general population —Researchers noted that all participants had detectable PFAS levels at the start of the study. The levels of certain PFAS were higher than previously reported in Canadian populations, suggesting rising background exposure. Despite this, the beta-glucan intervention still reduced PFAS levels, showing promise even for people without known occupational or high-dose environmental exposure.
- Only the fiber group saw a drop in the most concerning types of PFAS —These specific PFAS, identified by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), are known to increase the risk for serious health issues like thyroid disease, kidney problems, ulcerative colitis and certain cancers.
If your blood level of these seven PFAS reaches just 2 nanograms per milliliter, doctors are advised to monitor your cholesterol, blood pressure during pregnancy and breast cancer risk. At 20 nanograms per milliliter, the recommendations expand to include regular screening for thyroid disease, testicular cancer and more. In the study, only the fiber group had a meaningful reduction in this high-risk PFAS group.
- The proposed mechanism is the fiber’s ability to trap PFAS in your digestive tract —Researchers believe the gel-forming fiber worked because PFAS share biochemical properties with bile acids — compounds already known to bind to beta-glucan and get flushed out in feces. PFAS and bile acids are both amphipathic, meaning they have both water-loving and fat-loving parts. This allows them to interact with fiber gels and get excreted rather than reabsorbed.
Most PFAS don’t leave your body easily. Once excreted into the bile, they’re typically reabsorbed in your intestine, returning to your liver in a loop. Beta-glucan breaks this cycle by holding PFAS in your gut, giving your body a chance to eliminate them through stool rather than cycling them back into your bloodstream.
Oat Beta-Glucan Helped Mice Eliminate PFAS
In a related study published in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, researchers from Boston University used mice to examine whether oat beta-glucan could reduce the body’s PFAS load.2 They exposed mice to a mixture of seven PFAS compounds in drinking water while feeding them diets that included either inulin, a non-gel-forming fiber, or oat beta-glucan — a gel-forming fiber.
- Despite drinking more contaminated water, fiber-fed mice had lower PFAS in their blood —The mice fed beta-glucan consumed more PFAS-contaminated water, yet ended up with lower blood levels of some of the most harmful PFAS. This suggests that the fiber helped block reabsorption of PFAS in the gut. In other words, even when these mice took in more of the toxic chemicals, their bodies were better at flushing them out before they could circulate back into the bloodstream.
- Mice on the fiber diet had better fat metabolism and lower liver fat —The beta-glucan-fed mice showed lower liver triglycerides and reduced fat accumulation in the small intestine and fat tissue overall. This matters because PFAS have been linked to metabolic disruption and fatty liver disease. These findings suggest that fiber offers a double benefit: lowering toxic load while improving fat regulation in the body.
- Fiber-fed mice experienced better lipid balance without triggering other stress responses —The researchers also looked at markers of liver stress and detoxification. A key enzyme linked to chemical detox was lower in the fiber-fed group during the cleansing phase, indicating that their bodies were under less toxic stress after PFAS exposure.”
In Joy and Love
Matti Anttila PLD (Professional Laughter Dude)
Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher
Head Honcho at EasyStressRelease.com
Author of The Zen of Joy
“Joy and Love are key to overcoming our inner turmoil as well as the challenges and chaos present in the world.”
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Do your own research. Do not trust mine.
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