Did you know that there are many items in your daily life that are effectively hurting you without you likely even realizing it? Apparently, many things, from nonstick pans to waterproof clothing, leech dangerous chemicals into our environments and bodies that can cause quite massive health dangers.
Yet, there's a possibility for a light at the end of the tunnel—new research found that there's one thing everyone can eat to minimize the influence of these chemicals on our bodies. Granted, further research is needed for firmer answers, but at least there is some hope.
Plenty of our commonplace items are leeching dangerous chemicals into our environment and bodies
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The worst thing about it is—these chemicals are called dubbed "forever" ones, since once they enter, they never leave
A study suggests that eating might help flush out cancer-causing forever chemicals from the body.
Forever chemicals also known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are long-lasting chemicals, which break down very slowly over time. The thing is that they are very widely used. For instance, they’re found in such commonplace things as nonstick cookware, grease-resistant food packaging, waterproof clothing, cleaning products, and even toilet paper. Basically, most of the things that make our lives more convenient.
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Turns out, convenience has a price. In this case, the price is being “contaminated” with forever chemicals. PFAS are found in people and animal blood, food products, and the environment all around the world. The worst thing about it is that many studies show that people’s exposure to these chemicals leads to harmful health effects.
These effects can be various—from increasing the risk of organ failure to infertility to cancer. Basically, nothing good. And as their “forever chemicals” name suggests, once they enter a person’s body, they don’t leave it—they stay there forever. Or, at least that's what has been believed up until now.
Then, they can cause health problems like cancer, infertility and many others
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Recently, scientists found that fiber helps the digestive tract to filter out these chemicals. Researchers in Boston compared men who took a fiber supplement three times a day to those who had a rice-based supplement for four weeks. They found that those who took fiber had an eight percent reduction of perfluorooctanoate acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), which are two of the most dangerous forms of PFAS.
Essentially, the researchers believe fiber forms a gel that stops cells lining the gut from absorbing these PFAS, because the gel stops bile acids, which help break down fats, from being reabsorbed into the bloodstream. Instead, the excess bile gets passed through feces. That means that fiber might help flush forever chemicals out of the body before they manage to linger and cause too much damage.
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Granted, that doesn’t mean that all types of fiber get rid of all types of PFAS. Plus, the timing of the experiment was limited as well, meaning that it’s not clear how long-term these results are. All these limitations suggest that further research is needed to get firmer answers to these questions.
Yet, recently, a new study showed that there's one thing people can do to minimize the effects of these chemicals
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The other—kind of related—problem is that, at least among Americans, most people do not consume a recommended amount of fiber (25 to 30 grams). That means that they not only lose out on the prospect of getting rid of at least some of these forever chemicals, but they also put their health at risk in other aspects.
After all, it’s pretty commonly known that fiber prevents colon and some other cancers, helps the digestive system, and has many other benefits. So, what we can leave you with is food for thought—maybe you should up your dietary fiber intake?
That thing is—to eat more fiber, which is not only beneficial for health in other ways, but also likely prevents these forever chemicals from staying in the body for a prolonged time
